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Background/Objectives: Bovine babesiosis is a vector-borne disease transmitted by ticks that causes important losses in livestock worldwide. Recent research performed on the drugs currently used to control bovine babesiosis reported several issues including drug resistance, toxicity impact, and residues in edible tissue, suggesting the need for developing novel effective therapies. The endochin-like quinolones ELQ-316 and buparvaquone (BPQ) act as cytochrome bc1 inhibitors and have been proven to be safe and efficacious against related apicomplexans, such as Plasmodium spp. and Babesia microti, without showing toxicity in mammals. The objectives of this study are investigating whether ELQ-316, BPQ, and their combination treatment could be effective against Babesia bovis in an in vitro culture model and comparing with imidocarb (ID), the routinely used drug. Methods: In vitro cultured parasites starting at 2% percentage of parasitemia (PPE) were treated with BPQ, ELQ-316, ID, and the combinations of BPQ + ELQ-316 and ID + ELQ-316 at drug concentrations that ranged from 25 to 1200 nM, during four consecutive days. The IC50% and IC99% were reported. Parasitemia levels were evaluated daily using microscopic examination. Data were compared using the non-parametrical Mann–Whitney and Kruskall–Wallis test. Results: All drugs tested, whether used alone or in combination, significantly decreased the survival (p < 0.05) of B. bovis in in vitro cultures. The combination of BPQ + ELQ-316 had the lowest calculated inhibitory concentration 50% (IC50%) values, 31.21 nM (IC95%: 15.06–68.48); followed by BPQ, 77.06 nM (IC95%: 70.16–86.01); ID + ELQ316, 197 nM (IC95%:129.0–311.2); ID, 635.1 nM (IC95%: 280.9–2119); and ELQ316, 654.9 nM (IC95%: 362.3–1411). Conclusions: The results reinforce the higher efficacy of BPQ at affecting B. bovis survival and the potential synergistic effects of its combination with ELQ-316, providing a promising treatment option against B. bovis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Absorption line spectroscopy using background quasars can provide strong constraints on galactic outflows. In this paper we investigate possible scaling relations between outflow properties, namely outflow velocity Vout, mass ejection rate Ṁout, and mass loading factor η, and the host galaxy properties, such as star formation rate (SFR), SFR surface density, redshift, and stellar mass, using galactic outflows probed by background quasars from MEGAFLOW and other surveys. We find that Vout (η) is (anti-)correlated with SFR and SFR surface density. We extend the formalism of momentum-driven outflows from a previous study to show that it applies not only to "down-the-barrel" studies, but also to winds probed by background quasars, suggesting a possible universal wind formalism. Under this formalism, we find a clear distinction between strong and weak outflows where strong outflows seem to have tighter correlations with galaxy properties (SFR or galaxy stellar mass) than weak outflows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate finite solvable tidy groups. We prove that a solvable group with order divisible by at least two primes is tidy if all of its Hall subgroups that are divisible by only two primes are tidy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a study of the cool gas (≈104 K) traced by Mg  ii absorptions around groups of galaxies in the MEGAFLOW (MusE GAs FLOw and Wind) survey. Using a combination of two algorithms, we blindly identify 32 groups of more than 5 galaxies at 0.3 < z < 1.5 with |$10.7 \lt \log _{10}(M/\rm {\rm M}_{\odot }) \lt 13.7$|⁠. Among them 26 can be used to study potential counterpart Mg  ii absorptions. We report that 21 out of the total 120 Mg   ii absorption systems present in MEGAFLOW are associated with groups. We observe that the Mg  ii rest-frame equivalent width (⁠|$W_{\rm r}^{2796}$|⁠) drops at an impact parameter of ≈150 projected kpc from the closest galaxy and ≈ one virial radius from the identified group centre indicating that Mg  ii haloes scale with the mass of the groups. The impact parameter where the covering fraction exceeds 50 per cent is |$\log _{10}(b/\rm kpc) = 2.17 \pm 0.47$| (2σ) and (b / R vir) = 1.67 ± 0.98, which is ≈3 times larger than for field galaxies (⁠|$\log _{10}(b/\rm kpc)=1.67\pm 0.15$|⁠). Finally, we estimate the cool gas column density profile in groups (from the |$W_{\rm r}^{2796}$|⁠) and show that its shape follows closely the typical dark matter column density profile for haloes at similar redshift and masses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient H 2 storage is one of the keys to the energy transition toward global sustainability. Hydrogen energy sources on functionalized 2D materials by metals have been shown as promising alternatives for clean energy systems. In a particular way, we have demonstrated here that the inorganic graphenylene-like silicon carbide (IGP-SiC) weakly adsorbs H 2. At the same time, the Li/Na decoration significantly enhances the H 2 interaction, accommodating up to 48H 2 molecules by a stronger physisorption. Also, scanning bond critical points (BCPs) confirms a great interaction between the Li(Na)@IGP-SiC systems and the hydrogen, a distinct scenario for the pristine IGP-SiC. Gravimetrically, hydrogen densities reach 8.27 wt% (Li) and 6.78 wt% (Na), exceeding the U.S. Department of Energy (5.6 wt%) benchmark. Regarding thermodynamic stability, the desorption temperatures at ambient conditions are suitable for hydrogen storage devices. Therefore, Li(Na)@IGP-SiC systems emerge as high-capacity hydrogen storage materials. [Display omitted] •The IGP-SiC is a promising candidate for H 2 storage by the lithium and sodium decoration. •It is reported gravimetric densities of 8.27 wt% (6.78 wt%) for Li(Na)@IGP-SiC nanosheets, exceeding the U.S. DOE target. •Desorption temperatures unveiled for Li(Na)@IGP nanosheets are 191K (148K), above the critical point of hydrogen, 33K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let G be a p -group for some prime p. Recall that the Hughes subgroup of G is the subgroup generated by all of the elements of G with order not equal to p. In this paper, we prove that if the Hughes subgroup of G is cyclic, then G has exponent p or is cyclic or is dihedral. We also prove that if the Hughes subgroup of G is generalised quaternion, then G must be generalised quaternion. With these results in hand, we classify the tidy p -groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: A cross-sectional survey including 38 questions about demography, clinical condition, changes in health habits, and medical treatments for cardiometabolic patients in outpatient follow-up was conducted. From June 15 to July 15, 2020, a total of 13 Latin-American countries participated in enrolling patients. Methods: These countries were divided into 3 geographic regions: Region 1 including North, Central, and Caribbean Regions (NCCR), Region 2 including the Andean Region (AR), and Region 3 including the Southern Cone Region (SCR). 4.216 patients were analyzed, resulting in a coefficient of 33.82%, 32.23%, and 33.94% for NCCR, AR, and SCR, respectively. Results: Significant differences were found between the AR, SCR, and NCCR regions. The analysis of habitual medication usage showed that discontinued use of medication was more present in AR, reaching almost 30% (p < 0.001). The main finding of this study was the negative impact that restrictive measures have on adherence to medications and physical activity: Rs = 0.84 (p = 0.0003) and Rs = 0.61 (p = 0.0032), respectively. AR was the most vulnerable region. Conclusion: Restrictive quarantine measures imposed by the different countries showed a positive correlation with medication discontinuation and a negative correlation with physical activity levels in patients analyzed. These findings characterize the impact of the consequences left by this pandemic. Undoubtedly, restrictive measures have been and will continue to have reverberating negative effects in most Latin-American countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichomoniasis, caused by Trichomonas vaginalis (TV), is the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection (STI) worldwide, affecting over 174 million people annually and is frequently associated with reproductive co-morbidities. However, its detection can be time-consuming, subjective, and expensive for large cohort studies. This case–control study, conducted at the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center in New York City, involved 36 women with prevalent TV infections and 36 controls. The objective was to examine Internal Transcribed Spacer region-1 (ITS1) amplicon-derived communities for the detection of prevalent TV infections with the same precision as clinical microscopy and the independent amplification of the TV-specific TVK3/7 gene. DNA was isolated from clinician-collected cervicovaginal samples and amplified using ITS1 primers in a research laboratory. Results were compared to microscopic wet-mount TV detection of concurrently collected cervicovaginal samples and confirmed against TV-specific TVK3/7 gene PCR. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) for diagnosing TV using ITS1 communities was 0.92. ITS1 amplicons displayed an intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.96 (95% CI: 0.93–0.98) compared to TVK3/7 PCR fragment testing. TV cases showed an increased risk of bacterial vaginosis (BV) compared to the TV-negative controls (OR = 8.67, 95% CI: 2.24–48.54, p-value = 0.0011), with no significant differences regarding genital yeast or chlamydia infections. This study presents a bioinformatics approach to ITS1 amplicon next-generation sequencing that is capable of detecting prevalent TV infections. This approach enables high-throughput testing for TV in stored DNA from large-scale epidemiological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The discovery of graphene gave way to the search for new two-dimensional structures. In this regard, octa-graphene is a carbon allotrope consisting of 4- and 8-membered rings in a single planar sheet, drawing the research community's attention to study their inorganic analogs. Considering the promising properties of octa-graphene-like structures and the role of GaAs and GaP in semiconductor physics, this study aims to propose, for the first time, two novel inorganics buckled nanosheets based on the octa-graphene structure, the octa-GaAs and octa-GaP. This work investigated the structural, electronic, and vibrational properties of these novel octa-graphene-based materials. The octa-GaP and octa-GaAs have an indirect band gap transition with a valence band maximum between M and Г points and a conduction band minimum at Г point with energy of 3.05 eV and 2.56 eV, respectively. The QTAIMC analysis indicates that both structures have incipient covalent in their bonds. The vibrational analysis demonstrates the occurrence of ΓRaman = 6Ag + 6Bg and ΓRaman = 12A′ + 12B″ for octa-GaP and octa-GaAs, respectively. The symmetry reduction of octa-GaAs leads to activating inactive modes observed in the octa-GaP structure. The frontier crystalline orbitals are composed by Ga(px) and P(py and pz) orbitals for octa-GaP and Ga(px and py) and As(s, py, and pz) for octa-GaAs in the valence bands while in the conduction bands by Ga(py, pz, and s) for both compounds and P(px and pz) and As(py). The phonon bands demonstrate the absence of the negative frequency modes and the structural stability of these new nanosheets. This report aims to reveal the fundamental properties of both newfound materials for stimulating experimental research groups in the search for synthesis routes to obtain this structure. Methods: This work used the DFT/B3LYP approach implemented in the CRYSTAL17 computational package. Ga, As, and P atomic centers were described by triple-zeta valence with polarization (TZVP) basis set. The vibrational analysis was carried out via coupled-perturbed Hartree–Fock/Kohn Sham (CPHF/KS) method, and the chemical bonds were evaluated via the quantum theory of atoms in molecules and crystals (QTAIMC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is devoted to studying the global and finite convergence of the semi-smooth Newton method for solving a piecewise linear system that arises in cone-constrained quadratic programming problems and absolute value equations. We first provide a negative answer via a counterexample to a conjecture on the global and finite convergence of the Newton iteration for symmetric and positive definite matrices. Additionally, we discuss some surprising features of the semi-smooth Newton iteration in low dimensions and its behavior in higher dimensions. Secondly, we present two iterative schemes inspired by the classical Jacobi and Gauss-Seidel methods for linear systems of equations for finding a solution to the problem. We study sufficient conditions for the convergence of both proposed procedures, which are also sufficient for the existence and uniqueness of solutions to the problem. Lastly, we perform some computational experiments designed to illustrate the behavior (in terms of CPU time) of the proposed iterations versus the semi-smooth Newton method for dense and sparse large-scale problems. Moreover, we included the numerical solution of a discretization of the Boussinesq PDE modeling a two-dimensional flow in a homogeneous phreatic aquifer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is a general consensus in ecology that more diverse communities tend to be more productive, it is still unclear whether this holds for aquatic ecosystems, especially with indicators of productivity rates and not just standing biomass proxies. Furthermore, most evidence is based on the results of experimental studies in which biodiversity was assessed through taxonomic richness, although functional indicators could be more relevant.Consequently, we still have a poor understanding of how real community performance is linked to the various features of community structure in natural aquatic ecosystems. Here we explicitly assessed the effect of functional traits and diversity on crustacean zooplankton productivity rates measured across 84 boreal Canadian lakes spanning wide limnological gradients. Productivity was assessed using the chitobiase enzyme method. Redundancy analyses and structured equation modelling were used to assess the relationship between zooplankton production rates, community structure (diversity and functional composition), while accounting for standing biomass and environmental factorsAfter controlling for the effect of environmental factors, zooplankton production rates were positively linked to dominance (lower functional evenness) by certain feeding traits (Daphnia filtration and Chydorus filtration), demonstrating an identity (selection) effect.Overall, the magnitude of the functional compositional effect on production was comparable to the aggregate effect of the environmental variables. Our study demonstrates that zooplankton functional community structure plays an important role in the regulation of a pivotal lake ecosystem function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate exciton and charged exciton (trion) electroluminescence from frozen p-n junctions in networks of polymer-sorted, semiconducting (6,5) single-walled carbon nanotubes. Electrolyte-gating with an ionic liquid was employed to achieve injection and accumulation of high densities of holes and electrons in the nanotube network at low applied voltages. Static p-n junctions were formed by cooling the devices below the melting point of the ionic liquid while in the ambipolar regime. These frozen junctions showed diode-like rectification and enabled the investigation of electron-hole recombination and near-infrared electroluminescence under controlled conditions. The contributions of exciton and red-shifted trion emission to the electroluminescence spectra were influenced by the initial parameters of the p-n junction formation (balanced or unbalanced) and the applied lateral bias, but did not depend on temperature (30–200 K). The tilted potential profile along the fixed junction and consequently the number of excess carriers within the recombination zone were found to predominantly determine the emission intensity and observed trion to exciton ratio. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based auto-delineation technologies rapidly delineate multiple structures of interest like organs-at-risk and tumors in 3D medical images, reducing personnel load and facilitating time-critical therapies. Despite its accuracy, the AI may produce flawed delineations, requiring clinician attention. Quality assessment (QA) of these delineations is laborious and demanding. Delineation error detection systems (DEDS) aim to aid QA, yet questions linger about potential challenges to their adoption and time-saving potential. To address these queries, we first conducted a user study with two clinicians from Holland Proton Therapy Center, a Dutch cancer treatment center. Based on the study’s findings about the clinicians’ error detection workflows with and without DEDS assistance, we developed a simulation model of the QA process, which we used to assess different error detection workflows on a retrospective cohort of 42 head and neck cancer patients. Results suggest possible time savings, provided the per-slice analysis time stays close to the current baseline and trading-off delineation quality is acceptable. Our findings encourage the development of user-centric delineation error detection systems and provide a new way to model and evaluate these systems’ potential clinical value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper approaches the effect of the transition metal (TM) (Fe, Mn and Co) doping on the stability and the electronic properties of the SiC-based graphenylene (IGP-SiC). All TM dopants were shown to be more favorable at the Si site. The TM-doped IGP-SiC structures exhibit negative cohesive energies and remain in their shapes after ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations (300K), indicating both energetic and thermal stability, respectively. The band gap of IGP-SiC, 3.15 eV, is significantly affected by the TM doping, achieving energies of 1.27, 2.58 and 1.23 eV for Fe, Mn and Co, respectively, for the spin alpha channel. The substitutional doping enhances the surface reactivity, since the work function changes from 5.83 eV (IGP-SiC) to 5.44 (Fe), 5.39 (Mn) and 5.33 eV (Co). Our findings report that TM doping is an effective strategy to modulate the electronic properties of IGP-SiC, leading to a promising use in spintronics and optoelectronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use the photometric metallicities provided by the panoramic Pristine survey to study the veracity and derive the metallicities of the numerous stellar streams found by the application of the STREAMFINDER algorithm to the Gaia Early Data Release 3 data. All 26 streams present in Pristine show a clear metallicity distribution function, which provides an independent check of the reality of these structures, supporting the reliability of STREAMFINDER in finding streams and the power of Pristine to measure precise metallicities. We further present six candidate structures with coherent phase-space and metallicity signals that are very likely streams. The majority of studied streams are very metal-poor (14 structures with [Fe/H] < −2.0) and include three systems with [Fe/H] < −2.9 (C-11, C-19, and C-20). These streams could be the closest debris of low-luminosity dwarf galaxies or may have originated from globular clusters of significantly lower metallicity than any known current Milky Way globular cluster. Our study shows that the promise of the Gaia data for Galactic Archeology studies can be substantially strengthened by quality photometric metallicities, allowing us to peer back into the earliest epochs of the formation of our Galaxy and its stellar halo constituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In pediatric liver transplant recipients, hepatic artery thrombosis and portal vein thrombosis are major causes of acute graft failure and mortality within 30 days of transplantation. There is, however, a strong possibility of graft salvage if flow can be re‐established to reduce ischemic injury. The current standard treatment is surgical revascularization, and if unsuccessful, retransplantation. Due to our success in treating these complications with catheter‐directed therapies, we sought to summarize and publish the outcomes of all patients who experienced hepatic artery thrombosis or portal vein thrombosis within 30 days of liver transplantation. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of 27 pediatric liver transplant recipients who experienced hepatic artery thrombosis (n = 13), portal vein thrombosis (n = 9), or both (n = 5) between September 2012 and March 2021. We collected and tabulated data on the patients and therapies performed to treat them, including success rates, primary and secondary patency, and clinical outcomes. Results: Among these patients, 6 were managed with anticoagulation and relisting for transplant and 21 had a primary revascularization attempt. Surgical recanalization was attempted in 7 patients of which 3 had successful recanalization (43%) and catheter‐directed recanalization was attempted in 14 patients with 100% success in re‐establishing blood flow to the graft. Additionally, patency was increased, and mortality was decreased in patients treated with catheter‐directed recanalization compared to surgical revascularization or anticoagulation alone. Conclusion: This data illustrates the need to further investigate catheter‐directed thrombolysis as a potential first‐line treatment for postoperative HAT and PVT in pediatric liver transplant recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The C-19 stream is the most metal-poor stellar system ever discovered, with a mean metallicity [Fe/H] = −3.38 ± 0.06. Its low metallicity dispersion (σ[Fe/H] < 0.18 at the 95 per cent confidence level) and variations in sodium abundances strongly suggest a globular cluster origin. In this work, we use Very Large Telescope (VLT)/UV–Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) spectra of seven C-19 stars to derive more precise velocity measurements for member stars, and to identify two new members with radial velocities and metallicities consistent with the stream's properties. One of these new member stars is located 30° away from the previously identified body of C-19, implying that the stream is significantly more extended than previously known and that more members likely await discovery. In the main part of C-19, we measure a radial velocity dispersion σ v = 6.2 |$^{+2.0}_{-1.4}{\rm \, km\, s^{-1}}$| from nine members, and a stream width of 0.56° ± 0.08°, equivalent to ∼158 pc at a heliocentric distance of 18 kpc. These confirm that C-19 is comparatively hotter, dynamically, than other known globular cluster streams and shares the properties of faint dwarf galaxy streams. On the other hand, the variations in the Na abundances of the three newly observed bright member stars, the variations in Mg and Al for two of them, and the normal Ba abundance of the one star where it can be measured provide further evidence for a globular cluster origin. The tension between the dynamical and chemical properties of C-19 suggests that its progenitor experienced a complex birth environment or disruption history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The nitrobenzene is strongly physisorbed by ZnO monolayer with E ads of −0.48 eV. • The band gap of 2D ZnO is modified from 4.59 to 1.85 eV due to the nitrobenzene interaction. • AIMD simulations confirm the feasibility of the 2D ZnO + nitrobenzene system at 500 K. • The biaxial strain modulates the nitrobenzene adsorption, and leads to a physisorption-to-chemisorption transition. • 2D ZnO has an impressive sensitivity S and fast recovery time for nitrobenzene at 300K (τ = 1.16 × 10−4 s). Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions have been a recurring problem that has challenged research centers to find new ways to monitor them. From this perspective, this work investigates nitrobenzene sensing through computational simulations, a well-known toxic compound, using the strained and strain-free two-dimensional (2D) ZnO monolayer, a traditional metal oxide semiconductor (MOS). The results indicate that nitrobenzene is adsorbed via strong physisorption on the 2D ZnO and maintains interaction with the sensor under thermal stimulus (500 K), as demonstrated via ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations. The nitrobenzene also changes the ZnO band gap energy from 4.59 to 1.85 eV and shifts 0.35 eV the work function value. Under biaxial strain, the nitrobenzene becomes chemisorbed on the ZnO monolayer. Also, remarkable conductivity changes are observed with the nitrobenzene adsorption on the strained ZnO. Excellent values of sensitivity are found, 2.29 × 1023, 8.11 × 1022 and 2.80 × 1016 for strain-free ZnO and the maximum compressed and stretched ZnO monolayer, respectively. Short recovery times of 1.16 × 10−4 s (T = 300 K) and 6.89 × 10−8 s (T = 500 K) are also found for strain-free ZnO monolayer, indicating a great reusability for nitrobenzene. Consequently, the ZnO monolayer can be used to detect nitrobenzene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A serial recall experiment has been conducted with two groups of participants: normal hearing ones and people suffering from the onset of presbycusis. • The relation between speech intelligibility and decrease of performance was similar for both groups. • Using a hearing loss simulator (applied to normal-hearing persons) gave similar results to the ones of the hearing-impaired people. • At high levels of intelligibility, taking account of listening difficulty improved the relation between intelligibility and decrease of performance. Open-plan offices are common in the tertiary sector, yet occupants often complain about noise, particularly from co-worker conversations. This issue can differently affect normal hearing people and those with presbycusis. This study therefore examines the impact of mild hearing loss (the onset of presbycusis) on performance in open-plan offices, focusing on the effect of irrelevant speech. An analysis of the decrease in performance on serial recall task as a function of speech-to-noise ratio was carried out with young, normal-hearing subjects under two auditory conditions: with and without a hearing loss simulator, as well as with hearing-impaired elderly subjects. Participants were exposed to five speech-to-noise conditions and silence. Subjective intelligibility was also measured. The results showed a minor, non-significant difference in decrease of performance between normal-hearing and hearing-impaired participants. The hearing loss simulator produced results comparable to those of the older group, validating its efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid digitalization of the world has affected engineering and design in a variety of ways, including the introduction of new computer-aided ideation tools. Cognitive assistants (CA), an increasingly common digital technology, use natural-language processing and artificial intelligence to provide computational support. Because CAs are capable of emulating humans in some tasks, they may be suited to support ideation activities when trained coaches or facilitators are not available. However, the effects and perception of CA-facilitated ideation are not fully understood. This study compared co-located brainstorming groups facilitated by human facilitators and a CA facilitator. We found that human facilitation was associated with the blocks/interruptions state because they used these moments to initiate facilitation; conversely, cognitive assistant facilitation was associated with the deviations and silence state. Human facilitation was also found to produce a more equal distribution of speaking time. Finally, post-task interviews showed that participants became frustrated due to the lack of affordances to indicate the status and functionality of the device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morgan and Parker proved that if G is a group with ${\textbf{Z}(G)} = 1$ , then the connected components of the commuting graph of G have diameter at most $10$. Parker proved that if, in addition, G is solvable, then the commuting graph of G is disconnected if and only if G is a Frobenius group or a $2$ -Frobenius group, and if the commuting graph of G is connected, then its diameter is at most $8$. We prove that the hypothesis $Z (G) = 1$ in these results can be replaced with $G' \cap {\textbf{Z}(G)} = 1$. We also prove that if G is solvable and $G/{\textbf{Z}(G)}$ is either a Frobenius group or a $2$ -Frobenius group, then the commuting graph of G is disconnected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most metal-poor stars (e.g., [Fe/H] ≤ –2.5) are the ancient fossils from the early assembly epoch of our Galaxy. They very likely formed before the the thick disk. Recent studies have shown that a non-negligible fraction of them have prograde planar orbits, which means that their origin is a puzzle. It has been suggested that a later-formed rotating bar could have driven these old stars from the inner Galaxy outward and transformed their orbits so that they became more dominated by rotation. However, it is unclear whether this mechanism can explain these stars as observed in the solar neighborhood. We explore whether this scenario is feasible by tracing these stars backward in an axisymmetric Milky Way potential with a bar as perturber. We integrated their orbits backward for 6 Gyr under two bar models: one model with a constant pattern speed, and the other with a decelerating speed. Our experiments show that for the constantly rotating bar model, the stars of interest are little affected by the bar and cannot have been driven from a spheroidal inner Milky Way to their current orbits. In the extreme case of a decelerating bar, some of the very metal-poor stars on planar and prograde orbits can be brought from the inner Milky Way, but ∼90% of them were nevertheless already dominated by rotation (Jϕ ≥ 1000 km s−1 kpc) 6 Gyr ago. The chance that these stars started with spheroid-like orbits with low rotation (Jϕ ≲ 600 km s−1 kpc) is very low (< 3%). We therefore conclude that within the solar neighborhood, the bar is unlikely to have shepherded a significant fraction of spheroid stars in the inner Galaxy to produce the overdensity of stars on prograde planar orbits that is observed today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The relentless need for new materials to be used in electronic devices has opened new research directions in materials science. One of them involves using two-dimensional materials, among which there is current interest in using germanene. The heteroatom doping of germanene has been proposed as a possible approach to fine-tuning its electronic properties. However, this procedure is complicated because locating the dopants with a specific arrangement is challenging, thus achieving reproducibility. To avoid this problem, we propose the codoping of germanene to understand if dopants prefer to be agglomerated as observed for graphene or if they prefer to adopt a random disposition. Herein, we employed first-principles calculations to study 21 codoped germanene systems with one 3p (Al, Si, P, and S) and one 4p (Ga, As, and Se) element. Our results indicate that in the cases of AlP, AlS, GaP, GaS, GaAs, and GaSe codoped germanene, the dopants show a tendency to be located in specific lattice positions. The ortho disposition of dopants is preferred for AlP, AlS, GaP and GaS codoped germanene and their 4p counterparts GaAs and GaSe codoped germanene, and the materials showed interesting electronic properties making them suitable to develop germanene-based electronic materials. Methods: We utilized the M06-L, HSE06 methods accompanied by the 6-31G* basis sets to perform periodic boundary conditions calculations as implemented in Gaussian 09. The unit cells were sampled employing 100 k-points for geometry optimizations and 2000 k-points for electronic properties The ultrafine grid was employed. Results were visualized employing Gaussview 5.0.1. In addition to this, we performed B3LYP-D3 periodic calculations as implemented in CRYSTAL17. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient and controlled charge transport in networks of semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes is the basis for their application in electronic devices, especially in field-effect transistors and thermoelectrics. The recent advances in selective growth, purification, and sorting of semiconducting and even monochiral carbon nanotubes have enabled field-effect transistors with high carrier mobilities and on/off current ratios that were impossible a few years ago. They have also allowed researchers to examine the microscopic interplay of parameters such as nanotube length, density, diameter distribution, carrier density, intentional and unintentional defects, dielectric environment, etc., and their impact on the macroscopic charge transport properties in a rational and reproducible manner. This review discusses various models that are considered for charge transport in nanotube networks and the experimental methods to characterize and investigate transport beyond simple conductivity or transistor measurements. Static and dynamic absorption, photoluminescence and electroluminescence spectroscopy, as well as scanning probe techniques (e.g., conductive atomic force microscopy, Kelvin probe force microscopy), and their unique insights in the distribution of charge carriers in a given nanotube network and the resulting current pathways will be introduced. Finally, recommendations for further optimization of nanotube network devices and a list of remaining challenges are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using deep (⁠|$11.2\, \rm{h}$|⁠) VLT/MUSE data from the MEGAFLOW survey, we report the first detection of extended |$\rm{Mg\, \small {II}}$| emission from a galaxy's halo that is probed by a quasar sightline. The |$\rm{Mg\, \small {II}}\, \lambda \lambda \, 2796, 2803$| emission around the z = 0.702 galaxy (⁠|$\log (M_*/\rm{M_\odot })=10.05_{-0.11}^{+0.15}{}$|⁠) is detected out to |$\approx 25\, \hbox{kpc}$| from the central galaxy and covers |$1.0\times 10^3\, \hbox{kpc}^2$| above a surface brightness of |$14\times 10^{-19}\, \rm{erg}\, \rm{s}^{-1}\, \rm{cm}^{-2}\, \rm{arcsec}^{-2}{}$| (⁠|$2\, \sigma$|⁠ ; integrated over |$1200\, \rm{km\, s}^{-1}= 19\mathring{\rm A}$| and averaged over |$1.5\, \rm{arcsec}^{2}$|⁠). The |$\rm{Mg\, \small {II}}$| emission around this highly inclined galaxy (i ≃ 75 deg) is strongest along the galaxy's projected minor axis, consistent with the |$\rm{Mg\, \small {II}}$| gas having been ejected from the galaxy into a bi-conical structure. The quasar sightline, which is aligned with the galaxy's minor axis, shows strong |$\rm{Mg\, \small {II}}$| absorption (⁠|$\hbox{$EW_0^{\lambda 2796}$}{}=1.8{}\, \mathring{\rm A}$|⁠) at an impact parameter of |$39{}\, \hbox{kpc}$| from the galaxy. Comparing the kinematics of both the emission and the absorption − probed with VLT/UVES − to the expectation from a simple toy model of a bi-conical outflow, we find good consistency when assuming a relatively slow outflow (⁠|$v_\rm{out}=130{}\, \rm{km\, s}^{-1}$|⁠). We investigate potential origins of the extended |$\rm{Mg\, \small {II}}$| emission using simple toy models. With continuum scattering models we encounter serious difficulties in explaining the luminosity of the |$\rm{Mg\, \small {II}}$| halo and in reconciling density estimates from emission and absorption. Instead, we find that shocks might be a more viable source to power the extended |$\rm{Mg\, \small {II}}$| (and non-resonant |$[\rm{O\, \small {II}}]$|⁠) emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute portal vein thrombosis is a major cause of fulminant allograft failure in pediatric liver transplantation. Timely intervention is critical to save the graft and patient. Serial interventional radiologic management of this condition is scarcely reported in the literature. A recently transplanted 17-year-old male presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain. Rising liver enzymes prompted discovery of a diffuse portal thrombus, which precipitated fulminant liver failure. The adolescent developed respiratory failure, vasodilatory shock, acute kidney injury, and hepatic encephalopathy, complicating treatment. Multiple interventions attempted to clear the thrombus, including interventional radiologic and medical therapies. Uniquely, a continuous infusion catheter was placed at the thrombosis, delivering local tissue plasminogen activator during a 5-day period. Upon thrombus clearance, the patient made a full recovery with no complications during 12 months of follow-up. When used as a component of multidisciplinary management, continuous locally directed tissue plasminogen activator may be a useful tool for clearance of persistent portal vein thrombosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Multicenter oncology trials increasingly include MRI examinations with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) quantification for lesion characterization and follow-up. However, the repeatability and reproducibility (R&R) limits above which a true change in ADC can be considered relevant are poorly defined. This study assessed these limits in a standardized whole-body (WB)-MRI protocol. Methods: A prospective, multicenter study was performed at three centers equipped with the same 3.0-T scanners to test a WB-MRI protocol including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Eight healthy volunteers per center were enrolled to undergo test and retest examinations in the same center and a third examination in another center. ADC variability was assessed in multiple organs by two readers using two-way mixed ANOVA, Bland-Altman plots, coefficient of variation (CoV), and the upper limit of the 95% CI on repeatability (RC) and reproducibility (RDC) coefficients. Results: CoV of ADC was not influenced by other factors (center, reader) than the organ. Based on the upper limit of the 95% CI on RC and RDC (from both readers), a change in ADC in an individual patient must be superior to 12% (cerebrum white matter), 16% (paraspinal muscle), 22% (renal cortex), 26% (central and peripheral zones of the prostate), 29% (renal medulla), 35% (liver), 45% (spleen), 50% (posterior iliac crest), 66% (L5 vertebra), 68% (femur), and 94% (acetabulum) to be significant. Conclusions: This study proposes R&R limits above which ADC changes can be considered as a reliable quantitative endpoint to assess disease or treatment-related changes in the tissue microstructure in the setting of multicenter WB-MRI trials. Key Points: • The present study showed the range of R&R of ADC in WB-MRI that may be achieved in a multicenter framework when a standardized protocol is deployed. • R&R was not influenced by the site of acquisition of DW images. • Clinically significant changes in ADC measured in a multicenter WB-MRI protocol performed with the same type of MRI scanner must be superior to 12% (cerebrum white matter), 16% (paraspinal muscle), 22% (renal cortex), 26% (central zone and peripheral zone of prostate), 29% (renal medulla), 35% (liver), 45% (spleen), 50% (posterior iliac crest), 66% (L5 vertebra), 68% (femur), and 94% (acetabulum) to be detected with a 95% confidence level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate whether the dust content of the circum-galactic medium (CGM) depends on the location of the quasar sightline with respect to the galaxy major-axis using 13 galaxy-Mg  ii absorber pairs (9–81 kpc distance) from the MusE GAs FLOw and Wind (MEGAFLOW) survey at 0.4 < z < 1.4. The dust content of the CGM is obtained from [Zn/Fe] using ultraviolet and visual echelle spectrograph data. When a direct measurement of [Zn/Fe] is unavailable, we estimate the dust depletion from a method that consists in solving for the depletion from multiple singly ionized ions (e.g. Mn  ii , Cr  ii , and Zn  ii) since each ion depletes on dust grains at different rates. We find a positive correlation between the azimuthal angle and [Zn/Fe] with a Pearson's r = 0.70 ± 0.14. The sightlines along the major axis show [Zn/Fe] < 0.5, whereas the [Zn/Fe] is > 0.8 along the minor axis. These results suggest that the CGM along the minor axis is on average more metal enriched (by ≈ 1 dex) than the gas located along the major axis of galaxies provided that dust depletion is a proxy for metallicity. This anisotropic distribution is consistent with recent results on outflow and accretion in hydro-dynamical simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a direct comparison of the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PAndAS) observations of the stellar halo of M31 with the stellar halos of six galaxies from the Auriga simulations. We process the simulated halos through the A uriga 2PA nd AS pipeline and create PAndAS-like mocks that fold in all observational limitations of the survey data (foreground contamination from the Milky Way stars, incompleteness of the stellar catalogs, photometric uncertainties, etc.). This allows us to study the survey data and the mocks in the same way and generate directly comparable density maps and radial density profiles. We show that the simulations are overall compatible with the observations. Nevertheless, some systematic differences exist, such as a preponderance for metal-rich stars in the mocks. While these differences could suggest that M31 had a different accretion history or has a different mass compared with the simulated systems, it is more likely a consequence of an underquenching of the star formation history of galaxies, related to the resolution of the A uriga simulations. The direct comparison enabled by our approach offers avenues to improve our understanding of galaxy formation as they can help pinpoint the observable differences between observations and simulations. Ideally, this approach will be further developed through an application to other stellar halo simulations. To facilitate this step, we release the pipeline to generate the mocks, along with the six mocks presented and used in this contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Silica‐sprayed tubes (SSTs) are often used to transport synovial fluid samples in equine practice. They promote the coagulation of the sample. The objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of SST on bacterial culture. Materials and methods: The study was divided into two parts: sterile saline (Part A) and synovial fluid (Part B). Four common bacteria associated with equine synovial sepsis were used: Streptococcus pyogenes, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin‐resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Three collection tubes were used: STT, plain (no‐additives) and brain and heart infusion (BHI) broth. Bacteria were cultured in horse blood agar plates for 48 h. Outcome variables were negative culture, positive culture and total number of colony‐forming units (CFUs). Statistical analysis was performed using Mann–Whitney U test, and significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: The total number of agar plates read was 1557 (779 saline; 778 synovial fluid). Total negative cultures were 25/779 on saline and 3/778 on synovial fluid. In broth, maximum growth CFU was achieved after 8 h for both saline and synovial fluid for all bacteria. S. pyogenesand E. coli produced a significantly lower number of CFU when in SST compared to plain or broth after 4 h, whereas S. aureus (American Type Culture Collection [ATCC] and MRSA) only after 24 h. Discussion: Silica‐containing tubes reduced bacterial proliferation, whereas the use of a BHI broth provided the highest bacterial load in the sample. The use of SST may have a negative effect on bacterial proliferation in samples obtained from clinical cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northern regions host the greatest density of surface water globally, but knowledge of lake metabolism in this vast yet remote landscape is limited. Here, we used an oxygen stable isotope approach to quantify patterns and drivers of surface layer metabolism in lakes throughout an approximately 106 km2 tract of boreal Canada. Ecosystem gross primary production (GPP) and respiration rates (R) were much higher than previously assumed for spring and summer months. Both rates were strongly linked to nitrogen (N) concentrations, not light availability, despite earlier work showing community-level light effects. Net ecosystem production (NEP = GPP − R) was negative for most lakes. Hierarchical modeling revealed that although NEP is strongly stabilized via similar effects of N on both GPP and R, NEP decreases with increasing dissolved organic carbon (DOC). These interactive controls on NEP were not predictable from bivariate regressions linking NEP to physical, chemical or habitat-specific drivers. In contrast to expectations, NEP was higher in warmer waters due to increased temperature dependency of GPP, not R. Temperature and DOC content had opposing effects on NEP in all but the most dystrophic lakes, possibly implying a muted response of metabolic balances to future shifts in both regional climate and OC delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecologists typically associate water quality with trophic status, where oligotrophic is considered excellent and presumably provides more aquatic ecosystem services. However, water quality is perceived differently among observers with different worldviews. For example, agriculture and public health sectors quantify the provisioning of aquatic ecosystem services on the basis of different guidelines, but are their guidelines breached more frequently with increasing productivity? We developed an integrative ecosystem service framework using Canadian guidelines as thresholds for drinking, swimming, irrigation, suitability for livestock and aquatic wildlife in rivers. Drinkability was the most sensitive ecosystem service, met in 23% of the sampling events, whereas livestock was provided in 99%. Trophic status is a fair proxy for ecosystem services limited by fecal contamination, because nutrients are related to human and animal populations but not to those limited by metals. Using guideline thresholds to assess the safe provisioning of multiple aquatic ecosystem services across diverse worldviews could facilitate understanding among different perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice (Oryza sativa) is one of the major crops in the world and one of the most consumed agricultural products in Haiti, with the main production area in the Artibonite Valley. Crop management, poor soil conditions, and weather uncertainty affect rice production in this region. The objective of this study was to determine the potential impact of climate change on rice yield in the Artibonite Valley of Haiti for future periods (near-term: 2010-2039 and mid-century: 2040-2069) under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs 4.5 and 8.5) defined by the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The Crop Estimation Resource and Environment Synthesis (CERES)-Rice model of the Decision Support for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) cropping system model was used to perform the simulations using local soil characteristics, meteorological data, and crop management following model calibration with local experimental data. Temperature (maximum and minimum) was predicted to increase during all three rice-growing seasons (spring-summer, summer-autumn, and winter-spring). Under both RCPs (4.5 and 8.5), the simulation results indicated that the ensemble-mean rice yield decreased during the spring-summer and summer-autumn seasons (by 5.1% to 6.6% and by 5.4% to 8.3%, respectively) and increased during the winter-spring season (by 2.3% to 3.6%). Although yield increased during the winter-spring season, the average annual yield was predicted to decrease by 3.6% to 7.1% and by 4.2% to 9.6% for the near-term and mid-century climate periods, respectively. These findings could assist with the implementation of adaptation strategies to mitigate the projected negative impact of climate change on rice production in Haiti. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Seizure detection is a major facet of electroencephalography (EEG) analysis in neurocritical care, epilepsy diagnosis and management, and the instantiation of novel therapies such as closed‐loop stimulation or optogenetic control of seizures. It is also of increased importance in high‐throughput, robust, and reproducible pre‐clinical research. However, seizure detectors are not widely relied upon in either clinical or research settings due to limited validation. In this study, we create a high‐performance seizure‐detection approach, validated in multiple data sets, with the intention that such a system could be available to users for multiple purposes. Methods: We introduce a generalized linear model trained on 141 EEG signal features for classification of seizures in continuous EEG for two data sets. In the first (Focal Epilepsy) data set consisting of 16 rats with focal epilepsy, we collected 1012 spontaneous seizures over 3 months of 24/7 recording. We trained a generalized linear model on the 141 features representing 20 feature classes, including univariate and multivariate, linear and nonlinear, time, and frequency domains. We tested performance on multiple hold‐out test data sets. We then used the trained model in a second (Multifocal Epilepsy) data set consisting of 96 rats with 2883 spontaneous multifocal seizures. Results: From the Focal Epilepsy data set, we built a pooled classifier with an Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (AUROC) of 0.995 and leave‐one‐out classifiers with an AUROC of 0.962. We validated our method within the independently constructed Multifocal Epilepsy data set, resulting in a pooled AUROC of 0.963. We separately validated a model trained exclusively on the Focal Epilepsy data set and tested on the held‐out Multifocal Epilepsy data set with an AUROC of 0.890. Latency to detection was under 5 seconds for over 80% of seizures and under 12 seconds for over 99% of seizures. Significance: This method achieves the highest performance published for seizure detection on multiple independent data sets. This method of seizure detection can be applied to automated EEG analysis pipelines as well as closed loop interventional approaches, and can be especially useful in the setting of research using animals in which there is an increased need for standardization and high‐throughput analysis of large number of seizures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The orbits of the least chemically enriched stars open a window on the formation of our Galaxy when it was still in its infancy. The common picture is that these low-metallicity stars are distributed as an isotropic, pressure-supported component since these stars were either accreted from the early building blocks of the assembling Milky Way (MW), or were later brought by the accretion of faint dwarf galaxies. Combining the metallicities and radial velocities from the Pristine and LAMOST surveys and Gaia DR2 parallaxes and proper motions for an unprecedented large and unbiased sample of 1027 very metal poor stars at [Fe/H] ≤ −2.5 dex, we show that this picture is incomplete. We find that |$31{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$| of the stars that currently reside spatially in the disc (⁠|$|Z| \le 3{\rm \, kpc}$|⁠) do not venture outside of the disc plane throughout their orbit. Moreover, this sample shows strong statistical evidence (at the 5.0σ level) of asymmetry in their kinematics, favouring prograde motion. The discovery of this population implies that a significant fraction of stars with iron abundances [Fe/H] ≤ −2.5 dex merged into, formed within, or formed concurrently with the MW disc and that the history of the disc was quiet enough to allow them to retain their disc-like orbital properties, challenging theoretical and cosmological models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop breeding is as ancient as the invention of cultivation. In essence, the objective of crop breeding is to improve plant fitness under human cultivation conditions, making crops more productive while maintaining consistency in life cycle and quality. Predictive breeding has been demonstrated in the agricultural industry and in public breeding programs for over a decade. The massive stores of data that have been generated by industry, farmers, and scholars through several decades have finally been recognized as a potential asset that can be brought to bear on specific breeding decisions. A wide range of analytical methods that were initially developed for various other quantitative disciplines, such as machine learning, deep learning, and artificial intelligence, are now being adapted for application in crop breeding to support analytics and decision making processes. This convergence between data science and crop breeding analytics is expected to address long‐standing gaps in crop breeding analytics, and realize the potential of applying advanced analytics to multidimensional data such as geospatial variables, a multitude of phenotypic responses, and genetic information. Here, we summarize the few existing examples followed by perspectives on where else these technologies would have applications to accelerate operational aspects of crop breeding and agricultural product development efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Galactic outflows are thought to eject baryons back out to the circumgalactic medium. Studies based on metal absorption lines (Mg  ii in particular) in the spectra of background quasars indicate that the gas is ejected anisotropically, with galactic winds likely leaving the host in a bi-conical flow perpendicular to the galaxy disc. In this paper, we present a detailed analysis of an outflow from a z  = 0.7 'green-valley' galaxy [log (M */M⊙) = 9.8; |$\mbox{SFR}=0.5\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }\, \mathrm{yr}^{-1}$| ] probed by two background sources from the MusE GAs FLOw and Wind (MEGAFLOW) survey. Thanks to a fortuitous configuration with a background quasar (SDSSJ1358 + 1145) and a bright background galaxy at z  = 1.4, both at impact parameters of |$\approx\! 15\, \hbox{kpc}$|⁠ , we can – for the first time – probe both the receding and approaching components of a putative galactic outflow around a distant galaxy. We measure a significant velocity shift between the Mg  ii absorption from the two sightlines (⁠|$84\pm 17\, \hbox{km~s$^{-1}$}$|⁠), which is consistent with the expectation from our simple fiducial wind model, possibly combined with an extended disc contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of the size of the alkaline earth cation on the boson peak of binary metasilicate glasses, MSiO3 (M = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba), has been investigated from vibrational densities of states determined by inversion of low-temperature heat capacities. As given both by Cp/T 3 and g(ω)/ω2, the intensity of the boson peak undergoes a 7-fold increase from Mg to Ba, whereas its temperature and frequency correlatively decrease from 18 to 10 K and from 100 to 20 cm-1, respectively. The boson peak results from a combination of librations of SiO4 tetrahedra and localized vibrations of network-modifying cations with non-bridging oxygens whose contribution increases markedly with the ionic radius of the alkaline earth. As a function of ionic radii, the intensity for Sr and Ba varies in the same way as previously found for alkali metasilicate glasses. The localized vibrations involving alkali and heavy alkaline earth cations appear to be insensitive to the overall glass structure. Although the new data are coherent with an almost linear relationship between the temperature of the boson peak and transverse sound velocity, pure SiO2 and SiO2-rich glasses make marked exceptions to this trend because of the weak transverse character of SiO4 librations. Finally, the universality of the calorimetric boson peak is again borne out because all data for silicate glasses collapse on the same master curve when plotted in a reduced form (CP/T 3)/(CP/T 3)b vs. T/Tb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of Si–O, Al–O, and Si–N bonds on the boson peak of silicate glasses has been investigated from a study of amorphous Si, SiO2, and two calcium aluminosilicates with 0 (Ca28–O) and 4.4 (Ca28–N) mol % Si3N4. The low-frequency part of the vibrational density of states g(ω) has been calculated from inversion of literature data and new heat capacity measurements. As defined by g(ω)/ω2, the boson peak correlates with the excess heat capacity observed with respect to Debye T3 limiting law. That libration of SiO4 tetrahedra represents the main source of low-frequency excitations in silica glass is illustrated by the strong difference between the anomalies of amorphous Si and SiO2 glass and the marked decrease observed for SiO2 phases of increasing density. When Al substitutes for Si, libration of AlO4 tetrahedra appears hampered by the presence of a charge-compensating cation. Rigidification of the silicate network resulting from substitution of N for O causes the boson peak of Ca28–N to be smaller than that of Ca28–O and shifted toward higher frequencies as increased cross-linking hinders libration of SiO4 or AlO4 tetrahedra. In agreement with their universal phenomenology, the calorimetric boson anomalies of Ca28–O and Ca28–N plot on the master curve defined previously by SiO2 and alkali silicate glasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present results from our on-going MusE GAs FLOw and Wind (MEGAFLOW) survey, which consists of 22 quasar lines of sight, each observed with the integral field unit MUSE and the UVES spectrograph at the ESO Very Large Telescopes (VLT). The goals of this survey are to study the properties of the circumgalactic medium around z ∼ 1 star-forming galaxies. The absorption-line selected survey consists of 79 strong Mg  ii absorbers (with rest-frame equivalent width ≳0.3 Å) and, currently, 86 associated galaxies within 100 projected kpc of the quasar with stellar masses (M ⋆) from 109 to 1011 M⊙. We find that the cool halo gas traced by Mg  ii is not isotropically distributed around these galaxies from the strong bi-modal distribution in the azimuthal angle of the apparent location of the quasar with respect to the galaxy major axis. This supports a scenario in which outflows are bi-conical in nature and co-exist with a co-planar gaseous structure extending at least up to 60–80 kpc. Assuming that absorbers near the minor axis probe outflows, the current MEGAFLOW sample allowed us to select 26 galaxy–quasar pairs suitable for studying winds. From this sample, using a simple geometrical model, we find that the outflow velocity only exceeds the escape velocity when M ⋆ ≲ 4 × 109 M⊙, implying the cool material is likely to fall back except in the smallest haloes. Finally, we find that the mass loading factor η, the ratio between the ejected mass rate and the star formation rate, appears to be roughly constant with respect to the galaxy mass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We study how Low-end VR systems affect the learning outcome. • Three VR configurations with different level of immersion were used. • We evaluate the effects of virtual presence and learning outcome. • The influence of Simulator Sickness was studied. • Results indicate that Low-end VR systems produce a learning outcome comparable to High-end VR systems. Low-cost technology is essential to integrate Virtual Reality (VR) into educative institutions around the world. However, low-cost technology usually refers to low-end technology, which may compromise the level of immersion of the VR system. This study evaluates whether low-end and high-end VR systems achieve a comparable learning outcome regardless their immersion level. We also analyze the relationship between virtual presence and the learning outcome arising from a VR educational experience. An evaluation with 42 participants was conducted. We measured learning outcome and virtual presence under three different configurations, namely: a desktop computer, a low-end VR system, and a high-end VR system. The impact of simulator sickness was also analyzed. Results revealed a lower learning outcome in the less immersive configuration (i.e. desktop) and a similar learning outcome in both low-end and high-end VR systems. Even though low-end VR systems are less immersive and produce a lower level of virtual presence than high-end VR systems, the results support the use of low-end VR systems for educative applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use the MusE GAs FLOw and Wind (MEGAFLOW) survey to study the kinematics of extended disc-like structures of cold gas around z  ≈ 1 star-forming galaxies. The combination of VLT/MUSE and VLT/UVES observations allows us to connect the kinematics of the gas measured through Mg  ii quasar absorption spectroscopy to the kinematics and orientation of the associated galaxies constrained through integral field spectroscopy. Confirming previous results, we find that the galaxy–absorber pairs of the MEGAFLOW survey follow a strong bimodal distribution, consistent with a picture of Mg  ii absorption being predominantly present in outflow cones and extended disc-like structures. This allows us to select a bona-fide sample of galaxy–absorber pairs probing these discs for impact paramometers of |$10{-}70\,\, {kpc}$|⁠. We test the hypothesis that the disc-like gas is co-rotating with the galaxy discs, and find that for seven out of nine pairs the absorption velocity shares the sign of the disc velocity, disfavouring random orbits. We further show that the data are roughly consistent with inflow velocities and angular momenta predicted by simulations, and that the corresponding mass accretion rates are sufficient to balance the star formation rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, several atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials have been reported with remarkable properties that prospect them as potential structures for nanotechnological applications. Advancing the research of layered structures, in this work, a new 2D inorganic material based on germanium carbide (GeC) and characterized by 4-, 6- and 12-membered rings, named inorganic graphenylene-like germanium carbide (IGP-GeC), is proposed via density functional theory (DFT) simulations to predict its structural, electronic, and mechanical properties. This structure has a direct band gap energy (2.65 eV), which can be modulated from 3.39 eV to a conductor character by applying a biaxial strain (ε) from −12% to 12%, making it a promising contender for nanoelectronics applications. IGP-GeC has an in-plane dielectric constant of 7.15 that increases with tensile strain, reaching 10.51 (ε = 12%), an exciting result in comparison with other 2D materials, also leading to remarkable excitonic properties in both unstrained and strained conditions. Besides this, the effective masses analysis denotes great stability of the charge carriers for IGP-GeC, improved by the tensile strain application. Finally, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations show that IGP-GeC is stable at 1200 K, and the absence of imaginary modes in the phonon bands attests to the dynamical stability of this novel 2D material, which will be useful to experimentalists in further studies. [Display omitted] • Inorganic graphenylene-like germanium carbide (IGP-GeC) is a new 2D material with mechanical, thermal and dynamical stability. • IGP-GeC has a central ring diameter of 7.18 Å, being possible the improvement of ions and molecules interacting with the nanosheet. • Having a bang gap energy of 2.65 eV, IGP-GeC characterizes as a semiconductor in the visible range of light. • Under biaxial strain engineering, the gap energy of IGP-GeC varies from 3.39 eV to metallic behavior. • The electron-hole recombination observed for IGP-GeC makes it a 2D material with promising excitonic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feline MDR1 mutation (ABCB11930_1931delTC) has been associated with neurological toxicosis after topical application of eprinomectin products labeled for feline use. Information was collected from veterinarians who submitted samples for ABCB11930_1931delTC genotyping. In most cases, the submission form indicated an adverse event involving eprinomectin, in other cases submitting veterinarians were contacted to determine whether the patient had experienced an adverse drug event involving eprinomectin. If so, additional information was obtained to determine whether the case met inclusion criteria. 14 cases were highly consistent with eprinomectin toxicosis. Eight cats were homozygous for ABCB11930_1931del TC (3 died; 5 recovered). Six cats were homozygous wildtype (2 died; 4 recovered). The observed ABCB11930_1931delTC frequency (57%) was higher than the expected frequency (≤1%) in the feline population (Fisher Exact test, p < 0.01). Among wildtype cats, four were concurrently treated with potential competitive inhibitors of P‐glycoprotein. Results indicate that topical eprinomectin products, should be avoided in cats homozygous for ABCB11930_1931delTC. This is a serious, preventable adverse event occurring in an identifiable subpopulation treated with FDA‐approved products in accordance with label directions. Acquired P‐glycoprotein deficiency resulting from drug interactions may enhance susceptibility to eprinomectin‐induced neurological toxicosis in any cat, regardless of ABCB1 genotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we address the problem of automatic emotion recognition and classification through video. Nowadays there are excellent results focused on lab-made datasets, with posed facial expressions. On the other hand there is room for a lot of improvement in the case of 'in the wild' datasets, where light, face angle to the camera, etc. are taken into account. In these cases it could be very harmful to work with a small dataset. Currently, there are not big enough datasets of adequately labeled faces for the task. We use Generative Adversarial Networks in order to train models in a semi-supervised fashion, generating realistic face images in the process, allowing the exploitation of a big cumulus of unlabeled face images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the relationship of E2 gene disruption with viral gene expression and clinical outcome in human papillomavirus (HPV) positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, we evaluated 31 oropharyngeal and 17 non-oropharyngeal HPV16 positive carcinomas using two PCR-based methods to test for disruption of E2, followed by Sanger sequencing. Expression of HPV16 E6, E7 and E2 transcripts, along with cellular ARF and INK4A, were also assessed by RT-qPCR. Associations between E2 disruption, E2/E6/E7 expression, and clinical outcome were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis for loco-regional recurrence and disease-specific survival. The majority (n = 21, 68%) of HPV16 positive oropharyngeal carcinomas had an intact E2 gene, whereas the majority of HPV16 positive non-oropharyngeal carcinomas (n = 10, 59%) had a disrupted E2 gene. Three of the oropharyngeal tumors and two of the non-oropharyngeal tumors had deletions within E2. Detection of an intact E2 gene was associated with a higher DNA viral load and increased E2/E6/E7, ARF and INK4A expression in oropharyngeal tumors. Oropharyngeal carcinomas with an intact E2 had a lower risk of loco-regional recurrence (log-rank p = 0.04) and improved disease-specific survival (p = 0.03) compared to tumors with disrupted E2. In addition, high E7 expression was associated with lower risk of loco-regional recurrence (p = 0.004) as was high E6 expression (p = 0.006). In summary, an intact E2 gene is more common in HPV16 positive oropharyngeal than non-oropharyngeal carcinomas; the presence of an intact E2 gene is associated with higher HPV viral load, higher viral oncogene expression, and improved clinical outcome compared to patients with a disrupted E2 gene in oropharyngeal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is limited understanding of the impact of diamond mining on the aquatic communities of lakes that receive mining activity residue. For aquatic communities, assessing the response to mining, which can affect multiple variables concurrently, is not trivial, especially when a species-by-species approach is used. Thus, we assessed diamond mine impacts using changes in plankton functional composition, enabling an integrated evaluation of the ecological responses of aquatic ecosystems. Using a 19-year data set, we evaluated the functional responses of lake phytoplankton and zooplankton to water quality changes associated with mining activities in five downstream lakes of the Ekati Diamond Mine (Northwest Territories, Canada). Our results demonstrate that mining activity shifted phytoplankton functional composition toward edible diatoms and more recently the rotifer communities toward parallelepiped types, while for crustacean zooplankton we observed a reinforcement of the original functional composition. Following functional rather than taxonomic changes enabled a more mechanistic understanding of the processes behind the impacts and should facilitate the generalization of impacts to other sites, permitting comparison of community shifts caused by other types of mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design representations play a pivotal role in the design process. In particular, design representations enable the formation of a shared understanding between team members, enhancing team performance. This paper explores the relationship between design representation modality (low-fidelity prototypes and sketches) and shared understanding among designers during communicative acts between design dyads. A mixed-methods study with 44 participants was conducted to investigate if representation modality affects shared understanding and identifies the factors that shape shared understanding during communication. Quantitative results suggest that low-fidelity prototypes and sketches did not significantly differ in terms of the shared understanding they facilitated within dyads. Qualitative analysis identified four factors at the representation- and actor-level that influence how shared understanding is built between individuals during design communication. This research extends our understanding of the utility of design representations given the needs of communicative contexts; specifically, this work demonstrates that designers must understand the perspectives of listeners during communication to create representations that accurately represent the information that a listener seeks to gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent experimental evidence suggests that changes in the partial pressure of CO2 ( pCO2), in concert with nutrient fertilisation, may result in increased primary production and shifted phytoplankton community composition that favours species lacking adaptations to low CO2 environments. It is not clear whether these results apply in ambient freshwaters, which are already often supersaturated in CO2, and where phytoplankton structure and activity are under complex control of diverse local and regional factors. Here, we use a large-scale comparative study of 69 boreal lakes to explore the influence of existing CO2 gradients ( c. 50-2300 μatm) on phytoplankton community composition and biomass production. While community composition did not respond to pCO2 gradients, gross primary production was enhanced, but only in lakes already supersaturated in CO2, demonstrating that environmental context is key in determining pCO2-phytoplankton interactions. We further argue that increased atmospheric CO2 is unlikely to influence phytoplanktonic composition and production in northern lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]