bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Challenges for Inclusion and Diversities: Opening up and Closing Down in Collaborative Research and Practice
Authors: Klaassen Pim , Loeber Anne
Published: September 2024

A transdisciplinary approach serves the dual aim of delivering new knowledgeabouta situation at hand, and actually interactingwithand, hopefully, ameliorating that situation. This ‘action-orientation’ comes with many methodological and practical challenges as to the ‘how’ of transdisciplinary research, but also with a moral obligation to keenly look into the ‘who’-question: whose knowledge counts and comes to bear on dealing with a specific situation? As for those who are included, the question is how they can make their multiple identities come to bear on the issue at hand and how they can effectively use the room for maneuvering that their community of practiceor epistemic culture allows them, in contributing to the (transient) transdisciplinary collective. This chapter sets the stage for a close scrutiny of challenges and opportunities in the light of openness and ‘closures’ of knowledge co-production that the chapters collected together in Part 2 of this book deal with, offering a selection of empirical studies that illuminate pertinent conceptual and practical ways forward to inclusive and diverse forms of transdisciplinarity in a variety of contexts. The chapter gives an overview of lessons from the literature on what including diverse groups of actors in transdisciplinary work entails in practice, contemplates the questions of whom to include, when, under what conditions, and to what end, and looks into some of the challenges implied in answering these. The chapter concludes with introducing the empirical chapters collected in this second Part of the book for practical illustrations of how such challenges can be dealt with in practice.
Mobilität aus historisch-materialistischer Sicht: Analyseperspektiven und Konturen einer Forschungsagenda
Authors: Haas Tobias , Sander Hendrik
Published: September 2024

Mobilität ist in der Forschung in historisch-materialistischer Tradition bisher ein eher randständiges Thema. Doch es gibt zahlreiche Anknüpfungspunkte zu verschiedenen Ansätzen und in jüngster Zeit wird in der marxistischen Theorietradition verstärkt das Zusammenspiel von sozialen und ökologischen Krisen adressiert. In diesem Kontext bietet es sich an, verstärkt nach den Artikulationsverhältnissen dieser multiplen Krisenkonstellation mit Mobilitätsthemen zu fragen. Der vorliegende Beitrag soll eine Bestandsaufnahme liefern und die Konturen für weitere Forschung umreißen.
Quantum tops at circular lepton colliders
Authors: Maltoni Fabio , Severi Claudio , Tentori Simone , Vryonidou Eleni
Published: September 2024

Abstract

We study the quantum properties of top quark pairs in lepton colliders with unpolarised beams, including spin correlations, entanglement, and violation of Bell inequalities. We present analytical results in the SM and in the SMEFT and discuss several practical aspects, like the choice of quantisation axes and $$ t\overline{t} $$
t

t
¯

threshold effects. We also note a correspondence between parity symmetry and entanglement. We find that quantum observables exhibit a rich phenomenology in the SM, and can also provide additional leverage in detecting new physics residing at higher scales.
Nonlinear scalar field $$(p_{1}, p_{2})$$-Laplacian equations in $$\mathbb {R}^{N}$$: existence and multiplicity
Authors: Ambrosio Vincenzo
Published: September 2024

In this paper, we deal with the following class of $$(p_{1}, p_{2})$$

(

p
1

,

p
2

)

-Laplacian problems: $$\begin{aligned} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} -\Delta _{p_{1}}u-\Delta _{p_{2}}u= g(u) \text{ in } \mathbb {R}^{N},\\ u\in W^{1, p_{1}}(\mathbb {R}^{N})\cap W^{1, p_{2}}(\mathbb {R}^{N}), \end{array} \right. \end{aligned}$$

-

Δ

p
1

u
-

Δ

p
2

u
=
g

(
u
)

in

R

N

,

u
∈

W

1
,

p
1

(

R

N

)

∩

W

1
,

p
2

(

R

N

)

,

where $$N\ge 2$$

N
≥
2

, $$1<p_{1}<p_{2}\le N$$

1
<

p
1

<

p
2

≤
N

, $$\Delta _{p_{i}}$$

Δ

p
i

is the $$p_{i}$$

p
i

-Laplacian operator, for $$i=1, 2$$

i
=
1
,
2

, and $$g:\mathbb {R}\rightarrow \mathbb {R}$$

g
:
R
→
R

is a Berestycki-Lions type nonlinearity. Using appropriate variational arguments, we obtain the existence of a ground state solution. In particular, we provide three different approaches to deduce this result. Finally, we prove the existence of infinitely many radially symmetric solutions. Our results improve and complement those that have appeared in the literature for this class of problems. Furthermore, the arguments performed throughout the paper are rather flexible and can be also applied to study other p-Laplacian and $$(p_1, p_2)$$

(

p
1

,

p
2

)

-Laplacian equations with general nonlinearities.
Escaping the Energy Poverty Trap: Policy Assessment
Authors: Jové-Llopis Elisenda , Trujillo-Baute Elisa
Published: September 2024

Climate change and the ongoing energy transition can increase energy poverty rates. To date, the main tool employed to alleviate energy poverty has involved income transfers to vulnerable households. However, measures that seek to improve a home’s energy efficiency have recently gained increasing relevance. In this study we assess the effectiveness of these two types of policy, assuming universal coverage and optimal behaviour. Results points that income transfers and energy efficiency measures have the potential to decrease the proportion of households in energy poverty; however, the magnitude of their respective effects differs greatly. The average impact of energy efficiency measures provides for a greater reduction in energy poverty rates than income transfer policies. Although the greatest reduction in energy poverty is obtained by combining both measures, this combination of tools leads to overlapping effects with income transfers making only a marginal contribution once total retrofit have been implemented.
The epistemic objection against perdurantism
Authors: Tullio Emanuele , Soriani Tommaso
Published: September 2024

According to Perdurantism, persons are identical to maximal aggregates of appropriately interrelated temporal parts. Within the Perdurantist framework, an epistemic concern arises, targeting the perduring persons’ belief that they are persons, suggesting that, ultimately, they are not in a position to know that they are persons as opposed to temporal parts. Despite the consideration it has received over the years, this concern has not yet been converted into a full-fledged objection. This paper aims to address this gap by exploring the possibility of formulating a coherent Epistemic Objection against Perdurantism. We shall examine several epistemological principles around which such an objection might be built, arguing that none of them, in the end, allows a plausible formulation of the objection. As a result, we shall conclude that the burden of proving that in a Perdurantist setting persons are not in a position to know that they are persons rests with the objectors.
A new species of Anthopleura (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Actiniaria) from the Mexican Pacific
Authors: Vassallo-Avalos Aurora , González-Muñoz Ricardo , Morrone Juan J. , Acuña Fabián H. , Durán-Fuentes Jeferson A. , Stampar Sérgio N. , Solís-Marín Francisco A. , Rivas Gerardo
Published: September 2024

Anthopleura is one of the most speciose genera within the family Actiniidae. This genus is particularly characterized by its members having both verrucae on the column and acrorhagi on the margin. In the region of the Baja California Peninsula, in the Mexican Pacific, six species of Anthopleura have been documented, which are relatively well defined by their morphological characteristics and coloration patterns. During recent visits to the intertidal zone of Cerritos, in Baja California Sur, we found individuals of Anthopleura displaying a variety of colorations that do not agree with known species for the region. We collected and examined specimens of four morphotypes of Anthopleura, analyzing them by integrating information about their external and internal anatomy, as well as their cnidome. Additionally, we obtained and analyzed genetic sequences from mitochondrial and nuclear markers through phylogenetic analyses. Our results reveal that the four morphotypes belong to a single, and undescribed species of Anthopleura. We provide a detailed description of the species Anthopleura variata sp. nov., which is characterized by a variety of coloration patterns, as well as having a circumscribed, palmate, and pedunculate marginal sphincter muscle, harboring zooxanthellae, and lacking directive mesenteries, among other characteristics. Anthopleura variata sp. nov. is the 49th species in the genus and the seventh species of Anthopleura documented for the Mexican Pacific.
Analyzing the impact of conversation structure on predicting persuasive comments online
Authors: Capuano Nicola , Meyer Marco , Nota Francesco David
Published: September 2024

The topic of persuasion in online conversations has social, political and security implications; as a consequence, the problem of predicting persuasive comments in online discussions is receiving increasing attention in the literature. Following recent advancements in graph neural networks, we analyze the impact of conversation structure in predicting persuasive comments in online discussions. We evaluate the performance of artificial intelligence models receiving as input graphs constructed on the top of online conversations sourced from the “Change My View” Reddit channel. We experiment with different graph architectures and compare the performance on graph neural networks, as structure-based models, and dense neural networks as baseline models. Experiments are conducted on two tasks: (1) persuasive comment detection, aiming to predict which comments are persuasive, and (2) influence prediction, aiming to predict which users are persuasive. The experimental results show that the role of the conversation structure in predicting persuasiveness is strongly dependent on its graph representation given as input to the graph neural network. In particular, a graph structure linking only comments belonging to the same speaker in the conversation achieves the best performance in both tasks. This structure outperforms both the baseline model, which does not consider any structural information, and structures linking different speakers’ comments with each other. Specifically, the F1 score of the best performing model is 0.58, which represents an improvement of 5.45% over the baseline model (F1 score of 0.55) and 7.41% over the model linking different speakers’ comments (F1 score of 0.54).
Pregnancy outcomes among women with inflammatory bowel disease: A UK tertiary centre experience
Authors: Tunney Ruth , Liu Eleanor , Limdi Jimmy K.
Published: September 2024

Background

Optimal management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in pregnancy is associated with better pregnancy outcomes. We describe management of IBD during pregnancy and maternal and fetal outcomes of patients from a tertiary UK IBD centre.

Methods

This is a retrospective observational cohort study of all pregnancies occurring between 2015 and 2021 in a large tertiary IBD centre in the UK. IBD activity and management prior to, during and after pregnancy were recorded along with pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. Associations between IBD-focused interventions and any adverse pregnancy outcomes, as well as the association between IBD severity and treatments and adverse maternofetal outcomes were assessed.

Results

Pregnancies in 130 women with IBD were included for analysis. The mean maternal age at delivery was 30.5 (± 4.7) years. At conception, 73 women (56.2%) were in clinical remission and 24 (18.4%) were treated with a biologic agent. Active disease during pregnancy, measured by physician global assessment, was less frequent in women who were in clinical remission at conception, compared to those not in remission at conception (16/73 21.9% vs. 39/49 79.6%; data insufficient for eight women). Active IBD at conception was associated with pre-term birth (p = 0.04). Maternal corticosteroid use in any trimester was associated with low birth weight (T1 p = 0.02; T2 p = 0.005; T3 p = 0.007). Active disease (p = 0.008) and steroid use in the third trimester (p = 0.05) were both associated with neonatal infections up to six months after birth.

Conclusion

Women in clinical remission at the time of conception have favorable outcomes, consistent with prospective observational studies. Our observations emphasize the importance of high quality IBD care for women pre and post-partum in line with international recommendations.

Graphical Abstract
The Effects of Virtual Reality-Based Mindfulness Exercises on the Perception of Time, Psychological and Physiological States of Young People: A Randomized Crossover Trial
Authors: Olasz Orsolya , Erdős Sándor , Horváth Klára
Published: September 2024

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the efficacy of different electronic devices (VR headsets and tablet devices) supported mindfulness exercises. Contrary to previous studies, we compared the technologies not only regarding psychological but also physiological parameters. Additionally, we assessed time perception as an indicator of flow state, which can increase therapeutic adherence.

Method

Fifty volunteers (26 females and 24 males) aged 19–28 years (M = 23, SD = 1.93 years) participated in our cross-over trial. A 20-min mindfulness program (Guided Meditation VR™) was shown on both a VR headset and a tablet device, with a 1-week interval in randomized order. Psychological parameters and time perception were assessed through surveys, and an Empatica E4 wristband collected physiological data (heart rate, body temperature, electrodermal activity).

Results

Both VR- and tablet-based mindfulness programs reduced stress, as reflected by improvements in both anxiety (a 7.06-point reduction in STAI-Y score, p < 0.001) and in-session physiological parameters (a 4.82 bpm reduction in HR, p < 0.001; 1.11 °C increase in body temperature, p < 0.001), without significant differences between the two devices. However, participants perceived the intervention as shorter than its actual time only in the VR condition (VR: 26 shorter, 9 longer out of 47, p = 0.006; tablet: 20 shorter, 14 longer out of 47, p = 0.39).

Conclusions

While affirming the efficacy of electronic device-supported mindfulness in stress reduction, our study suggests no significant disparity between VR and tablet-supported exercises. Our findings also suggest that participants in the VR session perceived the intervention as shorter than its actual duration.

Preregistration

This study is not preregistered.
Dataset of an actual motor vehicle insurance portfolio
Authors: Segura-Gisbert Jorge , Lledó Josep , Pavía Jose M.
Published: September 2024

Advanced analytics plays a vital role in enhancing various aspects of business operations within the insurance sector by providing valuable insights that drive informed decision-making, primarily through effective database utilization. However, open access databases in the insurance industry are exceedingly rare, as they are the basis of the business, encapsulating all the risk structure of the company. This makes it challenging for researchers and practitioners to access comprehensive insurance datasets for analysis and assessing new approaches. This paper introduces an extensive database specifically tailored for non-life motor insurance, containing 105,555 rows and encompassing a wide array of 30 variables. The dataset comprises important date-related information, such as effective date, date of birth of the insured, and renewal date, essential for policy management and risk assessment. Additionally, it includes relevant economic variables, such as premiums and claim costs, for assessments of products’ financial profitability. Moreover, the database features an array of risk-related variables, such as vehicle size, economic value, power, and weight, which significantly contribute to understanding risk dynamics. By leveraging the statistical analysis of this rich database, researchers could identify novel risk profiles, reveal variables that influence insured claims behaviour, and contribute to the advancement of educational and research initiatives in the dynamic fields of economics and actuarial sciences. The availability of this comprehensive database opens new opportunities for research and teaching and empowers insurance professionals to enhance their risk assessment and decision-making processes.
Het afsluitmechanisme van de urethra bij de vrouw tijdens fysieke stress en de consequenties voor de urologische en urogynaecologische praktijk
Authors: Venema Pieter L. , Kummeling Maxime T. M. , van Koeveringe Gommert A. , Heesakkers John P. F. A.
Published: September 2024

Samenvatting

Het sluiten van de urethra van de vrouw onder condities van inspanning (stress) is waarschijnlijk het resultaat van een reflexcontractie die in gang wordt gezet door activiteit van de buikwandmusculatuur bij abdominale drukverhoging, met als effect contractie van de urethrale rhabdosfincter en bekkenbodemspieren. Deze reflexcontractie treedt een fractie van een seconde eerder op dan de verhoging van de blaasdruk tijdens stressepisodes. De drukverhoging in de urethra tijdens periodes van stress kan alleen goed plaatsvinden wanneer de urethra voldoende is gefixeerd aan de symfyse door de pubo-urethrale ligamenten, waardoor de externe urethrale sfincter in staat is de druk in de urethra te verhogen. De grootste en belangrijkste druktoename in de urethra bij drukverhoging vindt plaats in de distale urethra als gevolg van een kinking van de urethra.
A New Model for Evaluating the Behaviour of Swelling Soils
Authors: Komornik Uri , Benoliel David
Published: September 2024

In many areas around the world, there are clayey soils that have the potential to change their volume caused by the variation in their water content. Increasing or decreasing the water content caused the clayey soils to swell or shrink, respectively. This phenomenon may cause the uplifting and settlement of structures, which may lead to considerable financial damages. The estimation of swelling displacement without addressing the swelling rate have been published by several research works. This drawback leads to the development of a new model that takes into account the swelling behavior of soils with time. The model, which consists of two hyperbolic curves, was compared with swelling test results performed on soil samples taken from several locations in Israel. Data test results were used to compare the newly introduced model with other existing mathematical models found in the literature. This analysis shows that the new model represents more accurately the behavior with time of the swelling clayey soils measured in laboratory test results than the existing hyperbolic models.
Rings: Minna, Nathan, and Memory-Play
Authors: Rennie Nicholas
Published: September 2024

The literature has long debated the meaning and function of the play of rings staged to such effect by the titular heroine of Lessing’s 1767 Minna von Barnhelm, and the rings that stand at the center of the parable told by the titular hero of his 1779 Nathan the Wise. What has been missing is a sustained examination of the question of whether and how these rings might serve related functions in the two works. This article considers the Lustspiel and Dramatisches Gedicht together in order to argue that the rings in each case need to be understood as tokens of remembrance, and that the complexity of the ring-thematic reflects an essential ambivalence in Lessing’s understanding of memory. Each ring comes to represent both the circularity of a return to past realities and commitments, and those historical ruptures and developments that prevent such a return. By extension, the dramas’ rings more broadly represent a fraught transition, one both emancipatory and destabilizing, from what Aleida Assmann (Erinnerungsräume: Formen und Wandlungen des kulturellen Gedächtnisses [1999]) has described as a memory model inherited from the memoria tradition and based on the principle of archival retrieval, to a modern memory model based on a principle of reshaping and renewal rooted in the present.
Academic freedom: normative ideals, contemporary challenges
Authors: Özmen Elif
Published: September 2024

There is broad agreement within both science and society about the value of academic freedom. There is disagreement, however, about which forms or degrees, if any, of political and moral regulation might harm or benefit science. Academic freedom, just like free speech in general, has turned into a contentious issue within society as a whole. Competing ideas about science and its social functions, as well as the norms of justice and legitimacy, are debated.
From GIS to Graphical Representation for Maintaining Connectivity of Wastewater Network Elements
Authors: Et-Targuy Omar , Delenne Carole , Benferhat Salem , Begdouri Ahlame , Do Thanh-Nghi , Ma Truong-Thanh
Published: September 2024

Wastewater network management is a critical aspect of ensuring public health and environmental sustainability. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are widely employed for managing and analyzing wastewater network data. A Shapefile is a model for representing vector data in GIS. In this model, different databases are used to store various types of geometric data, including points, lines, and polygons. For instance, the components of wastewater networks are stored in different databases. However, this approach presents difficulties in accurately depicting the connectivity among the wastewater network components that are physically interconnected in reality. To address this issue, this paper discusses the limitations of the separate databases approach for representing wastewater networks in Shapefile and proposes a novel graph-based approach. In this approach, each component of the network, such as manholes, structures, pumps, etc., is represented as a node in the novel graph, while the pipes represent the connections between them. By adopting the proposed representation, the real interconnected nature of the wastewater network can be effectively captured and visualized. The validation of this approach, using five real datasets, confirms its ability to connect the various components of the wastewater network via a graph-based representation.
Human capital indicators as influenced by SES, cognitive and non-cognitive skills: evidence from Taiwan’s PISA performance
Authors: Boman Björn
Published: September 2024

Taiwan’s high performance in the PISA surveys has not been unnoticed by researchers. However, both individual level research and cross-national research which is relevant for Taiwan’s PISA achievement is typically lacking, especially as regards later surveys. This article examined Taiwan’s PISA mathematics and reading achievement in 2018, using individual level data (Valid N = 6863) and cross-national data with aggregated data for 77 countries. At the individual level, socioeconomic and non-cognitive variables explain the most variance of PISA mathematics and reading. At the cross-national level, cognitive ability and average income were statistically significant with cognitive ability as the strongest predictor. As Taiwan has a high level of average cognitive ability it may regarded as a strong comparative advantage with regard to human capital.
People-environment relations following COVID-19 pandemic lifestyle restrictions: a multinational, explorative analysis of intended biophilic design changes
Authors: Shulla Kalterina , Voigt Bernd-Friedrich , Lardjane Salim , Fischer Kerstin , Kędzierski Piotr , Scandone Giuseppe , Süße Thomas
Published: September 2024

The study analyzes the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions for the human–environment relations through the lenses of biophilic design. The mixed-method quantitative and qualitative explanatory research combines contextual and personal variables, such as, among others, country, age group, gender, overcrowding, time spent outside, access to nature/food and the exposure to biophilic elements, during and after the lockdown. The results indicate that psychological pressure on individuals caused by pandemic restrictions imposed early 2020, triggered changes in human-environmental relation. More precisely, our comparative analysis of six European countries (Italy, Germany, Poland, Spain, Denmark and Sweden) indicates that people-environment relations do not depend on the objective severity of country-wise restrictions, but rather on the individual perceptions of these restrictions. The results complement the lack of the research for the role of biophilic design in understanding and enhancing human–environment relations during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and thereafter.
Algorithmic fairness in predictive policing
Authors: Almasoud Ahmed S. , Idowu Jamiu Adekunle
Published: September 2024

The increasing use of algorithms in predictive policing has raised concerns regarding the potential amplification of societal biases. This study adopts a two-phase approach, encompassing a systematic review and the mitigation of age-related biases in predictive policing. Our systematic review identifies a variety of fairness strategies in existing literature, such as domain knowledge, likelihood function penalties, counterfactual reasoning, and demographic segmentation, with a primary focus on racial biases. However, this review also highlights significant gaps in addressing biases related to other protected attributes, including age, gender, and socio-economic status. Additionally, it is observed that police actions are a major contributor to model discrimination in predictive policing. To address these gaps, our empirical study focuses on mitigating age-related biases within the Chicago Police Department's Strategic Subject List (SSL) dataset used in predicting the risk of being involved in a shooting incident, either as a victim or an offender. We introduce Conditional Score Recalibration (CSR), a novel bias mitigation technique, alongside the established Class Balancing method. CSR involves reassessing and adjusting risk scores for individuals initially assigned moderately high-risk scores, categorizing them as low risk if they meet three criteria: no prior arrests for violent offenses, no previous arrests for narcotic offenses, and no involvement in shooting incidents. Our fairness assessment, utilizing metrics like Equality of Opportunity Difference, Average Odds Difference, and Demographic Parity, demonstrates that this approach significantly improves model fairness without sacrificing accuracy.
Prognostic validity of coronary flow reserve (CFR)-derived mapping-stress MRI in the risk stratification of suspected or known CAD patients
Authors: Lamja Stefania , Boccetti Danilo , Palumbo Pierpaolo , Barile Antonio , Di Cesare Ernesto
Published: September 2024

Purpose

Aim of our study is to evaluate the prognostic value of T1 stress mapping in suspected or known- CAD patients.

Materials and methods

In this retrospective study, there were 34 patients with known CAD. Mean follow-up time was 30.9 months (95% CI 29.49–32.31). All eligible participants were re-called for an on-site interview and we evaluated Primary endpoints like all Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE) and Secondary endpoints (arrhythmias and all cardiac causes of clinical worsening).

Results

Our general population of patients was split into responders and nonresponders based on T1 Mapping response. The T1 values were not statistically significant when compared based on collected MACE; however, when compared to secondary outcomes, there were significant differences in non-responders patients (p-value 0.001).

Conclusion

The microcirculation defect can be identified more effectively and accurately with T1 mapping than conventional qualitative evaluation. T1 mapping assumes a prognostic and therapeutic significance in stratifying the risk of patients with microvascular angina who have shown secondary outcomes.
Divine Contradiction: replies to critics
Authors: Beall Jc
Published: September 2024

This is a collection of replies to critics of Divine Contradiction, each critic a symposiast in the Religious Studies symposium on said book.
Climate‐Driven Projections of Future Global Wetlands Extent
Authors: Hardouin Lucas , Decharme Bertrand , Colin Jeanne , Delire Christine
Published: September 2024

Wetlands are crucial components of the Earth's system, interacting with various processes such as the hydrological cycle, energy exchanges with the atmosphere, and global nitrogen and carbon cycles. The future trajectory of wetlands is anticipated to be influenced not only by direct human activities, but also by climate change. Here we present our assessment of climate‐driven global changes in wetlands extent, focusing on the main wetland complexes. We used an approach based on the Topographic Hydrological model (TOPMODEL) and soil liquid water content projections from 14 models of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). Our analysis reveals a consistent decrease in wetlands extent in the Mediterranean, Central America, and northern South America, with a substantial loss of 28% in the western Amazon Basin for the end of the 21st century (2081–2100) under the SSP370 scenario. Conversely, Central Africa exhibits an increase in wetlands extent, except in the Congo Basin. Nevertheless, most of the areas studied (80%) present uncertain results, due to conflicting projections of changes between the models. Notably, we show that there is significant uncertainty among CMIP6 models regarding liquid soil water content in high latitudes. By narrowing our focus to 10 models, which seem to better represent the thawing of permafrost, we obtain a better inter‐model agreement. We then find a modest declines in the overall global area (<5%), but an average loss of 13% beyond 50°N. Specific areas like the Hudson Bay Lowlands experiencing a 21% decrease and the Western Siberian Lowlands a 15% decrease.
Evidences of Permafrost Signatures in the Planform Shape of Arctic Meandering Streams
Authors: Ragno Niccolò , Bonanomi Riccardo , Crivellaro Marta , Tubino Marco
Published: September 2024

We investigate whether geomorphic signatures of permafrost are embedded in planforms of river meanders, and we inquire as to how physical factors unique to permafrost environments are able to affect their dynamics. By exploiting satellite imagery, a data set of 19 freely‐meandering Arctic rivers is compared against an independent data set of 23 freely‐meandering streams flowing through temperate and tropical regions. Suitable dimensionless metrics are defined to characterize morphometric properties of meanders in terms of the spatio‐temporal distribution of curvature and channel width. Results show the absence of marked contrasts in the amplitude of bend‐curvature between the two data set. Differently, we find a permafrost signature in the channel width response, which manifests itself through larger values of the average bend‐width and by peaks of width fluctuations. Field data suggest that permafrost meanders tend to widen for increasing bend sinuosity, likely promoting a shift of their morphodynamic regime as final cutoff is approached.
Channel‐Spanning Logjams and Reach‐Scale Hydraulic Resistance in Mountain Streams
Authors: Follett Elizabeth , Wohl Ellen
Published: September 2024

Logjams create an upstream backwater of deepened, slower water, locally reducing bed shear stress. We compared hydraulic impact of logjam series across 37 geomorphically diverse reaches of mountain streams observed over 11 years in the US Southern Rockies. To enable reach‐scale comparison of logjam structure and spacing, we identified the modeled best‐fit effective resistance coefficient minimizing difference between outflow exiting a 1D channel with logjams present, and the same model channel with elevated channel resistance. Effective resistance increased with ratio of jam upstream depth to depth without a logjam, ratio of backwater length to average spacing, and decreased for randomly distributed jams due to close spacing, which reduced backwater impact. An analytic approximation and boundaries for region of relative spacing with steepest increase in effective resistance are provided. Our results can assist in targeting interventions to areas where hydraulic impact is greatest, providing value for money in nature‐based solution design.
The Polarity of IMF By Strongly Modulates Particle Precipitation During High‐Speed Streams
Authors: Laitinen J. , Holappa L. , Vanhamäki H.
Published: September 2024

Recent studies have suggested that the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) component modulates particle precipitation during solstices, or periods of high dipole tilt . So far this explicit IMF ‐effect has only been shown in statistical studies. Here we analyzed a sequence of high‐speed stream (HSS) driven events of auroral ( keV) and medium energy ( keV and keV) particle precipitation. We show that when HSSs are comparable in terms of IMF and solar wind parameters, they can lead to systematically stronger particle precipitation in individual events when the signs of and are opposite. We also perform a superposed epoch analysis of 485 HSSs giving further evidence that the ‐effect is especially significant during HSSs. This is likely due to the persistent IMF polarity during HSSs. We show evidence that the dependence in particle precipitation is caused by a similar dependence in substorm occurrence.
Observation of Quiet‐Time Mid‐Latitude Joule Heating and Comparisons With the TIEGCM Simulation
Authors: Day E. K. , Grocott A. , Walach M.‐T. , Wild J. A. , Lu G. , Ruohoniemi J. M. , Coster A. J.
Published: September 2024

Joule heating is a major energy sink in the solar wind‐magnetosphere‐ionosphere system and modeling it is key to understanding the impact of space weather on the neutral atmosphere. Ion drifts and neutral wind velocities are key parameters when modeling Joule heating, however there is limited validation of the modeled ion and neutral velocities at mid‐latitudes. We use the Blackstone Super Dual Auroral Radar Network radar and the Michigan North American Thermosphere Ionosphere Observing Network Fabry‐Perot interferometer to obtain the local nightside ion and neutral velocities at ∼40° geographic latitude during the nighttime of 16 July 2014. Despite being a geomagnetically quiet period, we observe significant sub‐auroral ion flows in excess of 200 ms−1. We calculate an enhancement to the local Joule heating rate due to these ion flows and find that the neutrals impart a significant increase or decrease to the total Joule heating rate of >75% depending on their direction. We compare our observations to outputs from the Thermosphere Ionosphere Electrodynamic General Circulation Model (TIEGCM). At such a low geomagnetic activity however, TIEGCM was not able to model significant sub‐auroral ion flows and any resulting Joule heating enhancements equivalent to our observations. We found that the neutral winds were the primary contributor to the Joule heating rates modeled by TIEGCM rather than the ions as suggested by our observations.
Studying the Impacts of Meteorological Factors on Distribution of Cloud Horizontal Scales Based on Active Satellite
Authors: Zhang Lijie , Li Jiming , Li Jia , Li Ruixue , Zhang Weiyuan , Lei Miao , Lv Qiaoyi , Jian Bida
Published: September 2024

As a significant macrophysical property, cloud horizontal scales play a role in cloud radiation, precipitation and vertical cloud overlap. Until now, however, the mechanisms behind the variations in cloud scale distribution have received far less attention. This study utilizes active satellite data from 2007 to 2016 to investigate the spatiotemporal distribution of cloud horizontal scales, and explains the variations through two meteorological factors: wind shear and atmospheric stability. Cloud scales exhibit a distinct power‐law behavior when scale break is not considered, and the power‐law exponent β is a characteristic measure of cloud scale distribution. A smaller power‐law exponent β indicates a higher frequency of large clouds. During boreal summer season, the amount of large clouds is extremely large south of the 40°S but rather small between 10°S and 20°S. As wind shear decreases or atmospheric stability increases, more large clouds occur globally. The underlying mechanisms might be associated with cloud entrainment which can be promoted by wind shear but inhibited by atmospheric stability. However, our analysis of the impacts of these two factors on cloud scale distribution across different regions and heights reveals that both wind shear and atmospheric stability play dual roles on the values of the exponent β. The potential physical mechanisms, including the effects of precipitation, are further discussed. It is observed that precipitation also exerts a dual impact on the values of the exponent β. These findings underscore the significance of considering the impacts of meteorological factors on cloud scale distribution in numerical weather prediction models.
Telomere stabilization by metformin mitigates the progression of atherosclerosis via the AMPK-dependent p-PGC-1α pathway
Authors: Sung Jin Young , Kim Seul Gi , Park So-Young , Kim Jae-Ryong , Choi Hyoung Chul
Published: September 2024

Telomere dysfunction is a well-known molecular trigger of senescence and has been associated with various age-related diseases, including atherosclerosis. However, the mechanisms involved have not yet been elucidated, and the extent to which telomeres contribute to atherosclerosis is unknown. Therefore, we investigated the mechanism of metformin-induced telomere stabilization and the ability of metformin to inhibit vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) senescence caused by advanced atherosclerosis. The present study revealed that metformin inhibited the phenotypes of atherosclerosis and senescence in VSMCs. Metformin increased the phosphorylation of AMPK-dependent PGC-1α and thus increased telomerase activity and the protein level of TERT in OA-treated VSMCs. Mechanistically, the phosphorylation of AMPK and PGC-1α by metformin not only enhanced telomere function but also increased the protein level of TERT, whereas TERT knockdown accelerated the development of atherosclerosis and senescent phenotypes in OA-treated VSMCs regardless of metformin treatment. Furthermore, the in vivo results showed that metformin attenuated the formation of atherosclerotic plaque markers in the aortas of HFD-fed ApoE KO mice. Although metformin did not reduce plaque size, it inhibited the phosphorylation of the AMPK/PGC-1α/TERT signaling cascade, which is associated with the maintenance and progression of plaque formation, in HFD-fed ApoE KO mice. Accordingly, metformin inhibited atherosclerosis-associated phenotypes in vitro and in vivo. These observations show that the enhancement of telomere function by metformin is involved in specific signaling pathways during the progression of atherosclerosis. These findings suggest that telomere stabilization by metformin via the AMPK/p-PGC-1α pathway might provide a strategy for developing therapeutics against vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis.
Stanniocalcin 1 and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 cooperatively regulate bone mineralization by osteoblasts
Authors: Kim Jung Ha , Kim Kabsun , Kim Inyoung , Seong Semun , Koh Jeong-Tae , Kim Nacksung
Published: September 2024

Stanniocalcin 1 (STC1) is a calcium- and phosphate-regulating hormone that is expressed in all tissues, including bone tissues, and is involved in calcium and phosphate homeostasis. Previously, STC1 expression was found to be increased by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] administration in renal proximal tubular cells. In this study, we investigated whether STC1 directly regulates osteoblast differentiation or reciprocally controls the effects of 1,25(OH)2D3 on osteoblasts to contribute to bone homeostasis. We found that STC1 inhibited osteoblast differentiation in vitro and bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2)-induced ectopic bone formation in vivo. Moreover, 1,25(OH)2D3 increased STC1 expression through direct binding to the Stc1 promoter of the vitamin D receptor (VDR). STC1 activated the 1,25(OH)2D3–VDR signaling pathway through the upregulation of VDR expression mediated by the inhibition of Akt phosphorylation in osteoblasts. STC1 further increased the effects of 1,25(OH)2D3 on receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) secretion and inhibited osteoblast differentiation by exhibiting a positive correlation with 1,25(OH)2D3. The long-bone phenotype of transgenic mice overexpressing STC1 specifically in osteoblasts was not significantly different from that of wild-type mice. However, compared with that in the wild-type mice, 1,25(OH)2D3 administration significantly decreased bone mass in the STC1 transgenic mice. Collectively, these results suggest that STC1 negatively regulates osteoblast differentiation and bone formation; however, the inhibitory effect of STC1 on osteoblasts is transient and can be reversed under normal conditions. Nevertheless, the synergistic effect of STC1 and 1,25(OH)2D3 through 1,25(OH)2D3 administration may reduce bone mass by inhibiting osteoblast differentiation.
Long-range-interacting topological photonic lattices breaking channel-bandwidth limit
Authors: Kim Gyunghun , Suh Joseph , Lee Dayeong , Park Namkyoo , Yu Sunkyu
Published: September 2024

The presence of long-range interactions is crucial in distinguishing between abstract complex networks and wave systems. In photonics, because electromagnetic interactions between optical elements generally decay rapidly with spatial distance, most wave phenomena are modeled with neighboring interactions, which account for only a small part of conceptually possible networks. Here, we explore the impact of substantial long-range interactions in topological photonics. We demonstrate that a crystalline structure, characterized by long-range interactions in the absence of neighboring ones, can be interpreted as an overlapped lattice. This overlap model facilitates the realization of higher values of topological invariants while maintaining bandgap width in photonic topological insulators. This breaking of topology-bandgap tradeoff enables topologically protected multichannel signal processing with broad bandwidths. Under practically accessible system parameters, the result paves the way to the extension of topological physics to network science.
Zero-power infrared switch with two-phase microfluidic flow and a 2D material thermal isolation layer
Authors: Zhang Zekun , Li Peng , Zou Yixuan
Published: September 2024

Wireless sensor nodes (WSNs) play an important role in many fields, including environmental monitoring. However, unattended WSNs face challenges in consuming power continuously even in the absence of useful information, which makes energy supply the bottleneck of WSNs. Here, we realized zero-power infrared switches, which consist of a metasurface and two-phase microfluidic flow. The metasurface can recognize the infrared signal from the target and convert it into heat, which triggers the two-phase microfluidic flow switch. As the target is not present, the switch is turned off. The graphene/MoS2/graphene 2D material heterostructure (thickness <2 nm) demonstrates an exceptionally high thermal resistance of 4.2 K/W due to strong phonon scattering and reduces the heat flow from the metasurface to the supporting substrate, significantly increasing the device sensitivity (the displacement of the two-phase microfluidic flow increases from ~1500 to ~3000 µm). The infrared switch with a pair of symmetric two-phase microfluidic flows can avoid spurious triggering resulting from environmental temperature changes. We realized WSNs with near-zero standby power consumption by integrating the infrared switch, sensors, and wireless communication module. When the target infrared signal appears, the WSNs are woken and show superb visual/auditory sensing performance. This work provides a novel approach for greatly lengthening the lifespan of unattended WSNs.
A parafoveal retinal cones analysis using adaptive-optics retinal camera in patients with primary open angle glaucoma
Authors: Trolli Eleonora , Roda Matilde , Valsecchi Nicola , Cacciatore Davide , Nardi Elena , Della Pasqua Valentina , Mercanti Andrea , Fontana Luigi
Published: September 2024

Objectives

To study the density, spacing, and regularity of retinal cone photoreceptors using an Adaptive Optics (AO) retinal camera (Rtx1TM, Imagine Eyes, Orsay, France) in patients with Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) and to compare the outcomes with those of healthy age-matched control subjects.

Methods

The study included 43 eyes with POAG and 31 eyes of normal subjects. POAG patients were divided into three groups according to the severity of the visual field defect. The AO Rtx1TM was used to obtain images of the parafoveal cone mosaic to calculate cone values. Analysis was performed at two and four degrees of eccentricity from the fovea along the four meridians (nasal, temporal, superior, inferior).

Results

In POAG eyes, the mean ± standard deviation (SD) cone density at 2° considering all meridians was significantly lower than in normal controls (23,058.6 ± 3532.0 cones/mm2, and 25,511.7 ± 3157.5 cones/mm2, respectively; p = 0.003). Cone spacing was 7.3 ± 0.5 µm in POAG and 7.0 ± 0.4 µm in normal controls (p = 0.005), and cone regularity was 90.5 ± 4.9% and 93.5 ± 1.9% in POAG and normal controls, respectively (p < 0.001). At 4° similar trends were observed. However, no significant differences were found among patients with different severity of POAG (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

Using AO Rtx1TM, significant differences in retinal photoreceptors mosaic pattern were found between POAG eyes and age-matched controls, indicating a reduction in photoreceptors in POAG. No significant differences in retinal photoreceptor values were found among the three POAG groups.
Acetyl-DL-leucine in two individuals with REM sleep behavior disorder improves symptoms, reverses loss of striatal dopamine-transporter binding and stabilizes pathological metabolic brain pattern—case reports
Authors: Oertel Wolfgang H. , Janzen Annette , Henrich Martin T. , Geibl Fanni F. , Sittig Elisabeth , Meles Sanne K. , Carli Giulia , Leenders Klaus , Booij Jan , Surmeier D. James , Timmermann Lars , Strupp Michael
Published: September 2024

Isolated REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (iRBD) is considered a prodrome of Parkinson’s disease (PD). We investigate whether the potentially disease-modifying compound acetyl-DL-leucine (ADLL; 5 g/d) has an effect on prodromal PD progression in 2 iRBD-patients. Outcome parameters are RBD-severity sum-score (RBD-SS-3), dopamine-transporter single-photon emission computerized tomography (DAT-SPECT) and metabolic “Parkinson-Disease-related-Pattern (PDRP)”-z-score in 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). After 3 weeks ADLL-treatment, the RBD-SS-3 drops markedly in both patients and remains reduced for >18 months of ADLL-treatment. In patient 1 (female), the DAT-SPECT putaminal binding ratio (PBR) decreases in the 5 years pretreatment from normal (1.88) to pathological (1.22) and the patient’s FDG-PET-PDRP-z-score rises from 1.72 to 3.28 (pathological). After 22 months of ADLL-treatment, the DAT-SPECT-PBR increases to 1.67 and the FDG-PET-PDRP-z-score stabilizes at 3.18. Similar results are seen in patient 2 (male): his DAT-SPECT-PBR rises from a pretreatment value of 1.42 to 1.72 (close to normal) and the FDG-PET-PDRP-z-score decreases from 1.02 to 0.30 after 18 months of ADLL-treatment. These results support exploration of whether ADLL may have disease-modifying properties in prodromal PD.