Unique Principle Research Articles

CRISPR/Cas12a collateral cleavage activity for simple and rapid detection of protein/small molecule interaction

To realize the full potential of the CRISPR/Cas system and expand its applicability up to the detection of molecular interactions, we herein describe a novel method to identify protein/small molecule interactions by utilizing the CRISPR/Cas12a collateral cleavage activity. This technique employs a single-stranded activator DNA modified with a specific small molecule, which would switch on the CRISPR/Cas12a collateral cleavage activity upon binding to crRNA within the CRISPR/Cas12a system. When the target protein binds to the small molecule on the activator DNA, the bound protein sterically hinders the access of the activator DNA to crRNA, thereby promoting less collateral cleavage activity of CRISPR/Cas12a. As a consequence, fewer reporter probes nearby are cleaved to produce accordingly reduced fluorescence signals in response to target protein. Based on this unique design principle, the two model protein/small molecule interactions, streptavidin/biotin and anti-digoxigenin/digoxigenin, were successfully determined down to 0.03 nM and 0.09 nM, respectively, with a fast and simple detection workflow (11 min). The practical applicability of this method was also verified by reliably detecting target streptavidin spiked in heterogeneous human serum. This work would provide great insight to construct novel strategies to identify protein/small molecule interaction by making the most of the CRISPR/Cas12a system beyond its superior capabilities in genome editing and molecular diagnostics.

Unique continuation properties for polyharmonic maps between Riemannian manifolds

AbstractPolyharmonic maps of order k (briefly, k-harmonic maps) are a natural generalization of harmonic and biharmonic maps. These maps are defined as the critical points of suitable higher-order functionals which extend the classical energy functional for maps between Riemannian manifolds. The main aim of this paper is to investigate the so-called unique continuation principle. More precisely, assuming that the domain is connected, we shall prove the following extensions of results known in the harmonic and biharmonic cases: (i) if a k-harmonic map is harmonic on an open subset, then it is harmonic everywhere; (ii) if two k-harmonic maps agree on an open subset, then they agree everywhere; and (iii) if, for a k-harmonic map to the n-dimensional sphere, an open subset of the domain is mapped into the equator, then all the domain is mapped into the equator.

Numerical Analysis of a Model of Two Phase Compressible Fluid Flow

We consider a model of a binary mixture of two immiscible compressible fluids. We propose a numerical scheme and discuss its basic properties: stability, consistency, convergence. The convergence is established via the method of generalized weak solutions combined with the weak–strong uniqueness principle.

Structures of a DYW domain shed first light on a unique plant RNA editing regulation principle

Structures of a DYW domain shed first light on a unique plant RNA editing regulation principle

Weak–strong uniqueness property for models of compressible viscous fluids near vacuum* *The work of EF was supported by the Czech Sciences Foundation (GAČR), Grant Agreement 21-02411S. The work of AN was partially supported by the Eduard Čech visiting program at the Mathematical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.

We extend the weak–strong uniqueness principle to general models of compressible viscous fluids near/on the vacuum. In particular, the physically relevant case of positive density with polynomial decay at infinity is considered.

On persistence properties in weighted spaces for solutions of the fractional Korteweg–de Vries equation

Persistence problems in weighted spaces have been studied for different dispersive models involving non-local operators. Generally, these models do not propagate polynomial weights of arbitrary magnitude, and the maximum decay rate is associated with the dispersive part of the equation. Altogether, this analysis is complemented by unique continuation principles that determine optimal spatial decay. This work is intended to establish the above questions for a weakly dispersive perturbation of the inviscid Burgers equation. More precisely, we consider the fractional Korteweg–de Vries equation, which comprises the Burgers–Hilbert equation and dispersive effects weaker than those of the Benjamin–Ono equation.

Suitable weak solutions to the micropolar fluids model in a bounded domain

In this paper, we study the suitable weak solutions to the compressible micropolar fluids model. We first prove that these solutions satisfy the relative entropy inequality, which plays a crucial role in studying the suitable weak solutions to the micropolar fluids model. Then we establish the global existence of the suitable weak solutions for the compressible micropolar fluids model. As an application, we obtain the weak-strong uniqueness principle for the compressible micropolar fluids model.

Experimental demonstration of a reconfigurable acoustic second-order topological insulator using condensed soda cans array

Traditional topological insulators support the topologically protected boundary states that are one dimension lower than the system itself. Recently, higher-order topological insulators have received increasing attention in the field of acoustic wave manipulation due to their unique bulk-boundary correspondence principle, hosting both gapped edge states and in-gap corner states simultaneously. However, for most of the topological acoustic systems, the lack of reconfigurability and the inevitable outer trivial regions with considerable thickness restrict the potential applications of acoustic topological insulators. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a reconfigurable condensed acoustic second-order topological insulator in free space by using subwavelength soda cans whose side length is significantly reduced to 1.89 times of the corresponding wavelength. The topological nontrivial phase is introduced through tunably modulating the interval between cans. Without the typically required outer trivial regions, we observe the topological corner states at the corner of the finite structures in both simulations and experiments. Furthermore, the robustness against the defects induced by dislocations and deformations is discussed. We foresee that the proposal may facilitate the application potentials of topological acoustics in low-frequency sound manipulations.

Implementation of FAIR Principles for Ontologies in the Disaster Domain: A Systematic Literature Review

The success of disaster management efforts demands meaningful integration of data that is geographically dispersed and owned by stakeholders in various sectors. However, the difficulty in finding, accessing and reusing interoperable vocabularies to organise disaster management data creates a challenge for collaboration among stakeholders in the disaster management cycle on data integration tasks. Thus the need to implement FAIR principles that describe the desired features ontologies should possess to maximize sharing and reuse by humans and machines. In this review, we explore the extent to which sharing and reuse of disaster management knowledge in the domain is inline with FAIR recommendations. We achieve this through a systematic search and review of publications in the disaster management domain based on a predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. We then extract social-technical features in selected studies and evaluate retrieved ontologies against the FAIR maturity model for semantic artefacts. Results reveal that low numbers of ontologies representing disaster management knowledge are resolvable via URIs. Moreover, 90.9% of URIs to the downloadable disaster management ontology artefacts do not conform to the principle of uniqueness and persistence. Also, only 1.4% of all retrieved ontologies are published in semantic repositories and 84.1% are not published at all because there are no repositories dedicated to archiving disaster domain knowledge. Therefore, there exists a very low level of Findability (1.8%) or Accessibility (5.8%), while Interoperability and Reusability are moderate (49.1% and 30.2 % respectively). The low adherence of disaster vocabularies to FAIR Principles poses a challenge to disaster data integration tasks because of the limited ability to reuse previous knowledge during disaster management phases. By using FAIR indicators to evaluate the maturity in sharing, discovery and integration of disaster management ontologies, we reveal potential research opportunities for managing reusable and evolving knowledge in the disaster community.

Analysis of a viscoelastic phase separation model

A new model for viscoelastic phase separation is proposed, based on a systematically derived conservative two-fluid model. Dissipative effects are included by phenomenological viscoelastic terms. By construction, the model is consistent with the second law of thermodynamics. We study well-posedness of the model in two space dimensions, i.e., existence of weak solutions, a weak-strong uniqueness principle, and stability with respect to perturbations, which are proven by means of relative energy estimates. Our numerical simulations based on the new viscoelastic phase separation model are in good agreement with physical experiments. Furthermore, a good qualitative agreement with mesoscopic simulations is observed.

Fabricating multifunctional low-toxicity ratiometric fluorescent probe for individual detection of Cu2+/glutamate and continuous sensing for glutamate via Cu2+-based platform

Herein, a multifunctional ratiometric fluorescent (RF) probe Fe-MIL-88NH2@RhB was fabricated for individual detection of Cu2+/Glu and continuous sensing of Glu based on unique coordination principle by encapsulating RhB into the porous of metal–organic-framework-Fe-MIL-88NH2. Designed Fe-MIL-88NH2@RhB platform could selectively identify Cu(II)/Glu accompanying a turn-off/turn-on fluorescent behavior with good linearity. Moreover, if the Fe-MIL-88NH2@RhB/Cu2+ is treated with Glu continuously, the quenching fluorescence of this platform (after Cu2+ sensing at blue emission) would be further in turn restored. Utilizing Fe-MIL-88NH2@RhB probe, the imaging of intracellular Cu(II) and Glu in living A549 cells was successful conducted through divisional channels with a satisfactory low cytotoxicity, meanwhile, the sensing results of Glu in serum by the molecular logic gate was also superior, which may use for development of an medical occupational tool for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis tentative diagnosis. In addition, the MOF shows di-modal response (color and lumescence) to Cu2+ and Glu with excellent selectivity against a wide range of other interference analytes, and the corresponding portable low-toxicity on-line test strips for Cu2+ and Glu recognize has exhibited a remarkable visually chromogenic phenomena, which may utilize for monitoring these contaminants in real water sample. Finally, the feasibility of probe to monitor Cu2+ and Glu in foodstuffs was also evaluated.

On the stabilization for the high-order Kadomtsev-Petviashvili and the Zakharov-Kuznetsov equations with localized damping

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>In this paper we prove the exponential decay of the energy for the high-order Kadomtsev-Petviashvili II equation with localized damping. To do that, we use the classical dissipation-observability method and a unique continuation principle introduced by Bourgain in [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="b3">3</xref>] here extended for the high-order Kadomtsev-Petviashvili. A similar result is also obtained for the two-dimensional Zakharov-Kuznetsov (ZK)equation. The method of proof works better for the ZK equation, so we were led to make some subtle modifications on it to include KP type equations. In fact, to reach a key estimate we use an anisotropic Gagliardo-Nirenberg inequality to drop the <inline-formula><tex-math id="M1">\begin{document}$ y $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula>-derivative of the norm.</p>

Navier–Stokes–Fourier System with General Boundary Conditions

We consider the Navier--Stokes--Fourier system in a bounded domain $\Omega \subset R^d$, $d=2,3$, with physically realistic in/out flow boundary conditions. We develop a new concept of weak solutions satisfying a general form of relative energy inequality. The weak solutions exist globally in time for any finite energy initial data and comply with the weak--strong uniqueness principle.

Carleman estimate for a 1D linear elastic problem involving interfaces: Application to an inverse problem

The aim of this work is to study the stability of the reconstruction of some mechanical parameters that characterize interfaces within linear elastic bodies. The model considered consists of two bonded elastic solids. The adhesive elastic layer between them is a thin interphase that is approximated, by asymptotic analysis, as an interface. The resulting interface model is in turn characterized by a typical spring‐type linear elastic behavior. In this context and on a 1D configuration, we investigate a Carleman‐type estimate that relates to a unique continuation principle. The proof is based on the construction of suitable weight functions: their gradients are non‐zero, the jumps of the derivatives are positive across the interface, and the averages of the derivatives vanish. The design of such weight functions enables the control of the interface terms in the estimates. With this at hand, we establish a Lipschitz stability estimate for the inverse problem of identifying an interface stiffness parameter from measurements that are available on both sides of the external boundary.

Ultrasensitive nucleic acid detection based on phosphorothioated hairpin-assisted isothermal amplification

Herein, we describe a phosphorothioated hairpin-assisted isothermal amplification (PHAmp) method for detection of a target nucleic acid. The hairpin probe (HP) is designed to contain a 5′ phosphorothioate (PS)-modified overhang, a target recognition site, and a 3′ self-priming (SP) region. Upon binding to the target nucleic acid, the HP opens and the SP region is rearranged to serve as a primer. The subsequent process of strand displacement DNA synthesis recycles the bound target to open another HP and produces an extended HP (EP) with a PS-DNA/DNA duplex at the end, which would be readily denatured due to its reduced thermal stability. The trigger then binds to the denatured 3′ end of the EP and is extended, producing an intermediate double-stranded (ds) DNA product (IP). The trigger also binds to the denatured 3′ end of the IP, and its extension produces the final dsDNA product along with concomitant displacement and recycling of EP. By monitoring the dsDNA products, the target nucleic acid can be identified down to 0.29 fM with a wide dynamic range from 1 nM to 1 fM yielding an excellent specificity to discriminate even a single base-mismatched target. The unique design principle could provide new insights into the development of novel isothermal amplification methods for nucleic acid detection.

Analysis of Islamic-Based Human Development: Concept and Significance

Current reality shows an increase in various problems afflicting society. This scenario is worrying and can jeopardise as well negatively affect human wellbeing. Islam emphasises a comprehensive development of human life without neglecting other aspects. One of these types of developments is human development (HD). Understanding the Islamic-based human development (IbHD) should be emphasised in order to implement a sustainable life. Hence, this study intended to identify the IbHD concept as well as its significance. This study employed the document research method for data collection by applying the content analysis approach for analysing data. Findings show that IbHD differs from conventional development (CD) because IbHD uses a development model outlined by the Quran and Sunnah, multi-dimensional, own its unique principles, also playing an important fundamental element in building quality humans in this world and in the afterlife.

Hydro-mechanical modelling and analysis of multi-stage tunnel excavations using a smoothed excavation method

The main objective of this article is to provide a general numerical approach for the hydro-mechanical (HM) modelling of tunnels excavated in saturated rock masses exhibiting plastic behaviour, considering a multi-stage excavation process. First, a new excavation method has been proposed and implemented in the software CODE_BRIGHT, based on the finite element method. In this method, the stresses in the excavation elements are reduced smoothly. As verification, the principle of uniqueness has been tested for multi-stage excavation. Then, numerical studies have been carried out to verify the advantages of the proposed excavation method in the numerical calculation, showing that the proposed method improves computational efficiency and mitigates convergence issues. Hence, this method can solve the usual numerical difficulties related to excavation problems and, therefore, it allows a more in-depth analysis of the HM behaviour of rock masses during tunnel excavation.Moreover, the results obtained in CODE_BRIGHT using the proposed method are compared with existing solutions for longitudinal deformation profiles (LDP), including elastic–plastic solutions for mechanical problems and elastic solutions for HM problems. Furthermore, this article presents the HM modelling of tunnels excavated in saturated rock masses, analysing the sensitivity of the LDP to the HM conditions and to the rock mass quality. Finally, based on a large amount of data obtained from numerical simulations, empirical solutions for the LDP of tunnels excavated in saturated rock masses –in a steady-state HM framework– have been obtained by fitting non-linear curves for the normalised radial displacements that occur ahead and behind the tunnel face. Hence, this article attempts to provide a convenient set of alternatives for the preliminary design of tunnels excavated in saturated rock masses.

An Empirical Study on the Impact of Individual Local Political Elites and Decision-Making Collective on Educational Fiscal Expenditure in China

Under the current decentralization system in China, individual characteristics of the local political elites and collective characteristics of the standing committees of the local party have an impact on local education fiscal policy. Yet published research on the similarities and differences between the collective influence of the Standing committee and the individual influence of the political elite are lacking. To address this gap in the literature, our study discussed the impact of local political elites represented by the mayor and the secretary and the collective of standing committees of the local party on education fiscal expenditure. We construct multiple regression models and analyze the R2 Change of variables is based on the cross-sectional data from 2015 of 283 prefecture-level administrative units in China. We find that both political elites and the standing committees have significant impacts on fiscal expenditure in education, and that the influence of the latter is greater than that of the former. The effect of individual characteristics and collective characteristics on education fiscal expenditure is not completely consistent across prefectures. China's prefectural governments implement China's unique principle of democratic centralism when they make decisions on local spending for education and the collective decision-making under the leadership of the committee plays an important role in education fiscal expenditure. Based on this, we put forward policy suggestions to further develop the principle of democratic centralism and to optimize optimizing the local government education supply and evaluation mechanism.

High‐pressure microfluidization of sugarcane juice: Effect on total phenols, total flavonoids, antioxidant activity, and microbiological quality

Sugarcane juice is rich in bioactive compounds but is easily degraded during processing. Here, we observe the effect of microfluidization, an emerging high-pressure technique, on the phenols, flavonoids, antioxidants (by four assays), and microbiological safety of sugarcane juice. Results show a reduction of 30%−58% in phenols, 14%−54% in flavonoids, 24%−65% in ferric reducing antioxidant power, and 13%−64% in metal ion chelating activity of sugarcane juice. 2,2-diphenyl-1picryl hydrazil (DPPH) radical scavenging activity was unaffected after microfluidization, while hydroxyl radical scavenging activity increased by 31%−33% up to 100 MPa pressure. Sequential color palette analysis highlighted 100–150 MPa with three processing cycles as a suitable microfluidization conditions for sugarcane juice. However, sample processed at 150 MPa/3 cycles exhibited higher polyphenols and antioxidants in addition to being microbiologically safe. Variation in sugarcane juice parameters with microfluidization was found different from that of other food processing techniques perhaps due to its unique principle of operation. Practical applications Bioactive components of sugarcane juice are very sensitive to processing and require adequate food processing interventions for retention. Thermal and certain nonthermal methods of processing are known to degrade the polyphenols of sugarcane juice thereby depleting its nutritional quality. Due to these constraints and the unavailability of suitable processing technique/condition, the commercialization of sugarcane juice becomes difficult. This work investigates an emerging nonthermal technique and its effect on sugarcane juice polyphenols and antioxidants. The efficiency of microfluidization in retention of these polyphenols has been quantified for potential industrial application of the technique for plant based extracts.

Information Theory for Agents in Artificial Intelligence, Psychology, and Economics.

This review looks at some of the central relationships between artificial intelligence, psychology, and economics through the lens of information theory, specifically focusing on formal models of decision-theory. In doing so we look at a particular approach that each field has adopted and how information theory has informed the development of the ideas of each field. A key theme is expected utility theory, its connection to information theory, the Bayesian approach to decision-making and forms of (bounded) rationality. What emerges from this review is a broadly unified formal perspective derived from three very different starting points that reflect the unique principles of each field. Each of the three approaches reviewed can, in principle at least, be implemented in a computational model in such a way that, with sufficient computational power, they could be compared with human abilities in complex tasks. However, a central critique that can be applied to all three approaches was first put forward by Savage in The Foundations of Statistics and recently brought to the fore by the economist Binmore: Bayesian approaches to decision-making work in what Savage called ‘small worlds’ but cannot work in ‘large worlds’. This point, in various different guises, is central to some of the current debates about the power of artificial intelligence and its relationship to human-like learning and decision-making. Recent work on artificial intelligence has gone some way to bridging this gap but significant questions remain to be answered in all three fields in order to make progress in producing realistic models of human decision-making in the real world in which we live in.