bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mortality Surveillance During Winter Storm Uri, United States – 2021
Authors: Hanchey Arianna , Jiva Sumera , Bayleyegn Tesfaye , Schnall Amy
Published: November 2023

Objective:

On February 12, 2021, Winter Storm Uri hit the United States. To understand the disaster-related causes and circumstances of death, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) activated media mortality surveillance.

Methods:

The team searched the internet daily for key terms related to Uri and compiled the information into a standardized media mortality surveillance database to conduct descriptive statistics.

Results:

Between February 12 and March 2, 2021, the accessed media reported 136 Uri-related deaths from nine states. Most decedents were male (39%) and adults (62.5%). Exposure to extreme temperatures (47.1%) was the most common cause of death. Among indirect deaths, motor vehicle collision (12.5%), and carbon monoxide poisoning (7.4%) represented the top two circumstances.

Conclusion:

This was the first time CDC activated media mortality surveillance for a winter storm. Media mortality surveillance is useful in assessing the impact of a disaster and provides timely data for an all-hazards response approach.
-definability at higher cardinals: Thin sets, almost disjoint families and long well-orders
Authors: Lücke Philipp , Müller Sandra
Published: November 2023

Given an uncountable cardinal

$\kappa $

, we consider the question of whether subsets of the power set of

$\kappa $

that are usually constructed with the help of the axiom of choice are definable by

$\Sigma _1$

-formulas that only use the cardinal

$\kappa $

and sets of hereditary cardinality less than

$\kappa $

as parameters. For limits of measurable cardinals, we prove a perfect set theorem for sets definable in this way and use it to generalize two classical nondefinability results to higher cardinals. First, we show that a classical result of Mathias on the complexity of maximal almost disjoint families of sets of natural numbers can be generalized to measurable limits of measurables. Second, we prove that for a limit of countably many measurable cardinals, the existence of a simply definable well-ordering of subsets of

$\kappa $

of length at least

$\kappa ^+$

implies the existence of a projective well-ordering of the reals. In addition, we determine the exact consistency strength of the nonexistence of

$\Sigma _1$

-definitions of certain objects at singular strong limit cardinals. Finally, we show that both large cardinal assumptions and forcing axioms cause analogs of these statements to hold at the first uncountable cardinal

$\omega _1$

.
The American public's attitudes over how judges use legal principles to make decisions
Authors: Rivero Albert H. , Stone Andrew R.
Published: November 2023

We investigate the American public's attitudes over an integral component of judicial behavior: the legal principles judges employ when making decisions. Our theoretical perspective argues that political preferences shape individuals’ attitudes over how judges apply legal principles, mirroring ideological divisions expressed by political elites and judges. Using an original battery of questions, we find high support across all Americans for the use of certain, well-established legal principles, but stark differences in how liberals and conservatives evaluate the use of more controversial principles. In a survey experiment, we find that agreement (disagreement) between an individual's attitudes over the use of legal principles and the reasoning contained in a Supreme Court opinion is associated with increased (decreased) support for the Court decision.
Evaluating methods for examining the relative persuasiveness of policy arguments
Authors: McDonald Jared , Hanmer Michael J.
Published: November 2023

Survey researchers testing the effectiveness of arguments for or against policies traditionally employ between-subjects designs. In doing so, they lose statistical power and the ability to precisely estimate public attitudes. We explore the efficacy of an approach often used to address these limitations: the repeated measures within-subjects (RMWS) design. This study tests the competing hypotheses that (1) the RMWS will yield smaller effects due to respondents' desire to maintain consistency (the “opinion anchor” hypothesis), and (2) the RMWS will yield larger effects because the researcher provides respondents with the opportunity to update their attitudes (the “opportunity to revise” hypothesis). Using two survey experiments, we find evidence for the opportunity to revise hypothesis, and discuss the implications for future survey research.
An exploratory investigation of interactions between syllabic prominence, initial geminates, and phrasal boundaries in Pattani Malay
Authors: Burroni Francesco , Maspong Sireemas , Pittayaporn Pittayawat , Kochaiyaphum Pimthip
Published: November 2023

This study investigates interactions among relative syllabic prominence, initial geminates (IGs), and prosodic boundaries in Pattani Malay (PM) against a background of previous analyses claiming that IGs are moraic and trigger a ‘stress shift’ or the linking of a pitch accent to the initial syllable. We conducted an acoustic study with fourteen PM speakers, producing singleton–IG minimal pairs in naturalistic sentences. Our results show that the presence of IGs is not associated with the hypothesized phonological changes. Instead, it is associated with moderate increases in the duration of initial syllables, the intensity of the initial syllable vowels, and the f0 of the initial and final syllable vowels. On the other hand, the presence of a phrase-final prosodic boundary correlates with more drastic changes: in phrase-final position, final syllables exhibit final lengthening and falling contours of f0 and intensity, while, in the phrase-medial position, no lengthening is observed and f0 contours are rising. Furthermore, the effects of IGs are strongest in the phrase-final position, suggesting interactions between IGs and prosodic boundaries. Taken together, results cast doubts on the claim that IGs are moraic and associated with categorical differences in syllabic prominence profiles in PM and show that IG effects are modulated by prosodic boundaries.
Crossed wires: Understanding policy feedback in varying policy environments
Authors: Torres Rachel , Yao Jielu , Maltby Elizabeth , Rocha Rene , Udani Adriano
Published: November 2023

Previous scholarship has shown that experience with public policies can affect citizens’ willingness to participate in politics. However, few studies have examined whether the effect of experience with policy is moderated by existing policy environments. We focus on the impact of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and examine how it affects foreign-born Latinos’ political orientation and behavior. We find a relationship between enrollment in DACA and political orientation and that the effect on participation is moderated by the intensity of enforcement in an immigrant’s county of residence.
Disentangling the trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms and partnership problems in the transition to parenthood and their impact on child adjustment difficulties
Authors: Ray J. K. , Stürmlinger L. L. , von Krause M. , Lux U. , Zietlow A.-L.
Published: November 2023

Maternal perinatal depression (PND) and partnership problems have been identified to influence the development of later child adjustment difficulties. However, PND and partnership problems are closely linked which makes it difficult to draw conclusions about the exact transmission pathways. The aim of the present study was to investigate to what extent PND symptoms and partnership problems influence each other longitudinally and to examine the influence of their trajectories on child adjustment difficulties at the age of three. Analyses were based on publicly available data from the German family panel “pairfam”. N = 354 mothers were surveyed on depressive symptoms and partnership problems annually from pregnancy (T0) until child age three (T4). Child adjustment difficulties were assessed at age three. Results of latent change score modeling showed that partnership problems predicted change in PND symptoms at T0 and T3 while PND symptoms did not predict change in partnership problems. Child adjustment difficulties at age three were predicted by PND symptoms, but not by partnership problems. Partnership problems predicted externalizing, but not internalizing symptoms. Results underline the effects of family factors for the development of child adjustment difficulties and emphasize the importance of early interventions from pregnancy onwards
An Introduction to Patents for Legal Information Professionals
Authors: Hanratty Niamh
Published: November 2023

Legal information professionals can play a vital role when it comes to patents, whether that's through undertaking research to assist in infringement cases or by assisting in providing due diligence information by conducting searches to identify a company's patent portfolio. But those doing patent research need to know how to identify patents, how to determine their status and how to investigate the litigation history of patents. Niamh Hanratty, of Bird & Bird, explains how all this is done.
Solar Wind‐Magnetosphere Coupling During High‐Intensity Long‐Duration Continuous AE Activity (HILDCAA)
Authors: Milan S. E. , Mooney M. K. , Bower G. , Fleetham A. L. , Vines S. K. , Gjerloev J.
Published: November 2023

High‐Intensity Long‐Duration Continuous AE Activity (HILDCAA) intervals are driven by High Speed solar wind Streams (HSSs) during which the rapidly‐varying interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) produces high but intermittent dayside reconnection rates. This results in several days of large, quasi‐periodic enhancements in the auroral electrojet (AE) index. There has been debate over whether the enhancements in AE are produced by substorms or whether HILDCAAs represent a distinct class of magnetospheric dynamics. We investigate 16 HILDCAA events using the expanding/contracting polar cap model as a framework to understand the magnetospheric dynamics occurring during HSSs. Each HILDCAA onset shows variations in open magnetic flux, dayside and nightside reconnection rates, the cross‐polar cap potential, and AL that are characteristic of substorms. The enhancements in AE are produced by activity in the pre‐midnight sector, which is the typical substorm onset region. The periodicities present in the intermittent IMF determine the exact nature of the activity, producing a range of behaviors from a sequence of isolated substorms, through substorms which merge into one‐another, to almost continuous geomagnetic activity. The magnitude of magnetic fluctuations, dB/dt, in the pre‐midnight sector during HSSs is sufficient to produce a significant risk of Geomagnetically Induced Currents.
Constraining Changes in Surface Dust Thickness on Mars Using Diurnal Surface Temperature Observations From EMIRS
Authors: Wolfe Chris A. , Edwards Christopher S. , Smith Michael D. , Christensen Philip R.
Published: November 2023

Diurnal surface temperature data collected from the Emirates Mars Infrared Spectrometer have been used to characterize dust redistribution on Mars following a regional dust storm in January 2022. A comparative temporal analysis is conducted pre‐ and post‐dust storm to estimate net changes in surface dust thickness at Syrtis Major, Isidis Planitia, Tyrrhena Terra, Hesperian Planum, and Elysium Planitia. By leveraging data from a numerical thermal model, we relate differences in observed surface temperature to changes in the thickness of the surface dust layer. We describe the methodology for estimating net changes in surface dust thickness, including a description of the thermophysical model employed, provide a sensitivity analysis with respect to local time and surface properties, and discuss the implications of our findings. Surface temperature differences suggest both dust deposition and removal, with some regions experiencing a net removal as high as 340 μm, while other regions experienced net deposition reaching up to 120 μm. Visible‐wavelength imagery from the Emirates Exploration Imager, which is more sensitive to changes in surface dust distribution, is incorporated in our analysis to provide additional context. When the area of each region of interest is accounted for, we find that the dust storm had the potential to remove and/or deposit more than 1.51 × 109 and 1.20 × 109 kg, respectively, suggesting that dust reservoirs are capable of transporting vast quantities of dust over short timescales.
Insight Into Geological Evolution of the Mesosiderite Parent Body From Olivine Alteration and Merrillite Pb‐Pb Age in Dong Ujimqin Qi
Authors: Chen Jingyou , Wang Ying , Zhang Ai‐Cheng , Liao Shiyong , Li Shaolin , Beard Sky , Zhu Meng‐Hua
Published: November 2023

Mesosiderites are thought to be created by a catastrophic impact that mixes the silicate crust with the metallic core of a differentiated asteroid(s). The metal‐silicate mixing event greatly affects the subsequent geological evolution of the mesosiderite parent body. To gain a better understanding of this mixing event, we carried out studies on olivine alteration and merrillite Pb‐Pb thermochronology in the Dong Ujimqin Qi mesosiderite. The primary olivine in this meteorite has been altered through sulfidation reactions, leading to the formation of troilite‐orthopyroxene intergrowths. This alteration likely took place during metal‐silicate mixing, as the mixing environment can provide favorable chemical and thermal conditions for this reaction. Phosphate‐chromite veins crosscutting the troilite‐orthopyroxene intergrowths indicate a secondary alteration process likely induced by subsequent impacts. Additionally, the metal‐silicate mixing event likely contributed to the occurrence of abundant merrillites at the boundary between silicates and Fe‐Ni metals, as supported by the distinctly depleted incompatible elements resulting from the redox reaction between metals and adjacent silicates. The ion microprobe analyses for these merrillites yielded a Pb‐Pb age of 4,064 ± 120 Ma, which is interpreted as the record of the Pb isotopic closure of merrillite during prolonged cooling associated with the deep burial. Our two‐stage cooling model suggests that the mesosiderite parent body's burial potentially started around 4.52 Ga, which is consistent with the Sm‐Nd, Ar‐Ar, and Pb‐Pb thermochronological records in mesosiderites.
eIF4E phosphorylation mediated LPS induced depressive-like behaviors via ameliorated neuroinflammation and dendritic loss
Authors: Gong Qichao , Li Weifen , Ali Tahir , Hu Yue , Mou Shengnan , Liu Zizhen , Zheng Chengyou , Gao Ruyan , Li Axiang , Li Tao , Li Ningning , Yu Zhijian , Li Shupeng
Published: November 2023

The translational defect has emerged as a common feature of neurological disorders. Studies have suggested that alterations between opposing and balanced synaptic protein synthesis and turnover processes could lead to synaptic abnormalities, followed by depressive symptoms. Further studies link this phenomenon with eIF4E and TrkB/BDNF signaling. However, the interplay between the eIF4E and TrkB/BDNF signaling in the presence of neuroinflammation is yet to be explored. To illuminate the role of eIF4E activities within LPS-induced neuroinflammation and depression symptomology, we applied animal behavioral, biochemical, and pharmacological approaches. In addition, we sought to determine whether eIF4E dysregulated activities correlate with synaptic protein loss via the TrkB/BDNF pathway. Our results showed that LPS administration induced depressive-like behaviors, accompanied by neuroinflammation, reduced spine numbers, and synaptic protein dysregulation. Concurrently, LPS treatment enhanced eIF4E phosphorylation and TrkB/BDNF signaling defects. However, eFT508 treatment rescued the LPS-elicited neuroinflammation and depressive behaviors, as well as altered eIF4E phosphorylation, synaptic protein expression, and TrkB/BDNF signaling. The causal relation of eIF4E with BDNF signaling was further explored with TrkB antagonist K252a, which could reverse the effects of eFT508, validating the interplay between the eIF4E and TrkB/BDNF signaling in regulating depressive behaviors associated with neuroinflammation via synaptic protein translational regulation. In conclusion, our results support the involvement of eIF4E-associated translational dysregulation in synaptic protein loss via TrkB/BDNF signaling, eventually leading to depressiven-like behaviors upon inflammation-linked stress.
The p53/ZEB1-PLD3 feedback loop regulates cell proliferation in breast cancer
Authors: Liu Bo-Wen , Sun Ning , Lin Hui , Zhou Xue-Jie , Ma Hai-Yan , Wang Xin , Cao Xu-Chen , Yu Yue
Published: November 2023

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer globally, endangering women’s physical and mental health. Phospholipase D3 (PLD3) belongs to the phosphodiesterase family (PLD). PLD3 is related to insulin-mediated phosphorylation of the AKT pathway, suggesting that it may play a role in the occurrence and development of malignant tumors. This study may further explore the molecular mechanism of PLD3 inhibiting breast cancer cell proliferation. In this study, we demonstrated that PLD3 and miR-6796 are co-expressed in breast cancer. PLD3 can bind with CDK1 and inhibit its expression, leading to mitotic arrest and inhibiting breast cancer proliferation. Wild-type p53 regulates PLD3 and miR-6796 expression by competitively binding to the PLD3 promoter with ZEB1. DNMT3B, as the target gene of miR-6796, is recruited into the PLD3 promoter by combining with ZEB1 to regulate the DNA methylation of the PLD3 promoter and ultimately affect PLD3 and miR-6796 expression. In conclusion, we revealed the role and molecular mechanism of PLD3 and its embedded miR-6796 in breast cancer proliferation, providing clues and a theoretical foundation for future research and development of therapeutic targets and prognostic markers for breast cancer.
Imitation dynamics on networks with incomplete information
Authors: Wang Xiaochen , Zhou Lei , McAvoy Alex , Li Aming
Published: November 2023

Imitation is an important learning heuristic in animal and human societies. Previous explorations report that the fate of individuals with cooperative strategies is sensitive to the protocol of imitation, leading to a conundrum about how different styles of imitation quantitatively impact the evolution of cooperation. Here, we take a different perspective on the personal and external social information required by imitation. We develop a general model of imitation dynamics with incomplete information in networked systems, which unifies classical update rules including the death-birth and pairwise-comparison rule on complex networks. Under pairwise interactions, we find that collective cooperation is most promoted if individuals neglect personal information. If personal information is considered, cooperators evolve more readily with more external information. Intriguingly, when interactions take place in groups on networks with low degrees of clustering, using more personal and less external information better facilitates cooperation. Our unifying perspective uncovers intuition by examining the rate and range of competition induced by different information situations.
Electroconvective viscous fingering in a single polyelectrolyte fluid on a charge selective surface
Authors: Kim Jeonghwan , Kim Joonhyeon , Kim Minyoung , Kwak Rhokyun
Published: November 2023

When a low-viscosity fluid displaces into a higher-viscosity fluid, the liquid-liquid interface becomes unstable causing finger-like patterns. This viscous fingering instability has been widely observed in nature and engineering systems with two adjoined fluids. Here, we demonstrate a hitherto-unrealizable viscous fingering in a single fluid-solid interface. In a single polyelectrolyte fluid on a charge selective surface, selective ion rejection through the surface initiates i) stepwise ion concentration and viscosity gradient boundaries in the fluid and ii) electroconvective vortices on the surface. As the vortices grow, the viscosity gradient boundary pushes away from the surface, resulting viscous fingering. Comparable to conventional one with two fluids, i) a viscosity ratio ($$M$$
M
) governs the onset of this electroconvective viscous fingering, and ii) the boundary properties (finger velocity and rheological effects) - represented by $$M$$
M
, electric Rayleigh ($${{Ra}}_{E}$$

R
a

E

), Schmidt ($${Sc}$$
S
c
), and Deborah ($${De}$$
D
e
) numbers - determine finger shapes (straight v.s. ramified, the onset length of fingering, and relative finger width). With controllable onset and shape, the mechanism of electroconvective viscous fingering offers new possibilities for manipulating ion transport and dendritic instability in electrochemical systems.
Tree mortality during long-term droughts is lower in structurally complex forest stands
Authors: Ma Qin , Su Yanjun , Niu Chunyue , Ma Qin , Hu Tianyu , Luo Xiangzhong , Tai Xiaonan , Qiu Tong , Zhang Yao , Bales Roger C. , Liu Lingli , Kelly Maggi , Guo Qinghua
Published: November 2023

Increasing drought frequency and severity in a warming climate threaten forest ecosystems with widespread tree deaths. Canopy structure is important in regulating tree mortality during drought, but how it functions remains controversial. Here, we show that the interplay between tree size and forest structure explains drought-induced tree mortality during the 2012-2016 California drought. Through an analysis of over one million trees, we find that tree mortality rate follows a “negative-positive-negative” piecewise relationship with tree height, and maintains a consistent negative relationship with neighborhood canopy structure (a measure of tree competition). Trees overshadowed by tall neighboring trees experienced lower mortality, likely due to reduced exposure to solar radiation load and lower water demand from evapotranspiration. Our findings demonstrate the significance of neighborhood canopy structure in influencing tree mortality and suggest that re-establishing heterogeneity in canopy structure could improve drought resiliency. Our study also indicates the potential of advances in remote-sensing technologies for silvicultural design, supporting the transition to multi-benefit forest management.
Th17-associated cytokines IL-17 and IL-23 in inflamed skin of Darier disease patients as potential therapeutic targets
Authors: Ettinger Monika , Burner Teresa , Sharma Anshu , Chang Yun-Tsan , Lackner Angelika , Prompsy Pacôme , Deli Isabella M. , Traxler Judith , Wahl Gerald , Altrichter Sabine , Langer Rupert , Tsai Yi-Chien , Varkhande Suraj R. , Schoeftner Leonie C. , Iselin Christoph , Gratz Iris K. , Kimeswenger Susanne , Guenova Emmanuella , Hoetzenecker Wolfram
Published: November 2023

Darier disease (DD) is a rare, inherited multi-organ disorder associated with mutations in the ATP2A2 gene. DD patients often have skin involvement characterized by malodorous, inflamed skin and recurrent, severe infections. Therapeutic options are limited and inadequate for the long-term management of this chronic disease. The aim of this study was to characterize the cutaneous immune infiltrate in DD skin lesions in detail and to identify new therapeutic targets. Using gene and protein expression profiling assays including scRNA sequencing, we demonstrate enhanced expression of Th17-related genes and cytokines and increased numbers of Th17 cells in six DD patients. We provide evidence that targeting the IL-17/IL-23 axis in a case series of three DD patients with monoclonal antibodies is efficacious with significant clinical improvement. As DD is a chronic, relapsing disease, our findings might pave the way toward additional options for the long-term management of skin inflammation in patients with DD.
Synthetic genetic oscillators demonstrate the functional importance of phenotypic variation in pneumococcal-host interactions
Authors: Rueff Anne-Stéphanie , van Raaphorst Renske , Aggarwal Surya D. , Santos-Moreno Javier , Laloux Géraldine , Schaerli Yolanda , Weiser Jeffrey N. , Veening Jan-Willem
Published: November 2023

Phenotypic variation is the phenomenon in which clonal cells display different traits even under identical environmental conditions. This plasticity is thought to be important for processes including bacterial virulence, but direct evidence for its relevance is often lacking. For instance, variation in capsule production in the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae has been linked to different clinical outcomes, but the exact relationship between variation and pathogenesis is not well understood due to complex natural regulation. In this study, we use synthetic oscillatory gene regulatory networks (GRNs) based on CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) together with live cell imaging and cell tracking within microfluidics devices to mimic and test the biological function of bacterial phenotypic variation. We provide a universally applicable approach for engineering intricate GRNs using only two components: dCas9 and extended sgRNAs (ext-sgRNAs). Our findings demonstrate that variation in capsule production is beneficial for pneumococcal fitness in traits associated with pathogenesis providing conclusive evidence for this longstanding question.
SEPTIN2 suppresses an IFN-γ-independent, proinflammatory macrophage activation pathway
Authors: Fu Beibei , Xiong Yan , Sha Zhou , Xue Weiwei , Xu Binbin , Tan Shun , Guo Dong , Lin Feng , Wang Lulu , Ji Jianjian , Luo Yang , Lin Xiaoyuan , Wu Haibo
Published: November 2023

Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) signaling is necessary for the proinflammatory activation of macrophages but IFN-γ-independent pathways, for which the initiating stimuli and downstream mechanisms are lesser known, also contribute. Here we identify, by high-content screening, SEPTIN2 (SEPT2) as a negative regulation of IFN-γ-independent macrophage autoactivation. Mechanistically, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induces the expression of SEPT2, which balances the competition between acetylation and ubiquitination of heat shock protein 5 at position Lysine 327, thereby alleviating ER stress and constraining M1-like polarization and proinflammatory cytokine release. Disruption of this negative feedback regulation leads to the accumulation of unfolded proteins, resulting in accelerated M1-like polarization, excessive inflammation and tissue damage. Our study thus uncovers an IFN-γ-independent macrophage proinflammatory autoactivation pathway and suggests that SEPT2 may play a role in the prevention or resolution of inflammation during infection.
Bacterial genome size and gene functional diversity negatively correlate with taxonomic diversity along a pH gradient
Authors: Wang Cong , Yu Qing-Yi , Ji Niu-Niu , Zheng Yong , Taylor John W. , Guo Liang-Dong , Gao Cheng
Published: November 2023

Bacterial gene repertoires reflect adaptive strategies, contribute to ecosystem functioning and are limited by genome size. However, gene functional diversity does not necessarily correlate with taxonomic diversity because average genome size may vary by community. Here, we analyse gene functional diversity (by shotgun metagenomics) and taxonomic diversity (by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing) to investigate soil bacterial communities along a natural pH gradient in 12 tropical, subtropical, and temperate forests. We find that bacterial average genome size and gene functional diversity decrease, whereas taxonomic diversity increases, as soil pH rises from acid to neutral; as a result, bacterial taxonomic and functional diversity are negatively correlated. The gene repertoire of acid-adapted oligotrophs is enriched in functions of signal transduction, cell motility, secretion system, and degradation of complex compounds, while that of neutral pH-adapted copiotrophs is enriched in functions of energy metabolism and membrane transport. Our results indicate that a mismatch between taxonomic and functional diversity can arise when environmental factors (such as pH) select for adaptive strategies that affect genome size distributions.
Actomyosin and CSI1/POM2 cooperate to deliver cellulose synthase from Golgi to cortical microtubules in Arabidopsis
Authors: Liu Lu , Wang Ting , Bai Yifan , Yan Pengcheng , Dai Liufeng , Du Pingzhou , Persson Staffan , Zhang Yi
Published: November 2023

As one of the major components of plant cell walls, cellulose is crucial for plant growth and development. Cellulose is synthesized by cellulose synthase (CesA) complexes (CSCs), which are trafficked and delivered from the Golgi apparatus to the plasma membrane. How CesAs are released from Golgi remains largely unclear. In this study, we observed that STELLO (STL) family proteins localized at a group of small CesA-containing compartments called Small CesA compartments (SmaCCs) or microtubule-associated CesA compartments (MASCs). The STL-labeled SmaCCs/MASCs were directly derived from Golgi through a membrane-stretching process: membrane-patches of Golgi attached to cortical microtubules, which led to emergence of membrane-tails that finally ruptured to generate SmaCCs/MASCs associated with the cortical microtubules. While myosin propelled the movement of Golgi along actin filaments to stretch the tails, the CesA-microtubule linker protein, CSI1/POM2 was indispensable for the tight anchor of the membrane-tail ends at cortical microtubules. Together, our data reveal a non-canonical delivery route to the plasma membrane of a major enzyme complex in plant biology.
Semantic segmentation of methane plumes with hyperspectral machine learning models
Authors: Růžička Vít , Mateo-Garcia Gonzalo , Gómez-Chova Luis , Vaughan Anna , Guanter Luis , Markham Andrew
Published: November 2023

Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas contributor to climate change; at the same time its reduction has been denoted as one of the fastest pathways to preventing temperature growth due to its short atmospheric lifetime. In particular, the mitigation of active point-sources associated with the fossil fuel industry has a strong and cost-effective mitigation potential. Detection of methane plumes in remote sensing data is possible, but the existing approaches exhibit high false positive rates and need manual intervention. Machine learning research in this area is limited due to the lack of large real-world annotated datasets. In this work, we are publicly releasing a machine learning ready dataset with manually refined annotation of methane plumes. We present labelled hyperspectral data from the AVIRIS-NG sensor and provide simulated multispectral WorldView-3 views of the same data to allow for model benchmarking across hyperspectral and multispectral sensors. We propose sensor agnostic machine learning architectures, using classical methane enhancement products as input features. Our HyperSTARCOP model outperforms strong matched filter baseline by over 25% in F1 score, while reducing its false positive rate per classified tile by over 41.83%. Additionally, we demonstrate zero-shot generalisation of our trained model on data from the EMIT hyperspectral instrument, despite the differences in the spectral and spatial resolution between the two sensors: in an annotated subset of EMIT images HyperSTARCOP achieves a 40% gain in F1 score over the baseline.
Cigarette smoking and disproportionate changes of thoracic skeletal muscles in low-dose chest computed tomography
Authors: Lim Woo Hyeon , Jeong Suhyun , Park Chang Min
Published: November 2023

Association between smoking intensity and the quantity and quality of thoracic skeletal muscles (TSMs) remains unexplored. Skeletal muscle index (SMI; skeletal muscle area/height2) and percentage of normal attenuation muscle area (NAMA%) were measured to represent the quantity and quality of the skeletal muscles, respectively, and quantification was performed in pectoralis muscle at aortic arch (AA-PM), TSM at carina (C-TSM), erector spinae muscle at T12 (T12-ESM), and skeletal muscle at L1 (L1-SM). Among the 258 men (median age, 62 years [IQR: 58–69]), 183 were current smokers (median smoking intensity, 40 pack-years [IQR: 30–46]). SMI and NAMA% of AA-PM significantly decreased with pack-year (β =  − 0.028 and − 0.076; P < 0.001 and P = 0.021, respectively). Smoking intensity was inversely associated with NAMA% of C-TSM (β =  − 0.063; P = 0.001), whereas smoking intensity showed a borderline association with SMI of C-TSM (β =  − 0.023; P = 0.057). Smoking intensity was associated with the change in NAMA% of L1-SM (β =  − 0.040; P = 0.027), but was not associated with SMI of L1-SM (P > 0.05). Neither NAMA% nor SMI of T12-ESM was affected by smoking intensity (P > 0.05). In conclusion, smoking intensity was associated with the change of TSMs. Its association varied according to the location of TSMs, with the most associated parts being the upper (AA-PM) and middle TSMs (C-TSM).
Tracking tsunami propagation and Island’s collapse after the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai 2022 volcanic eruption from multi-space observations
Authors: Shrivastava Mahesh N. , Sunil A. S. , Maurya Ajeet K. , Aguilera Felipe , Orrego Simón , Sunil P. S. , Cienfuegos Rodrigo , Moreno Marcos
Published: November 2023

The quantity and accuracy of satellite-geodetic measurements have increased over time, revolutionizing the monitoring of tectonic processes. Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and satellite radar signals provide observations beyond ground deformation, including how earthquake and tsunami processes affect variations in the ionosphere. Here, we study the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) volcanic eruption 2022 and its associated tsunami propagation with the analysis GNSS derived Total Electron Content (TEC), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Sentinel-1 data, complemented with tide gauge observations. We utilize GNSS sites data within a ~ 5000 km radius from the volcanic eruption for estimating the ionospheric perturbation as Vertical TEC. We give evidence on the detection of acoustic gravity, internal gravity, and atmospheric Lamb waves signatures in the TEC perturbation. In particular, the internal gravity waves that concentrated in the southwest of Tonga, directly correlates with the observed tsunami propagation direction as accounted by the tide gauge measurements. However, the acoustic gravity wave signature in the TEC is dominant in the north direction suggesting a surface deformation, which could be verified using Sentinel-1A SAR amplitude data. The analysis presented herein shows that within 5 h of the volcanic eruption, the central part of the HTHH island landscape disappeared with the biggest explosion. The unprecedented detail resolved by integrating satellite data yields previously unknown details of the deformation of the 2022 HTHH volcano eruption.
Trajectory analysis and optimization of sea buckthorn fruit vibration separation manipulator based on I-PSO algorithm
Authors: Liang Bingqin , Lin Xinzhang , Liu Ganghui , Lei Jin , Wang Weibing
Published: November 2023

In this paper, the optimal time planning of vibration separation trajectory of Hippophae rhamnoides fruit is studied for space manipulator using the I-PSO algorithm. The first step is to analyze the motion of the robotic arm's joints, which are limited in range and speed, in combination with a 3–5–3 polynomial interpolation, an improved Particle swarm optimization with adaptive inertia weight and asynchronous learning factor is proposed, and the specific process is given. Experimental images and data show that the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm can ensure the continuity of joint acceleration and velocity, and the optimal vibration trajectory time is 0.536539094 s Compared with the planned system trajectory time of 0.71022 s, the speed increased by 24.5%. The results of the orthogonal experiment show that the average fruit drop rate reaches 96.19%, which verifies the validity and reliability of the I-PSO algorithm for optimal time planning of seabuckthorn fruit separation vibration trajectory.
A 2 °C difference affecting the spatiotemporal distribution of small demersal fish assemblages in shallow tropical and subtropical waters of Western Taiwan
Authors: Chen Kuo-Shu , Chen Chiee-Young , Chang Yi , Chen Hsu-Sen , Chen Meng-Hsien
Published: November 2023

Two OR3 research vessel cruises were conducted at seven nearshore sites from north to south in the western coastal waters off Taiwan in May (late spring) and November (late autumn) 2019 in order to gain insights into the 2 °C difference in the tropical-subtropical fish fauna. Totally, 37 families, 72 genera, and 99 taxas were recorded for the 1809 fishes. Three fish assemblages, the North, South, and Fall-Zhuoshui River (ZRf) groups, were identified as eurythermal, stenothermal, and croaker communities. Their dominants, in rank order, were Tarphops oligolepis, Liachirus melanospilosa, Ostorhinchus fasciatus, and Trachinocephalus myops for the Northern eurythermal group, Arnoglossus tenuis, Eubleekeria splendens, and Ostorhinchus pleuron for the Southern stenothermal group, and Johnius taiwanensis, Chrysochir aureus, and Pennahia macrocephalus for the croaker-ZRf group. Their distribution was markedly correlated with the bottom water temperature, seafloor grain size, and concentration of suspended solids. The influence of a 2 °C difference on the tropical and subtropical demersal fish could indicate how rising temperatures due to climate change are shaping fish communities. The flatfish, Liachirus melanospilos, was distributed northward by 0.5oN and is suggested to be considered as an ecological indicator of the tropicalization of subtropical marine ecosystems in the future.
UAV-based individual Chinese cabbage weight prediction using multi-temporal data
Authors: Aguilar-Ariza Andrés , Ishii Masanori , Miyazaki Toshio , Saito Aika , Khaing Hlaing Phyoe , Phoo Hnin Wint , Kondo Tomohiro , Fujiwara Toru , Guo Wei , Kamiya Takehiro
Published: November 2023

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has facilitated crop canopy monitoring, enabling yield prediction by integrating regression models. However, the application of UAV-based data to individual-level harvest weight prediction is limited by the effectiveness of obtaining individual features. In this study, we propose a method that automatically detects and extracts multitemporal individual plant features derived from UAV-based data to predict harvest weight. We acquired data from an experimental field sown with 1196 Chinese cabbage plants, using two cameras (RGB and multi-spectral) mounted on UAVs. First, we used three RGB orthomosaic images and an object detection algorithm to detect more than 95% of the individual plants. Next, we used feature selection methods and five different multi-temporal resolutions to predict individual plant weights, achieving a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.86 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 436 g/plant. Furthermore, we achieved predictions with an R2 greater than 0.72 and an RMSE less than 560 g/plant up to 53 days prior to harvest. These results demonstrate the feasibility of accurately predicting individual Chinese cabbage harvest weight using UAV-based data and the efficacy of utilizing multi-temporal features to predict plant weight more than one month prior to harvest.
Surface functionalization affects the retention and bio-distribution of orally administered mesoporous silica nanoparticles in a colitis mouse model
Authors: Schmid Roman , Volcic Meta , Fischer Stephan , Qu Zhi , Barth Holger , Popat Amirali , Kirchhoff Frank , Lindén Mika
Published: November 2023

Besides the many advantages of oral drug administration, challenges like premature drug degradation and limited bioavailability in the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) remain. A prolonged residence time in the GIT is beneficial for enhancing the therapeutic outcome when treating diseases associated with an increased intestinal clearance rate, like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In this study, we synthesized rod-shaped mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) functionalized with polyethylene glycol (PEG) or hyaluronic acid (HA) and investigated their bio-distribution upon oral administration in vivo. The negatively charged, non-toxic particles showed different accumulation behavior over time in healthy mice and in mice with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced intestinal inflammation. PEGylated particles were shown to accumulate in the lower intestinal tract of healthy animals, whereas inflammation promoted retention of HA-functionalized particles in this area. Overall systemic absorption was low. However, some particles were detected in organs of mice with DSS-induced colitis, especially in the case of MSN-PEG. The in vivo findings were connected to surface chemistry-related differences in particle adhesion on Caco-2/Raji and mucus-producing Caco-2/Raji/HT29 cell co-culture epithelial models in vitro. While the particle adhesion behavior in vivo was mirrored in the in vitro results, this was not the case for the resorption results, suggesting that the in vitro model does not fully reflect the erosion of the inflamed epithelial tissue. Overall, our study demonstrates the possibility to modulate accumulation and retention of MSNs in the GIT of mice with and without inflammation through surface functionalization, which has important implications for the formulation of nanoparticle-based delivery systems for oral delivery applications.
An interdisciplinary model chain quantifies the footprint of global change on reservoir sedimentation
Authors: Mouris Kilian , Schwindt Sebastian , Pesci María Herminia , Wieprecht Silke , Haun Stefan
Published: November 2023

Global change alters hydro-climatic conditions, affects land use, and contributes to more frequent droughts and floods. Large artificial reservoirs may effectively alleviate hydro-climatic extremes, but their storage capacities are threatened by sedimentation processes, which in turn are exacerbated by land use change. Envisioning strategies for sustainable reservoir management requires interdisciplinary model chains to emulate key processes driving sedimentation under global change scenarios. Therefore, we introduce a model chain for the long-term prediction of complex three-dimensional (3d) reservoir sedimentation considering concurrent catchment, hydro-climatic, and land-use conditions. Applied to a mountainous Mediterranean catchment, the model chain predicts increased sediment production and decreased discharge for high and medium emission pathways. Increased winter precipitation, accompanied by a transition from snowfall to rainfall, is projected to aggravate reduced summer precipitation, emphasizing a growing need for reservoirs. Additionally, higher winter precipitation proliferates sediment production and reservoir sedimentation. Land use change can outweigh the increased reservoir sedimentation originating from hydro-climatic change, which highlights the significance of localized actions to reduce sediment production. Finally, a 3d hydro-morphodynamic model provides insights into interactions between global change and reservoir sedimentation with spatially explicit information on future sedimentation patterns facilitating the implementation of management strategies.
Anti-inflammatory reprogramming of microglia cells by metabolic modulators to counteract neurodegeneration; a new role for Ranolazine
Authors: Piano Ilaria , Votta Arianna , Colucci Patrizia , Corsi Francesca , Vitolo Sara , Cerri Chiara , Puppi Dario , Lai Michele , Maya-Vetencourt José Fernando , Leigheb Massimiliano , Gabellini Chiara , Ferraro Elisabetta
Published: November 2023

Microglia chronic activation is a hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases, including the retinal ones, possibly contributing to their etiopathogenesis. However, some microglia sub-populations have anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective functions, thus making arduous deciphering the role of these cells in neurodegeneration. Since it has been proposed that functionally different microglia subsets also rely on different metabolic routes, we hypothesized that modulating microglia metabolism might be a tool to enhance their anti-inflammatory features. This would have a preventive and therapeutic potential in counteracting neurodegenerative diseases. For this purpose, we tested various molecules known to act on cell metabolism, and we revealed the anti-inflammatory effect of the FDA-approved piperazine derivative Ranolazine on microglia cells, while confirming the one of the flavonoids Quercetin and Naringenin, both in vitro and in vivo. We also demonstrated the synergistic anti-inflammatory effect of Quercetin and Idebenone, and the ability of Ranolazine, Quercetin and Naringenin to counteract the neurotoxic effect of LPS-activated microglia on 661W neuronal cells. Overall, these data suggest that using the selected molecules -also in combination therapies- might represent a valuable approach to reduce inflammation and neurodegeneration while avoiding long term side effects of corticosteroids.
Uncertainty analysis on flood routing of embankment dam breach due to overtopping failure
Authors: Yang Miaofan , Cai Qian , Li Zhuo , Yang Jiangui
Published: November 2023

The breach risk of reservoir dam exists objectively while exerting benefits. There is great uncertainty in the overtopping breach process of embankment dam and the dam break flood routing which affects the accuracy of dam risk analysis and may cause unnecessary waste in emergency scheduling. However, the uncertainty analysis of the breach process and its consequence is currently inadequate. Therefore, a stratified sampling Monte Carlo method is proposed to simulate uncertain overtopping breach flood of embankment dams. The main sources of uncertainty are analyzed and determined as uncertain dam breach and flood routing processes. The uncertain breach process of dam is studied by presenting a sensitive study between 3 mechanism breach models and 5 parametric breach models. The random dam breach process is restored using HEC-RAS semi-empirical breach model by estimating breach characteristics through multiple common breach models. The random flood routing is carried out through 1D–2D coupled unsteady flow analysis in which the random breach process is adopted as an upper inflow boundary condition. According to the case study results, though parameters have been controlled in a limited range, the flood routing results in the early stage of dam overtopping failure present greater uncertainty. As the flood progresses further downstream, the uncertainty will gradually decrease. This study could serve as a reference for dam breach risk map making.
Trio-binning of a hinny refines the comparative organization of the horse and donkey X chromosomes and reveals novel species-specific features
Authors: Jevit Matthew J. , Castaneda Caitlin , Paria Nandina , Das Pranab J. , Miller Donald , Antczak Douglas F. , Kalbfleisch Theodore S. , Davis Brian W. , Raudsepp Terje
Published: November 2023

We generated single haplotype assemblies from a hinny hybrid which significantly improved the gapless contiguity for horse and donkey autosomal genomes and the X chromosomes. We added over 15 Mb of missing sequence to both X chromosomes, 60 Mb to donkey autosomes and corrected numerous errors in donkey and some in horse reference genomes. We resolved functionally important X-linked repeats: the DXZ4 macrosatellite and ampliconic Equine Testis Specific Transcript Y7 (ETSTY7). We pinpointed the location of the pseudoautosomal boundaries (PAB) and determined the size of the horse (1.8 Mb) and donkey (1.88 Mb) pseudoautosomal regions (PARs). We discovered distinct differences in horse and donkey PABs: a testis-expressed gene, XKR3Y, spans horse PAB with exons1–2 located in Y and exon3 in the X–Y PAR, whereas the donkey XKR3Y is Y-specific. DXZ4 had a similar ~ 8 kb monomer in both species with 10 copies in horse and 20 in donkey. We assigned hundreds of copies of ETSTY7, a sequence horizontally transferred from Parascaris and massively amplified in equids, to horse and donkey X chromosomes and three autosomes. The findings and products contribute to molecular studies of equid biology and advance research on X-linked conditions, sex chromosome regulation and evolution in equids.