Multiverse: Multilingual Evidence for Fake News Detection.

The rapid spread of deceptive information on the internet can have severe and irreparable consequences. As a result, it is important to develop technology that can detect fake news. Although significant progress has been made in this area, current methods are limited because they focus only on one language and do not incorporate multilingual information. In this work, we propose Multiverse-a new feature based on multilingual evidence that can be used for fake news detection and improve existing approaches. Our hypothesis that cross-lingual evidence can be used as a feature for fake news detection is supported by manual experiments based on a set of true (legit) and fake news. Furthermore, we compared our fake news classification system based on the proposed feature with several baselines on two multi-domain datasets of general-topic news and one fake COVID-19 news dataset, showing that (in combination with linguistic features) it yields significant improvements over the baseline models, bringing additional useful signals to the classifier.

Computational study of IR, Raman, and NMR spectra of 4-methylmethcathinone drug.

Molecular electronic structure, IR, UV, and NMR spectra of the most popular cathinone, known as mephedrone or 4-methylmethcathinone (4-MMC), is studied thoroughly by quantum chemical calculation in terms of the density functional theory (DFT). Geometry optimization of 4-MMC and its hydrochloride complex is performed with the B3LYP functional, and all vibrational frequencies are analyzed in all details. On this background, the IR and Raman spectra are interpreted. The importance of low-frequency terahertz and Raman spectra is stressed for distinguishing of various MMC isomers. The UV spectrum is calculated by time-dependent DFT method which allows complete interpretation of intense absorption bands at 270 and 210 nm as combinations of various ππ*, nπ*, and charge transfer excitations in amino-phenyl moieties. Very informative analysis of UV absorption and NMR spectra provides useful details on the structure-activity relationship for mephedrone molecule.

Sleep- and time of day-linked RNA transcript expression in wild-type and IL1 receptor accessory protein-null mice.

Sleep regulation involves interleukin-1ß (IL1) family members, TNF, and circadian clock genes. Previously, we characterized spontaneous sleep and sleep after 8 h of sleep deprivation (SD) ending at zeitgeber time (ZT)4 and ZT16 in wild-type (WT) and IL1 receptor accessory protein (AcP)- and brain-specific AcP (AcPb)-knockout (KO) mice. Here, we applied quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and Spearman gene pair expression correlation methods to characterize IL1, IL1 receptor 1 (IL1R1), AcP, AcPb, Period 1 (Per1), Clock, adenosine deaminase (Ada), peptidoglycan recognition protein 1 (Pglyrp1), and TNF mRNA expressions under conditions with distinct sleep phenotypes. In WT mice, IL1, IL1R1, AcP, Ada, and Clock mRNAs were higher at ZT4 (mid-sleep period) than at ZT16. mRNA expressions differed substantially in AcP and AcPb KO mice at those times. After SD ending at ZT4, only WT mice had a non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREMS) rebound, and AcPb and IL1R1 mRNA increases were unique to WT mice. In AcPb KO mice, which have spontaneous high EEG slow wave power, AcP and Pglyrp1 mRNAs were elevated relative to WT mice at ZT4. At ZT4, the AcPb KO - WT Spearman correlation difference networks showed high positive correlations between IL1R1 and IL1, Per1, and Clock and high negative correlations between TNF and Pglyrp1 and Ada. At ZT16, the WT mice gene pair expression network was mostly negative, whereas in AcP KO mice, which have substantially more rapid eye movement sleep than WT mice, it was all positive. We conclude that gene pair expression correlations depend on the presence of AcP and AcPb.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Spearman gene pair expression correlations depend upon the presence or absence of interleukin-1 receptor accessory protein and upon sleep phenotype.

Modeling hormonal control of cambium proliferation.

Rise of atmospheric CO2 is one of the main causes of global warming. Catastrophic climate change can be avoided by reducing emissions and increasing sequestration of CO2. Trees are known to sequester CO2 during photosynthesis, and then store it as wood biomass. Thus, breeding of trees with higher wood yield would mitigate global warming as well as augment production of renewable construction materials, energy, and industrial feedstock. Wood is made of cellulose-rich xylem cells produced through proliferation of a specialized stem cell niche called cambium. Importance of cambium in xylem cells production makes it an ideal target for the tree breeding programs; however our knowledge about control of cambium proliferation remains limited. The morphology and regulation of cambium are different from those of stem cell niches that control axial growth. For this reason, translating the knowledge about axial growth to radial growth has limited use. Furthermore, genetic approaches cannot be easily applied because overlaying tissues conceal cambium from direct observation and complicate identification of mutants. To overcome the paucity of experimental tools in cambium biology, we constructed a Boolean network CARENET (CAmbium REgulation gene NETwork) for modelling cambium activity, which includes the key transcription factors WOX4 and HD-ZIP III as well as their potential regulators. Our simulations predict that: (1) auxin, cytokinin, gibberellin, and brassinosteroids act cooperatively in promoting transcription of WOX4 and HD-ZIP III; (2) auxin and cytokinin pathways negatively regulate each other; (3) hormonal pathways act redundantly in sustaining cambium activity; (4) individual cambium cells can have diverse molecular identities. CARENET can be extended to include components of other signalling pathways and be integrated with models of xylem and phloem differentiation. Such extended models would facilitate breeding trees with higher wood yield.

Motility versus fluctuations in mixtures of self-motile and passive agents.

Many biological systems consist of self-motile and passive agents both of which contribute to overall functionality. However, little is known about the properties of such mixtures. Here we formulate a model for mixtures of self-motile and passive agents and show that the model gives rise to three different dynamical phases: a disordered mesoturbulent phase, a polar flocking phase, and a vortical phase characterized by large-scale counter rotating vortices. We use numerical simulations to construct a phase diagram and compare the statistical properties of the different phases with observed features of self-motile bacterial suspensions. Our findings afford specific insights regarding the interaction of microorganisms and passive particles and provide novel strategic guidance for efficient technological realizations of artificial active matter.

Twin polymerization at spherical hard templates: an approach to size-adjustable carbon hollow spheres with micro- or mesoporous shells.

Kitset hollow spheres: The combination of twin polymerization with hard templates makes hollow carbon spheres (HCSs) with tailored properties easily accessible. The thickness and pore texture of the HCS shells and also the diameter of the spherical cavity can be varied. The application potential of synthesized HCS is substantiated by an excellent cycling stability of lithium-sulfur batteries.

Novel cathode material for rechargeable lithium-sulfur batteries.

This article describes the synthesis and characterization of a novel crosslinked polymer with tricyanuric acid core bearing tetrasulfide bridges as a novel redox polymerization electrode material for rechargeable lithium-sulfur batteries. The new material was synthesized by reaction of stoichiometric sulfur monochloride amounts with trithiocyanuric acid and the structure of the redox polymer proven by the means of elementary analysis, infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Electrochemical evaluation of the polymer as electroactive cathode component showed cycling stability up to 140 cycles after initial capacity of 650 mAhg(-1) with 73% utilization of the theoretical specific capacity (893 mAhg(-1)) regarding the electroactive tetrasulfide moieties. Cell operation with excess amounts of electrolyte did not accelerate the cell degradation, indicating that the reduced sulfur species such as lower polysulfides (Li2S, Li2S2) and tris lithium salt of trithiocyanuric acid are efficiently immobilized on the cathode side.

Sulfur-impregnated activated carbon fiber cloth as a binder-free cathode for rechargeable Li-S batteries.

A route for the preparation of binder-free sulfur-carbon cathodes is developed for lithium sulfur batteries. The method is based on the impregnation of elemental sulfur into the micropores of activated carbon fibers. These electrodes demonstrate good electrochemical performance at high current density attributed to the uniform dispersion of sulfur inside the carbon fiber.

Spin polarization, delocalization, and the effect of nonplanarity in hyperfine coupling constants of perfluorinated alkyl radicals.

Density functional calculations are presented on the structure and magnetic parameters of the perfluorinated ethyl and n-propyl radicals and compared with the non-fluorinated analogs. It is found that fluorine substitution leads not only to nonplanarity at the radical center but to delocalization of spin density onto the Falpha atoms and to spin polarization effects that both lead to pronounced anomalies in the anisotropic contribution to the hyperfine tensor. The nonplanar radicals do not obey the traditional McConnell relations. They serve as model systems for similar species that are observed in perfluorinated polymers.

FTIR spectroscopic study of titanium-containing mesoporous silicate materials.

The surface acidity of different mesoporous titanium-silicates, such as well-organized hexagonally packed Ti-MMM, Ti-MMM-2, Ti-SBA-15, and amorphous TiO(2)-SiO(2) mixed oxides (aerogels and xerogels), was studied by means of FTIR spectroscopy of CO adsorbed at 80 K and CD(3)CN adsorbed at 293 K. The surface hydroxyl groups of mesoporous titanium-silicates with 2-7 wt % Ti revealed a Brönsted acidity slightly higher to that of pure silicate. TiO(2)-SiO(2) xerogels revealed the highest Brönsted acidity among the titanium-silicates studied. CO adsorption revealed two additional sites on the surface in comparison to pure silicate, characterized by nu(CO) from 2185 (high pressure) to 2178 (low pressure) cm(-1) and from 2174 (high pressure) to 2170 (low pressure) cm(-1). These bands are due to CO adsorbed on isolated titanium cations in the silica surrounding or having one Ti(4+) cation in their second coordination sphere and due to CO interactions with Ti-OH groups, respectively. CD(3)CN adsorption similarly revealed the existence of two additional sites, which were not detected for pure silicate: at 2289 cm(-1) due to CD(3)CN interaction with titanol groups and from 2306 (low pressure) to 2300 (high pressure) cm(-1) due to acetonitrile interaction with isolated framework titanium cations with probably one Ti(4+) cation in their second coordination shell. The spectroscopic results are compared with computational data obtained on cluster models of titanium-silicate with different titanium content. According to the IR data, the Ti accessibility on the surfaces for mesoporous titanium-silicates with similar Ti loading (2 wt %) was found to fall in the order TiO(2)-SiO(2) aerogel approximately TiO(2)-SiO(2) xerogel > Ti-MMM approximately Ti-MMM-2 > Ti-SBA-15. This order (except TiO(2)-SiO(2) xerogel) correlates with the catalytic activity found previously for titanium-silicates in 2,3,6-trimethylphenol oxidation with H(2)O(2).

Photocatalytic degradation of 2-phenethyl-2-chloroethyl sulfide in liquid and gas phases.

This work explores the ability of photocatalysis to decontaminate water and air from chemical warfare agent mustard using its simulant 2-phenethyl 2-chloroethyl sulfide (PECES). PECES like mustard slowly dissolves in water with hydrolysis, forming 2-phenethyl 2-hydroxyethyl sulfide (PEHES). Irradiation of TiO2 suspension containing PECES with the unfiltered light of a mercury lamp (lambda > or = 254 nm) decomposed all PECES mostly via photolysis. Reaction under filtered light (lambda > 300 nm) proceeds mainly photocatalytically and requires longer time. Sulfur from starting PECES is completely transformed into sulfuric acid at the end of the reaction. Detected volatile, nonvolatile, surface products, and the suggested scheme of degradation are reported. The main volatile products are styrene and benzaldehyde, nonvolatile--hydroxylated PEHES, surface--2-phenethyl disulfide. Photolysis of PECES produced the same set of volatile products as photocatalysis. Photocatalytic degradation of gaseous PECES in air results in its mineralization but is accompanied by TiO2 deactivation. The highest rate of mineralization with minimum deactivation was observed at about room temperature and a water concentration of 27,500 ppm. No gaseous products except CO2 were detected. The main extracted surface product was styrene. It was concluded that PECES photocatalytic degradation proceeds mainly via C-S bond cleavage and further oxidation of the products. Hydrolysis of the C-S bond was detected only in gas-phase photocatalytic degradation. The quantum efficiency of gas-phase degradation (0.28%) was much higher than that of liquid-phase degradation (0.008%). The results demonstrate the ability of photocatalysis to decontaminate an aqueous and especially an air environment