Large Response Research Articles

Improving a hybrid from within itself.

Improving a hybrid by transferring partially dominant alleles from one parent to the other is feasible if the median level of dominance is moderate and prediction accuracy is high. Convergent improvement within a P1 × P2 single-cross hybridattempts to transfer partially dominant favorable alleles from P1 to P2 and from P2 to P1. My objective in this simulation study was to determine if convergent improvement is a feasible procedure to develop a better single cross. Heterozygote effects (d) and homozygote effects (a) at quantitative trait loci (QTL) were resampled from an empirical distribution of genomewide marker estimates of d and a for maize (Zea mays L.) grain yield. The d values were scaled (d scale = 30%, 45%, and 60%) to account for the known upward bias when d/a ratios at markers are used to estimate d/a ratios at QTL. Convergent improvement led to positive responses to selection when only 30 QTL controlled the trait. When 250 QTL controlled the trait, convergent improvement led to a positive response when the d scale was 30% but not when the d scale was 60%. For the intermediate d scale of 45%, responses were positive in later backcross generations and when prediction accuracy was 0.60 or 0.80. The largest response was achieved with only one cycle of genomewide recurrent selection; additional cycles compromised the gains achieved from the final step of phenotypic selection among single crosses. Overall, the results suggested that success in convergent improvement is a possibility but not a certainty in maize, and that more consistent results would be expected in species such as rice (Oryza sativa L.) that show weaker heterosis than maize.

Large Electromechanical Response and Field-Induced Shape Memory Effect in Ferroelectric Ceramics.

Electric-field-induced shape memory effect has potential applications in electromechanical actuator. Here, this study proposes the a phase structure design routine in (1-x)(75Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3-25SrTiO3)-xPbTiO3 ceramics to obtain large electromechanical response and shape memory effect. It is found that the shape memory effect is closely related to the bending deformation induced by asymmetric polarization between positive and negative electrodes, which is resulted from the reductions of Bi3+ and Pb2+ because of electron injection from negative electrode. In addition, the content of ferroelectric phase with P4mm structure and c/a ratio increase with PbTiO3 content increasing, and the coercive field of the ceramics is also enhanced by the PbTiO3 addition, Combing the crystal structure and chemical composition, the field-induced deformation achieves 2.77% and shape memory effect is 1.75% at 80kVcm-1 and 0.1Hz in the ceramic with the content of PbTiO3 is 40%.

Genomic and cellular responses to aspirin in colonic organoids from African- and European-Americans.

Background: Aspirin (ASA) is a proven chemoprotective agent for colorectal cancer (CRC), though inter-individual responses and cellular mechanisms are not well characterized. Human organoids are ideal to study treatment responses across individuals. Here, colonic organoids from African-Americans (AA) and European-Americans (EA)were used to profile genomic and cellular ASA responses. Methods: Colonic organoids from 67 participants, 33 AA and 34 EA, were treated with 3mM ASA or vehicle control for 24h. Gene expression was assessed by RNA-seq, and differentially responsive genes analyzed by condition, population and for gene set enrichment. Top differentially responsive genes were assessed by time and ASA doses in independent organoids. Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) mapping was performed to identify variants associated with condition-specific responses. Proliferation, apoptosis and necrosis assays were performed, and apoptosis gene expression measured in organoids. Results: Overall, 8343 genes were differentially responsive to ASA with differences between AA and EA. Significant enrichment for fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and PPAR signaling was found. Significant treatment eQTLs were identified for relevant genes involved in FAO, apoptosis and prostaglandin metabolism. ASA-induced apoptosis and secondary necrosis were confirmed with identification of significant differential responses of apoptotic genes to ASA. Conclusions: Results demonstrate large transcriptional responses to ASA treatment with differences in responses between individuals. Genomic and cellular results suggest that ASA effects on the mitochondria are key mechanisms of action that could underlie clinical effects. These results could be used to assess clinical treatment responses for chemoprevention in the future.

Sensitive Fluorescent Probe for Al3+, Cr3+ and Fe3+: Application in Real Water Samples and Logic Gate.

Construction of single probes for simultaneous detection of common trivalent metal ions has attracted much attention due to higher efficiency in analysis and cost. A naphthalimide-based fluorescent probe K1 was synthesized for selective detection of Al3+, Cr3+ and Fe3+ ions. Fluorescence emission intensity at 534nm of probe K1 in DMSO/H2O (9:1, v/v) was significantly enhanced upon addition of Al3+, Cr3+ and Fe3+ ions while addition of other metal ions (Li+, Na+, K+, Ag+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Zn2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Mn2+, Sr2+, Hg2+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Ce3+, Bi3+ and Au3+) did not bring about substantial change in fluorescence emission. The calculated detection limits were 0.32 µM, 0.81 µM, and 0.27 µM for Al3+, Cr3+, and Fe3+, respectively. Probe K1 displayed strong anti-interference ability, a large Stokes shift, rapid response, and applicability in a wide pH range for the simultaneous detection of Al3+, Cr3+ and Fe3+ in real water samples. Job's plot test showed that the stoichiometric ratio of the complexes formed between probe K1 and the trivalent metal ions was 1:1. The reversible application of probe K1 was realized by addition of Na2EDTA. A molecular logic gate was built based on the input-output information. This approach may provide a basis for highly selective and sensitive detection of common trivalent cations and for design of memory devices.

A magneto-thermoelectric with a high figure of merit in topological insulator Bi88Sb12

High thermoelectric performance is generally achieved by synergistically optimizing two or even three of the contradictorily coupled thermoelectric parameters. Here we demonstrate magneto-thermoelectric correlation as a strategy to achieve simultaneous gain in an enhanced Seebeck coefficient and reduced thermal conductivity in topological materials. We report a large magneto-Seebeck effect and high magneto-thermoelectric figure of merit of 1.7 ± 0.2 at 180 K and 0.7 T in a single-crystalline Bi88Sb12 topological insulator. This result fills a gap of a high performance below 300 K and is promising for low-temperature thermoelectric applications. The large magneto-Seebeck response is attributed to the ultrahigh mobility and the Dirac band dispersion. The application of a low magnetic field to achieve a high thermoelectric performance can be extended to topological materials with similar features that are rapidly emerging because it synergistically optimizes the thermoelectric parameters.

Mixed-phase enabled high-rate copper niobate anodes for lithium-ion batteries.

The advancement of rapid-response grid energy storage systems and the widespread adoption of electric vehicles are significantly hindered by the charging times and energy densities associated with current lithium-ion battery technology. In state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries, graphite is employed as the standard negative electrode material. However, graphite suffers from polarization and deteriorating side-reactions at the high currents needed for fast charging. Transition metal-oxide anodes are attractive alternatives due to their enhanced power density. However, often these anodes make use of toxic or scarce elements, significantly limiting their future potential. In this work, we propose a new, facile solid-state synthesis method to obtain non-toxic, abundant, mixed-phase copper niobate (Cu x Nb y O z ) anodes for lithium-ion batteries. The material consists of various phases working synergistically to deliver high electrochemical capacities at exceptional cycling rates (167 mA h g-1 at 1C, 95 mA h g-1 at 10C, 65 mA h g-1 at 60C and 37 mA h g-1 at 250C), large pseudocapacitive response (up to 90%), and high Li+ diffusion coefficient (1.8 × 10-12 cm2 s-1), at a stable capacity retention (99.98%) between cycles. Compared to graphite, at a comparable energy density (470 W h L-1), the composite material exhibits a 70 times higher power density (27 000 W L-1). These results provide a new perspective on the role of non-toxic and abundant elements for realizing ultrafast anode materials for future energy storage devices.

Cellular Morphometric Biomarkers and Large Language Model Predict Prognosis and Treatment Response in Neuroblastoma Patients: A Retrospective and Double-blind Prospective Single Arm Clinical Study

Cellular Morphometric Biomarkers and Large Language Model Predict Prognosis and Treatment Response in Neuroblastoma Patients: A Retrospective and Double-blind Prospective Single Arm Clinical Study

Measuring Realistic Emotional Perception With EEG: A Comparison of Multimodal Videos and Naturalistic Scenes.

Emotional experiences involve dynamic multisensory perception, yet most EEG research uses unimodal stimuli such as naturalistic scene photographs. Recent research suggests that realistic emotional videos reliably reduce the amplitude of a steady-state visual evoked potential (ssVEP) elicited by a flickering border. Here, we examine the extent to which this video-ssVEP measure compares with the well-established Late Positive Potential (LPP) that is reliably larger for emotional relative to neutral scenes. To address this question, 45 participants viewed 90 matched pairs of realistic videos and scenes. Consistent with prior work, reduced 7-8 Hz ssVEP amplitude was evident during emotional relative to neutral videos. However, this reduction in power was not specific to the driving frequency of 7.5 Hz, and in fact, Fourier transformation analyses limited to 7.5 Hz were not modulated by video content. Still, at the group level, the video-driven reductions in 7-8 Hz power and LPP modulation by scenes produced similarly large valence effects, and both measures strongly correlated with arousal ratings. Consistent with previous research, the scene-LPP was sensitive to specific emotional contents (erotica and gore) somewhat inconsistent arousal ratings. In contrast, the video-driven oscillation modulation did not show this content sensitivity and was better explained by individual arousal ratings per video clip. In sum, these results show that the 7.5 Hz flickering-border paradigm does not index emotional engagement with video stimuli, yet emotional videos do evoke robust decreases in 3-10 Hz oscillatory power that is somewhat distinct from emotional modulation of the scene-evoked LPP. Matched emotional video and scenes evoke large EEG responses compared with neutral content within-participant. Our findings align with previous research indicating that video modulation of power around the evoked 7.5 Hz ssVEP frequency (7-8 Hz) serves as a reliable emotional measure. However, further analyses reveal that this effect is attributable to a general decrease in power across the 3-10 Hz frequency range.

A multimodal neuroimaging study of youth at risk for substance use disorders: Functional magnetic resonance imaging and [18F]fallypride positron emission tomography.

Adolescent alcohol use is the norm, but only some develop a substance use disorder. The increased risk might reflect heightened mesocorticolimbic responses to reward-related cues but results published to date have been inconsistent. Young social drinkers (age 18.5 ± 0.6 y.o.) who have been followed since birth were recruited from high- versus low-risk trajectories based on externalizing (EXT) behavioral traits. All had functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to measure mesocorticolimbic responses to alcohol, juice, and water cues (High EXT: 20F/10M; Low EXT: 15F/12M). Most had positron emission tomography (PET) [18F]fallypride scans to measure brain regional dopamine D2 receptor availabilities (n = 47). Compared with the low EXT group, high EXT participants reported larger subjective responses to the alcohol and juice cues (vs. water). Despite this, a main effect of group was not seen for brain activation responses to the alcohol and juice cues. Instead, low EXT participants exhibited higher mesocorticolimbic activations to alcohol than juice, whereas these activations did not differ in the high EXT group. Across all participants, alcohol (vs. water) blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses in the striatum and amygdala were associated with midbrain [18F]fallypride BPND values. Young social drinkers at high versus low risk for substance use disorders did not exhibit larger mesocorticolimbic BOLD activations to alcohol-related cues and their responses poorly differentiated alcohol from juice. These observations raise the possibility that (i) diminished mesocorticolimbic BOLD differentiations between reward-related cues might be a marker of increased risk for substance use disorders, and (ii) previously reported large BOLD responses to drug-related cues in people with substance use disorders might better identify the disease than pre-existing vulnerability.

Size-dependent nonlinear bending of tapered cantilever microbeam based on modified couple stress theory

The Euler-Bernoulli beam theory is adopted in conjunction with modified couple stress theory (MCST) in this paper to formulate a beam element for size-dependent nonlinear bending analysis of a tapered cantilever microbeam subjected to end force/moment. The microbeam is considered to be linearly tapered in both the width and height directions. The element is derived in the context of the co-rotational approach in which the internal force vector and the tangent stiffness matrix are firstly derived in an element attached coordinate system and then transferred to the global one by the transformation matrices. An incremental/iterative procedure is adopted in conjunction with the arc-length method to compute the response of the microbeam. The obtained results show that the formulated element is efficient, and it is capable to model accurately the size-dependent nonlinear response of the microbeam by using just several elements. It is shown that the size effect plays an important role on the large deflection response, and the displacements of the microcantilever are overestimated by ignoring the influence of the micro-scale size effect. The effects of the material length scale parameter and the tapered ratio on the nonlinear behavior of the microbeam are studied in detail and highlighted.

Triangulating evidence from the GALENOS living systematic review on trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) agonists in psychosis.

Trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) agonists offer a new approach, but there is uncertainty regarding their effects, exact mechanism of action and potential role in treating psychosis. To evaluate the available evidence on TAAR1 agonists in psychosis, using triangulation of the output of living systematic reviews (LSRs) of animal and human studies, and provide recommendations for future research prioritisation. This study is part of GALENOS (Global Alliance for Living Evidence on aNxiety, depressiOn and pSychosis). In the triangulation process, a multidisciplinary group of experts, including those with lived experience, met and appraised the first co-produced living systematic reviews from GALENOS, on TAAR1 agonists. The animal data suggested a potential antipsychotic effect, as TAAR1 agonists reduced locomotor activity induced by pro-psychotic drug treatment. Human studies showed few differences for ulotaront and ralmitaront compared with placebo in improving overall symptoms in adults with acute schizophrenia (four studies, n = 1291 participants, standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.15, 95% CI -0.05 to 0.34). Large placebo responses were seen in ulotaront phase three trials. Ralmitaront was less efficacious than risperidone (one study, n = 156 participants, SMD = -0.53, 95% CI -0.86 to -0.20). The side-effect profile of TAAR1 agonists was favourable compared with existing antipsychotics. Priorities for future studies included (a) using different animal models of psychosis with greater translational validity; (b) animal and human studies with wider outcomes including cognitive and affective symptoms and (c) mechanistic studies and investigations of other potential applications, such as adjunctive treatments and long-term outcomes. Recommendations for future iterations of the LSRs included (a) meta-analysis of individual human participant data, (b) including studies that used different methodologies and (c) assessing other disorders and symptoms. This co-produced, international triangulation examined the available evidence and developed recommendations for future research and clinical applications for TAAR1 agonists in psychosis. Broader challenges included difficulties in assessing the risk of bias, reproducibility, translation and interpretability of animal models to clinical outcomes, and a lack of individual and clinical characteristics in the human data. The research will inform a separate, independent prioritisation process, led by lived experience experts, to prioritise directions for future research.

Ultralow Voltage High-Performance Nanocellulose-Based Electro-Ionic Actuators for Soft Robots.

High-performance eco-friendly soft actuators showing large displacement, fast response, and long-term operational capability require further development for next-generation bioinspired soft robots. Herein, we report an electro-ionic soft actuator based on carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals (CCNC) and carboxylated cellulose nanofibers (CCNF), graphene nanoplatelets (GN), and ionic liquid (IL). The actuator exhibited exceptional actuation performances, achieving large displacements ranging from 1.6 to 12.3 mm under ultralow actuation voltages of 0.25-1.5 V. It also operated stably across a broad frequency band from 0.1 to 10 Hz and displayed a significant working stability of 99.3% after up to 240 cycles. Remarkably, the electro-active actuator demonstrated a fast response (0.39 s delay under 1.0 V at 0.1 Hz), and a long lifespan (with only a minor decrease of 2% for 2 years). The enhanced actuation performances of the actuator were attributed to its superior ionic conductivity, high charge storage ability, strong ionic interaction, and physical-chemical cross-linked networks. Furthermore, we successfully demonstrated the bioinspired applications of CCNC/CCNF-IL-GN actuators including micro-grippers, spiral-structure electroactive stents, biomimetic fingers, and bionic dragonfly wings. The proposed actuator and its bioinspired robot designs could offer a significant way for the development of next-generation eco-friendly soft actuators, soft robots, and biomedical microdevices in microenvironments requiring low-voltage environment.

The Extraordinary Effect of Religious Sect Endorsements on Vote Choice: Evidence From Iglesia ni Cristo’s “Vote as One” Teaching

Sects and strict denominations are growing more rapidly and retaining members better than mainstream religions. To what extent do they influence vote choice? I investigate whether the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), a religious sect in the Philippines, can compel all members to “vote as one” and support a full ticket of endorsed candidates. Using a triple difference identification strategy, I show that the municipal-level vote-shares of INC-endorsed national candidates are unit elastic with respect to the share of INC voters across municipalities. Conventional low-information rationality models of voting cannot fully explain this. But augmented with social voting in which actions of other group members inform the objective function of voters, a voting model with religious sect endorsements can produce extremely large behavioral responses. These findings have implications on policy as well as on our understanding of strict religions’ influence on politics.

Enhanced piezoelectricity and temperature stability in La-doped PIN-PMN-PT transparent ceramics by composition regulation

Transparent ferroelectric ceramics are popular due to their ability to couple optical and electrical properties. However, simultaneously achieving high electrical and optical performance in ceramics remains a formidable challenge. By using the two-step sintering process combined with a rare earth doping strategy, xLa-24PIN-42PMN-34PT transparent piezoelectric ceramics were prepared, achieving the coexistence of the highest known d33 (>1000 pC/N), excellent transmittance (T = 66.2% at 1600 nm), and the piezoelectric properties decrease by only 26.8% when approaching TC. PFM and in situ XRD results indicate that the parallel stripe-like and watermark-like coexisting ferroelectric domain structures, which are induced by La3+ doping, generate large piezoelectric responses. Light scattering loss is reduced by the small size of the ferroelectric domain structure. Excellent thermal stability is ensured by the tetragonal-dominated morphotropic phase structure. This work provides a valuable idea for the subsequent preparation of transparent ferroelectric ceramics with high performance.

Alignment of polarization volume gratings using semi-circular arc patterns via nanofabrication technology

Polarization volume gratings have the potential for future applications such as AR due to their high single-order diffraction efficiency and large angular and wavelength response range. However, the preparation method of photo alignment, which is currently employed, presents challenges to the application of PVGs due to issues of poor uniformity and difficulty in preparing large sizes. To promote the application, a scheme for fabricating the alignment layer of PVGs by nanofabrication technology is proposed. The alignment structure, where the basic unit is a semicircular arc, was designed. We prepared the structure using EBL and spin-coated a layer of chiral liquid crystals (CLC) on top of it. The dispersion effect in white light indicates that the designed alignment structure imparts lateral periodicity to the CLC. The device could efficiently reflect specific right-polarized light and efficiently transmit specific left-polarized light. Therefore, the diffraction performance of the device can be considered to be consistent with the photo-alignment PVGs within the error allowance. This work provides what we believe to be a novel scheme for the alignment of PVGs, creating a new platform for mass production and multifunctional integrated design of PVGs.

Nonlinear Dynamics of a Cantilever Beam under a Transversal Harmonic Follower Force

The nonlinear geometric of cantilever beams is well disseminated in current literature. Normally, in this type of analysis the load does not maintain its constant slope throughout the analysis. This work addresses the case of large displacements for beams considering a follower transversal load to the deformed axis. This type of situation generates interesting nonlinearities and has several applications, for example, the wind load in wind turbine blades must be considered always perpendicular to the beam element axis. This work will also address the dynamic behavior of this structural system as well as its implications regarding stability. According results for large response its possible to observe the great influence of load level, the beam curvature suffer a abrupt change highlighting the importance of nonlinearity in this problem

Dual-frequency electromagnetic sounding of a Triton ocean from a single flyby.

Triton, the largest satellite of Neptune, is in a retrograde orbit and is likely a captured Kuiper Belt Object (KBO). Triton has a mean density of only 2.061 gm/cm3 and is therefore believed to have a 250-400 km thick hydrosphere. Triton is also one of the few planetary satellites to possess a thick ionosphere whose height-integrated Pedersen conductivity exceeds 104 S, complicating the sounding of Triton's subsurface using electromagnetic induction. Triton experiences a time-varying magnetic field dominated by two periods, one at 14.4 h, at the synodic rotation period of Neptune (from Neptune's tilted field) and one at 141 h, at the orbital period of Triton (from large inclination of Triton's orbit). We show that for most models of ionospheric conductivity, the 14.4 h wave creates a large response from the ionosphere itself and is unable to sound the putative ocean below. However, the 141 h wave penetrates the ionosphere easily and provides information on Triton's ocean. We introduce a technique that allows us to determine the complex magnetic moments generated at the two key periods from the magnetic data from a single flyby, allowing us to infer the presence of a subsurface ocean.This article is part of the theme issue 'Magnetometric remote sensing of Earth and planetary oceans'.

Construct validity and responsiveness of ASAS Health Index assessed in two longitudinal studies of tumour necrosis factor alpha inhibitor initiation and dose reduction in patients with axial spondyloarthritis

BackgroundThe Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society Health Index (ASAS HI) is a novel questionnaire of global functioning for patients with axial spondyloarthritis (SpA).ObjectiveThe objective was to assess the construct validity,...

Low dark current and low voltage germanium avalanche photodetector for a silicon photonic link

Germanium (Ge)-silicon (Si)-based avalanche photodetectors (APDs) featured by a high absorption coefficient in the near-infrared band have gained wide applications in laser ranging, free space communication, quantum communication, and so on. However, the Ge APDs fabricated by the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process suffer from a large dark current and limited responsivity, imposing a critical challenge on integrated silicon photonic links. In this work, we propose a p-i-n-i-n type Ge APD consisting of an intrinsic germanium layer functioning as both avalanche and absorption regions and an intrinsic silicon layer for dark current reduction. Consequently, a Ge APD with a low dark current, low bias voltage, and high responsivity can be obtained via a standard silicon photonics platform. In the experimental measurement, the Ge APD is characterized by a high primary responsivity of 1.1 A/W with a low dark current as low as 7.42 nA and a dark current density of 6.1×10−11 A/μm2 at a bias voltage of −2 V. In addition, the avalanche voltage of the Ge APD is −8.4 V and the measured 3 dB bandwidth of the Ge APD can reach 25 GHz. We have also demonstrated the capability of data reception on 32 Gbps non-return-to-zero (NRZ) optical signal, which has potential application for silicon photonic data links.

Comparing Large Language Model Chatbot responses to established patient information resources in patient’s questions regarding melanoma

Comparing Large Language Model Chatbot responses to established patient information resources in patient’s questions regarding melanoma