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Two-dimensional magnetic tunnel p-n junctions for low-power electronics
No full textFor decades, semiconductors and their heterostructures have underpinned both fundamental and applied research across all areas of electronics. Two-dimensional, 2D (atomically thin) semiconductors have now the potential to push further the miniaturization of electronic components, enabling the development of more efficient electronics. Here, we report on a large tunneling magnetoresistance of 1100% at a bias current of 1 nA and a giant anomalous zero-bias spin voltage effect in magnetic tunnel junctions based on 2D materials. The generation, manipulation and detection of electron spin across a nanometer-thick magnetic tunnel junction do not require any applied bias. The large zero-bias spin voltage signal exceeds 30,000%, which is far greater than the highest magnetoresistance signals reported to date. This non-equilibrium spin-engine state arises from the asymmetric diffusion of spin-up/spin-down electrons across the junction. It is driven by the built-in electric field of the junction and occurs under continuous energy exchange of the junction with the environment. Our findings reveal unexplored opportunities to transform and amplify spin information for low-power electronics
Oxalate-extractable aluminium is a key predictor of organic carbon content in Swedish agricultural topsoils
Get PDFPrevious research has shown the importance of oxalate-extractable aluminium (Alox) for predicting soil organic carbon (SOC) contents across diverse geographical regions. However, studies using data from humid continental climates are scarce, and the data used in these studies have not been statistically representative for larger scales. Our study aimed to 1) evaluate the influence of soil physical and geochemical properties (specifically Alox), farm management, and climate on the spatial distribution and storage potential of SOC in Swedish agricultural soils and 2) to assess whether estimates of aggregation, assumed to influence the protection of soil organic matter, could improve predictions. We analyzed a statistically representative subset of mineral soils with pH < 7 from the Swedish soil and crop monitoring program, which covers the country's agricultural land. We identified the most important predictors for topsoil SOC contents using a random forest model. We employed partial dependence plots to visualize and interpret the interactions between key variables and SOC contents. Results showed that Alox was the most important predictor for SOC contents, as evidenced by its high relative importance score and the increased out-of-bag error when removed from the model. Notably, SOC content reached a plateau at Alox contents of about 3.5 g kg−1, suggesting the possibility of SOC under-saturation. Climatic variables were of secondary importance, while farm management did not emerge as a significant predictor. Surprisingly, silt-sized aggregation was not identified as an important variable for predicting SOC content. Our findings emphasize the importance of incorporating geochemical properties, particularly Alox, in addition to soil texture, in predictive modelling and monitoring efforts for enhanced soil carbon management in humid climates
Co-designing an Inclusive Stakeholder Engagement Strategy for Rehabilitation Technology Training Using the I-STEM Model
No full textHighlights: Public health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue? Equitable access to rehabilitation technologies is essential for reducing health inequalities, particularly for people with sensory, cognitive, or physical impairments. Training that is inaccessible or poorly designed can limit the effectiveness of rehabilitation technologies, undermining recovery outcomes and long-term independence. Public health significance—Why is this work of significance to public health? This study identifies systemic barriers that prevent diverse populations from benefiting fully from rehabilitation technologies. It provides evidence-based priorities for designing inclusive training approaches that support equitable participation in rehabilitation. Public health implications—What are the key implications or messages for practitioners, policy makers and/or researchers in public health? Practitioners should adopt training models that address physical, sensory, and cognitive accessibility to ensure all users can engage effectively with rehabilitation technologies. Policymakers and researchers can use the co-created stakeholder engagement strategy to guide future intervention development and strengthen inclusive rehabilitation practices. Background: Rehabilitation technologies, including assistive devices, adaptive software, and robotic systems, are increasingly integral to contemporary rehabilitation practice. Yet, ensuring that training in their use is inclusive and accessible remains a critical challenge. Methods: This study reports findings from patient and public involvement (PPI) activities conducted by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) HealthTech Research Centre in Rehabilitation. Fifteen contributors participated, comprising rehabilitation professionals and educators, individuals with lived experience of serious illness, injury, or disability requiring rehabilitation, and technology innovators. The purpose of these activities was to identify the factors necessary to ensure that training in rehabilitation technologies is equitable for people with sensory, cognitive, and physical impairments. Findings: Contributors highlighted a series of priority domains that together capture the breadth of challenges and opportunities in this area. These included the need to address physical, sensory, and cognitive accessibility; to foster participation, motivation, and engagement; to strengthen instructional design and delivery; to ensure technological accessibility and integration; to enhance staff training and competence; and to embed participant-centred and policy approaches. Contributions in these domains were synthesised into thematic categories that provide a structured understanding of the training requirements of rehabilitation technology recipients. Evaluation: The PPI process was evaluated using the Guidance for Reporting Involvement of Patients and the Public (GRIPP2) Short Form, supplemented by an evaluation survey. This dual approach ensured that the contributions were systematically documented and critically appraised. Implications: Guided by implementation science, the principal output of this work was a co-created stakeholder engagement strategy, structured using the Implementation STakeholder Engagement Model (I-STEM). This plan will serve as a foundation for future research exploring the education and training needs of diverse stakeholder groups, thereby contributing to the development of more inclusive and effective rehabilitation technology training practices
Trends in mortality due to haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis across 29 European countries from 2011 to 2021: a retrospective, international, population-based study
No full textBackgroundPrevious research has suggested that the incidence of haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis is increasing in Europe. We aimed to examine rates of mortality due to haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis across 29 European countries from 2011 to 2021.MethodsIn this retrospective, population-based, descriptive study, we applied to EUROSTAT for publicly available death certificate data for mortality due to haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in countries in Europe. We defined haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis mortality as any death recorded with ICD-10 codes of D76.1 or D76.2 as the underlying cause. We calculated age-specific and sex-specific death registration rates from Jan 1, 2011, to Dec 31, 2021, for each country and used Poisson regression to compare Europe-wide rates over time. We used direct standardisation to compare rates between countries. We also searched Scopus Analytics to establish the number of haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis publications for each country from Jan 1, 2000, to June 11, 2024, and analysed the correlation between mortality rates and research activity measured by the number of relevant publications.FindingsOf 34 European countries that provided data, five were excluded from the analysis because the data had been censored due to small numbers of deaths. Analysis of 3345 deaths from the remaining 29 countries showed that crude haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis mortality increased from 3·9 per 10 000 000 person-years in 2011, to 6·6 per 10 000 000 person-years population in 2021. The age–sex-standardised mortality rate across Europe was 4·7 (95% CI 3·0–6·4) per 10 000 000 person-years, with the highest recorded rate in France (10·1, 0·0–27·3) and the lowest in Romania (0·5, 0·0–13·6). Crude mortality rates were highest in infants aged 0–4 years (17·5, 95% CI 16·1–19·0) and adults aged 80–85 years (15·6, 13·7–17·6). Mortality was higher in male than in female individuals (adjusted rate ratio 1·5, 95% CI 1·4–1·6). Increased haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis-related research activity often occurred in countries with higher rates of mortality recorded due to haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis than countries with lower rates (Pearson's correlation coefficient 0·4968; p=0·012).InterpretationRecorded rates of mortality due to haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis have nearly doubled over the past decade in Europe. Deaths were most common at the extremes of age and were more common in male than in female individuals. Age-standardised rates between countries differed substantially, suggesting potential under-recognition of the diagnosis of haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. There is a need to increase awareness among clinicians together with implementation of evidence-based guidelines for diagnosis and urgent treatment
TGF-β3 promotes trophoblast development in sheep embryos via ACSS2-dependent permissive lipid metabolism
Get PDFTransforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) supports the in vitro maintenance of embryonic and trophoblast stem cells. Here, we demonstrated that, in a sheep embryo model, the transition from morula to blastocyst is positively regulated by TGF-β3, primarily through its promotion of trophoblast development. Our results indicate that morulae treated with TGF-β3 develop at a higher rate into blastocysts, characterized by an expanded trophoblast layer marked by CDX-2 expression. In blastocysts, TGF-β3 mediates transcriptional activation of genes involved in cell adhesion and lipid metabolism pathways, leading to remarkable in vitro outgrowth expansion and a substantial increase in trophoblast lipid droplet content. Functional analysis reveals that the positive effects of TGF-β3 are mitigated by inhibition of Acetyl-CoA Synthetase Short-Chain Family Member 2 (ACSS2), a key enzyme upregulated by TGF-β3 and a promoter of de novo lipogenesis. These findings suggest that TGF-β3 modulates lipid metabolism during blastocyst formation and may play a potential role in regulating implantation and placental development
The dependence of the intracluster light fraction on galaxy cluster properties
Get PDFWe use machine learning to measure the intracluster light (ICL) fractions of 177 galaxy groups and clusters identified from Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program imaging to explore how the ICL varies with the properties of its host cluster. We study the variation in ICL fraction with host cluster redshift, halo mass, and magnitude gap to investigate how the ICL develops over time, in various cluster environments, and with cluster relaxation. We find that there is a decreasing correlation with redshift (Spearman correlation rS = −0.604, p-value =9 × 10−10), however this can be plausibly accounted for by including the effects of cosmological surface brightness dimming and the passive aging of stellar populations. There is a weak negative correlation with halo mass (rS = −0.330, p-value =8 × 10−5) where ICL fractions are higher in lower halo mass groups than higher halo mass clusters. We also find that there is a marginal positive correlation with magnitude gap (rS = 0.226, p-value = 0.01), indicating that relaxed clusters are more likely to host higher ICL fractions. These results are consistent with a scenario where the dominant formation mechanism of the ICL is galaxy-galaxy interactions such as tidal stripping, and demonstrates the capability of the method to easily construct large samples and study large-scale trends in the ICL fraction
Remote tutoring in Latin America
Get PDFWe study the effect of a randomized one-on-one remote phone tutoring program implemented between 2021 and 2023. The intervention reached almost seven thousand students in seven Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay and Peru. The program targeted students with low initial learning levels and focused on foundational numeracy skills using a differentiated instruction approach. We find that assignment to tutoring increased student test scores by 0.2 SD. Tutoring benefited all students, with no differential effects by gender, age, socioeconomic status, or baseline scores. We find suggestive evidence that students who reported difficulties with concentration or memory may have benefited more. Finally, we find that students with lower initial performance exhibited larger improvements in more basic mathematical operations, whereas those with better performance at baseline saw larger gains in more complex operations. This underscores the importance of offering differentiated instruction based on students’ initial performance
Application-Driven Daytime Radiative Cooling: From Optical Properties to Functional Customization
No full textAs an emerging cooling technology, passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) has witnessed remarkable progress in recent years, evolving from fundamental laboratory studies toward increasingly practical developments. PDRC technology has demonstrated significant application potential across a range of fields, including building energy efficiency, renewable energy systems, and thermal management. Nevertheless, distinct application scenarios impose specific requirements on the thermal–optical performance and manufacturability of PDRC materials. Despite these advances, a comprehensive review that effectively links material design with the multifaceted demands of real-world applications remains lacking. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in PDRC technology. First, the fundamental principles of PDRC are discussed. Then, various PDRC materials are reviewed in a systematic manner, and the differentiated requirements imposed by practical scenarios for PDRC materials are examined, including the requirements for aesthetic or transparent, environmental durability, economic viability, and multifunctional integration. Applications in building energy conservation, thermal management, agriculture, food preservation, and energy generation are subsequently examined. Finally, this paper analyzes the current limitations of PDRC technology and proposes development strategies, providing valuable references for the continued development and large-scale application of PDRC technology
Short-term effects of overwintering on porosity of the compacted topsoil due to harvest traffic in Northeast China
Get PDFThe multi-hydrothermal processes in agricultural soils during overwintering modify compacted soil structure in cold winter regions. The depth-dependent changes in the topsoil pore-network within field-based compacted zones caused by harvest traffic, before and after winter, remain poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate the short-term effects of overwintering on topsoil porosity of a clay loam soil in the harvest traffic zone in Northeast China using X-ray CT. Undisturbed soil cores were collected in the 0–10 cm layer of the non-traffic and traffic zones before and after winter. After harvest, both total porosity (εtotal) and porosity of > 0.04 mm (εX-ray) significantly decreased by 0.04 and 0.07 cm3 cm−3 due to the machinery traffic, respectively. Following winter, the εtotal of the traffic zone significantly increased by 0.08 cm3 cm−3 and was greater than that of non-traffic zone porosity before winter. The loosening effects of overwintering on compacted soil in the traffic zone diminished with increasing soil depth, and marked alterations limited to the uppermost 3.5 cm. The increase in εX-ray was primarily resulted from the changes in 0.04–1.0 mm pores. Therefore, it is indicated that overwintering can alleviate soil compaction of traffic zone only in the uppermost layer
The cult of the MBA: Implications for European post-experience public management education
Get PDFThe existence of MBA cultures is well established; with such cultures often being posited as a career enhancing feature of such programmes. However, does the MBA’s sister qualification for the public sector, the MPA, hold the same cachet, or should it? After all, it is incumbent on national governments to recruit, develop and retain its brightest and its best. The aim of this article is to analyse the cultural attractiveness of MPA programmes when compared to the MBA and what MPA programme designers can do to maximise the potential in terms of content and the ‘added value’ that a MPA should bring. The authors bring over 30 years’ experience of teaching on both MBA and MPA programmes to base their analysis on. The article considers the following. First, while there is no ‘right way’ to develop public administrators there may be an opportunity to learn from successful MBA programmes in relation to course cohesion and despite the considerable differences in curricula. Rhodes (2016) refers to the craft skills of the senior public administrator; skills that are very difficult to ‘teach’. This difficulty notwithstanding, concepts such as leadership and strategy are assessed across programmes. Other factors such as the provider, accreditation and opportunities for professional development are also assessed. The article develops the basis for a research design to evaluate the cultural value of such programmes. If MBA programmes are marked by rituals and a rejection of academic theory (Orta, 2019), does the same hold true for the MPA participant and what can MPA providers learn from this?
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