bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Language endangerment: Using analytical methods from conservation biology to illuminate loss of linguistic diversity
Authors: Bromham Lindell
Published: January 2023

Language diversity is under threat, with between a third to a half of all languages considered endangered, and predicted rates of loss equivalent to one language per month for the rest of the century. Rather than reviewing the extensive body of linguistic research on endangered languages, this review focuses specifically on the interdisciplinary transfer of methods developed in conservation biology, macroecology and macroevolution to the study of language endangerment and loss. While the causes of language endangerment and loss are different to those for species, studying patterns of diversity of species and languages involves similar analytical challenges, associated with testing hypotheses and identifying causal relationships. Solutions developed in biology can be adapted to illuminate patterns in language endangerment, such as statistical methods that explicitly model phylogenetic nonindependence, spatial autocorrelation and covariation between variables, which may otherwise derail the search for meaningful predictors of language endangerment. However, other tools from conservation biology may be much less use in understanding or predicting language endangerment, such as metrics based on International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criteria, population viability analysis or niche modelling. This review highlights both the similarities and the differences in approaches to understanding the concurrent crises in loss of both linguistic diversity and biodiversity.
Experimental study of axial flow evolution and area-varying waves in concentrated vortices
Authors: Bohl Douglas G. , Koochesfahani M.M.
Published: January 2023

The dynamics of axial flow is investigated in initially two-dimensional (2-D) concentrated line vortices that are subsequently cut by a thin wall. The vortices are formed in the wake of an airfoil oscillating sinusoidally at small amplitude, and their circulation and peak vorticity are controlled by the choice of oscillation frequency. The flow field is quantified in terms of the spatio-temporal evolution of axial (spanwise) velocity using one-component molecular tagging velocimetry, and simultaneous measurements of spanwise vorticity and axial velocity at selected planes away from the cutting wall using stereoscopic molecular tagging velocimetry. Results show that the characteristics of the vortices cut by the wall are initially in good agreement with the baseline 2-D vortices. However, as the axial flow develops near the cutting wall and propagates away from it farther downstream, the structure of the initially 2-D Gaussian-shaped vortices quickly changes to a highly distorted region(s) of vorticity near the wall. Data over planes one and two core radii away from the wall reveal appreciable axial velocity both toward and away from the wall, whereas at locations farther away the axial velocity is primarily away from the wall. The data reveal the existence of small amplitude area-varying waves that propagate away from the wall along the vortex core. These disturbances are associated with local changes in the vortex axial velocity and peak vorticity. The propagation speed of these disturbances is found to agree with predictions using the analytical model of Lundgren & Ashurst (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 200, 1989, pp. 283–307).
Evolution of dissipative fluid flows with imposed helicity conservation
Authors: Meng Zhaoyuan , Shen Weiyu , Yang Yue
Published: January 2023

We propose the helicity-conserved Navier–Stokes (HCNS) equation by modifying the non-ideal force term in the Navier–Stokes (NS) equation. The corresponding HCNS flow has strict helicity conservation, and retains major NS dynamics with finite dissipation. Using the helical wave decomposition, we show that the pentadic interaction of Fourier helical modes in the HCNS dynamics is more complex than the triadic interaction in the NS dynamics, and enhanced variations for left- and right-handed helicity components cancel each other in the HCNS flow to keep the invariant helicity. A comparative study of HCNS and NS flow evolutions with direct numerical simulation elucidates the influence of the helicity conservation on flow structures and statistics in the vortex reconnection and isotropic turbulence. First, the HCNS flow evolves towards a Beltrami state with a

$-4$

scaling law of the energy spectrum at high wavenumbers at long times. Second, large-scale flow structures are almost identical during the viscous reconnection of vortex tubes in the two flows, whereas many more small-scale helical structures are generated via the pentadic mode interaction in the HCNS flow than in the NS flow. Moreover, we demonstrate that parity breaking at small scales can trigger a notable helicity variation in the NS flow. These findings hint that the helicity may not be conserved in the inviscid limit of the NS flow.
Direct numerical simulations of bubble-mediated gas transfer and dissolution in quiescent and turbulent flows
Authors: Farsoiya Palas Kumar , Magdelaine Quentin , Antkowiak Arnaud , Popinet Stéphane , Deike Luc
Published: January 2023

We perform direct numerical simulations of a gas bubble dissolving in a surrounding liquid. The bubble volume is reduced due to dissolution of the gas, with the numerical implementation of an immersed boundary method, coupling the gas diffusion and the Navier–Stokes equations. The methods are validated against planar and spherical geometries’ analytical moving boundary problems, including the classic Epstein–Plesset problem. Considering a bubble rising in a quiescent liquid, we show that the mass transfer coefficient$k_L$can be described by the classic Levich formula$k_L = (2/\sqrt {{\rm \pi} })\sqrt {\mathscr {D}_l\,U(t)/d(t)}$, with$d(t)$and$U(t)$the time-varying bubble size and rise velocity, and$\mathscr {D}_l$the gas diffusivity in the liquid. Next, we investigate the dissolution and gas transfer of a bubble in homogeneous and isotropic turbulence flow, extending Farsoiyaet al.(J. Fluid Mech., vol. 920, 2021, A34). We show that with a bubble size initially within the turbulent inertial subrange, the mass transfer coefficient in turbulence$k_L$is controlled by the smallest scales of the flow, the Kolmogorov$\eta$and Batchelor$\eta _B$microscales, and is independent of the bubble size. This leads to the non-dimensional transfer rate${Sh}=k_L L^\star /\mathscr {D}_l$scaling as${Sh}/{Sc}^{1/2} \propto {Re}^{3/4}$, where${Re}$is the macroscale Reynolds number${Re} = u_{rms}L^\star /\nu _l$, with$u_{rms}$the velocity fluctuations,$L^*$the integral length scale,$\nu _l$the liquid viscosity, and${Sc}=\nu _l/\mathscr {D}_l$the Schmidt number. This scaling can be expressed in terms of the turbulence dissipation rate$\epsilon$as${k_L}\propto {Sc}^{-1/2} (\epsilon \nu _l)^{1/4}$, in agreement with the model proposed by Lamont & Scott (AIChE J., vol. 16, issue 4, 1970, pp. 513–519) and corresponding to the high$Re$regime from Theofanouset al.(Intl J. Heat Mass Transfer, vol. 19, issue 6, 1976, pp. 613–624).
Analyzing Contracts: State of the Field, Mixed-Methods Guiding Steps, and an Illustrative Example
Authors: Greenberg Karra , Kitaevich Evgenia Jane , Chaudhari Siddharth , Kirkland Anna
Published: January 2023

Contracts are the underpinning of functional business, governmental, organizational, and inter-personal relations across the developed world. It is a methodological advance for contractual research scholars to transform qualitative contractual information into quantitative data to analyze if, how, and why the law is reflected and reproduced in contracts—potentially explaining the continuation or amelioration of social injustices—and/or if contractual content informs human behavior or vice versa. However, efforts to “quantitize” contracts and statistically study them are scattered across subfields without much methodological guidance. The linguistic complexity of many legal contacts, paired with few repositories, makes their comparative quantitative analysis challenging. Prior attempts to quantitatively analyze contracts often lack shared systematic methods for measuring specified textual content, transforming this information into a quantitative format, or statistically analyzing the produced data set. This article presents the power and promise of transforming legal contracts and other similar documents into quantitative data for analysis, reviews the research to date that does so in different ways, and then provides concrete guiding steps and an illustrative example of how to transform contractual content into quantitative data that are valid, reliable, and reproducible, increasing the quality of the data produced and supporting the important socio-legal conclusions that can be derived from their analysis.
GENERIC LINES IN PROJECTIVE SPACE AND THE KOSZUL PROPERTY
Authors: RICE JOSHUA ANDREW
Published: January 2023

In this paper, we study the Koszul property of the homogeneous coordinate ring of a generic collection of lines in$\mathbb {P}^n$and the homogeneous coordinate ring of a collection of lines in general linear position in$\mathbb {P}^n.$We show that if$\mathcal {M}$is a collection ofmlines in general linear position in$\mathbb {P}^n$with$2m \leq n+1$andRis the coordinate ring of$\mathcal {M},$thenRis Koszul. Furthermore, if$\mathcal {M}$is a generic collection ofmlines in$\mathbb {P}^n$andRis the coordinate ring of$\mathcal {M}$withmeven and$m +1\leq n$ormis odd and$m +2\leq n,$thenRis Koszul. Lastly, we show that if$\mathcal {M}$is a generic collection ofmlines such that$$ \begin{align*} m> \frac{1}{72}\left(3(n^2+10n+13)+\sqrt{3(n-1)^3(3n+5)}\right),\end{align*} $$thenRis not Koszul. We give a complete characterization of the Koszul property of the coordinate ring of a generic collection of lines for$n \leq 6$or$m \leq 6$. We also determine the Castelnuovo–Mumford regularity of the coordinate ring for a generic collection of lines and the projective dimension of the coordinate ring of collection of lines in general linear position.
JUSTIFYING CONCURRENT CLAIMS IN PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW
Authors: Peari Sagi , Teo Marcus
Published: January 2023

Can claimants choose between contract and tort claims arising on the same facts with different jurisdictional and/or choice-of-law consequences? While domestic legal systems generally recognise concurrent liability, commentators object that its extension to private international law would be unprincipled and would threaten the field's values. This, however, contrasts with the position in common law and under EU Regulations, where concurrent claims are generally recognised with only narrow limits. This article justifies concurrent claims in private international law, arguing that the same premises supporting concurrent liability in domestic law exist in private international law, and that no field-unique concerns foreclose it.
Optimizing the configuration of plasma radiation detectors in the presence of uncertain instrument response and inadequate physics
Authors: Knapp P.F. , Lewis W.E. , Joseph V.R. , Jennings C.A. , Glinsky M.E.
Published: January 2023

We present a general method for optimizing the configuration of an experimental diagnostic to minimize uncertainty and bias in inferred quantities from experimental data. The method relies on Bayesian inference to sample the posterior using a physical model of the experiment and instrument. The mean squared error (MSE) of posterior samples relative to true values obtained from a high fidelity model (HFM) across multiple configurations is used as the optimization metric. The method is demonstrated on a common problem in dense plasma research, the use of radiation detectors to estimate physical properties of the plasma. We optimize a set of filtered photoconducting diamond detectors to minimize the MSE in the inferred X-ray spectrum, from which we can derive quantities like the electron temperature. In the optimization we self-consistently account for uncertainties in the instrument response with appropriate prior probabilities. We also develop a penalty term, acting as a soft constraint on the optimization, to produce results that avoid negative instrumental effects. We show results of the optimization and compare with two other reference instrument configurations to demonstrate the improvement. The MSE with respect to the total inferred X-ray spectrum is reduced by more than an order of magnitude using our optimized configuration compared with the two reference cases. We also extract multiple other quantities from the inference and compare with the HFM, showing an overall improvement in multiple inferred quantities like the electron temperature, the peak in the X-ray spectrum and the total radiated energy.
Promoting and disseminating consistent and effective nutrition messages: challenges and opportunities
Authors: Ruxton Carrie HS , Ruani Maria A , Evans Charlotte EL
Published: January 2023

Nutrition messages are a central part of policy making as well as communication via product information, advertising, healthcare advice and lifestyle campaigns. However, with amplified information (and misinformation) from a growing number of sources, inconsistent and conflicting food landscapes, and limited engagement from the public, nutrition messaging tensions have become more accentuated than previously. In this review, we focus on the challenges facing those wishing to effect dietary change through communication; and identify opportunities and future research questions. Beginning with a new working definition and taxonomy for the term ‘nutrition message’, we consider the evolution of public health nutrition messages from the past century and discuss which types of messages may be more effective. We then turn to the challenges of implementation and highlight specific barriers to recipients' understanding and change. While the evidence has many gaps and there is a need for systematic evaluation of nutrition messages, research indicates that recipients are more likely to act on fewer messages that provide clear benefits and which resonate with their perceived health needs, and which are relatively straightforward to implement. Effectiveness may be improved through consideration of how nutrition messages can be designed to complement key non-health drivers of food choice (taste, cost) and societal/cultural norms. Consistency can be achieved by aligning the wider food and messaging environment to desired public health actions; that is by ensuring that retail settings provide and signpost healthier choices, and that mass media nutrition messages work with, not against, public health advice.
Novel plant-based meat alternatives: future opportunities and health considerations
Authors: Flint Megan , Bowles Simon , Lynn Anthony , Paxman Jenny R.
Published: January 2023

Present food systems threaten population and environmental health. Evidence suggests reduced meat and increased plant-based food consumption would align with climate change and health promotion priorities. Accelerating this transition requires greater understanding of determinants of plant-based food choice. A thriving plant-based food industry has emerged to meet consumer demand and support dietary shift towards plant-based eating. ‘Traditional’ plant-based diets are low-energy density, nutrient dense, low in saturated fat and purportedly associated with health benefits. However, fast-paced contemporary lifestyles continue to fuel growing demand for meat-mimicking plant-based convenience foods which are typically ultra-processed. Processing can improve product safety and palatability and enable fortification and enrichment. However, deleterious health consequences have been associated with ultra-processing, though there is a paucity of equivocal evidence regarding the health value of novel plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs) and their capacity to replicate the nutritional profile of meat-equivalents. Thus, despite the health halo often associated with plant-based eating, there is a strong rationale to improve consumer literacy of PBMAs. Understanding the impact of extensive processing on health effects may help to justify the use of innovative methods designed to maintain health benefits associated with particular foods and ingredients. Furthering knowledge regarding the nutritional value of novel PBMAs will increase consumer awareness and thus support informed choice. Finally, knowledge of factors influencing engagement of target consumer subgroups with such products may facilitate production of desirable, healthier PBMAs. Such evidence-based food manufacturing practice has the potential to positively influence future individual and planetary health.
Impact of climate events, pollution, and green spaces on mental health: an umbrella review of meta-analyses
Authors: Cuijpers Pim , Miguel Clara , Ciharova Marketa , Kumar Manasi , Brander Luke , Kumar Pushpam , Karyotaki Eirini
Published: January 2023

Climate change may affect mental health. We conducted an umbrella review of meta-analyses examining the association between mental health and climate events related to climate change, pollution and green spaces. We searched major bibliographic databases and included meta-analyses with at least five primary studies. Results were summarized narratively. We included 24 meta-analyses on mental health and climate events (n = 13), pollution (n = 11), and green spaces (n = 2) (two meta-analyses provided data on two categories). The quality was suboptimal. According to AMSTAR-2, the overall confidence in the results was high for none of the studies, for three it was moderate, and for the other studies the confidence was low to critically low. The meta-analyses on climate events suggested an increased prevalence of symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety associated with the exposure to various types of climate events, although the effect sizes differed considerably across study and not all were significant. The meta-analyses on pollution suggested that there may be a small but significant association between PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, CO and mental health, especially depression and suicide, as well as autism spectrum disorders after exposure during pregnancy, but the resulting effect sizes varied considerably. Serious methodological flaws make it difficult to draw credible conclusions. We found reasonable evidence for an association between climate events and mental health and some evidence for an association between pollution and mental disorders. More high-quality research is needed to verify these associations.
Neighboring extremal nonlinear model predictive control of a rigid body on SO(3)
Authors: Bagherzadeh Shiva , Karimpour Hossein , Keshmiri Mehdi
Published: January 2023

The issue of implementing nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) on mechanical systems evolving on special orthogonal group (SO(3)) is taken into consideration in the first place. Necessary conditions of optimality are extracted based on Lie group variational integrators, leading to a two-point boundary value problem (TPBVP) which is solved using sensitivity derivatives and indirect shooting methods. Fast Newton-like methods referred to as fast solvers which are commonly used to solve the TPBVP are established based on the repetition of a nonlinear process. The numerical schemes employed to alleviate the computation burden consist of eliminating some constraint-related but non-essential terms in the trend of sensitivity derivatives calculation and for solving the TPBVP equations. As another claim, assuming that a first attempt to resolve the NMPC problem is accessible, the problem subjected to some changes in its initial conditions (due to some re-planning schemes) can be resolved cost-effectively based on it. Instead of solving the whole optimization process from the scratch, the optimal control inputs and states of the system are updated based on the neighboring extremal (NE) method. For this purpose, two approaches are considered: applying NE method on the first solution that leads to a neighboring optimal solution, or assisting this latter by updating the NMPC-related optimization using exact TPBVP equations at some predefined intermediate steps. It is shown through an example that the first method is not accurate enough due to error accumulations. In contrast, the second method preserves the accuracy while reducing the computation time significantly.
Developing early lexical composition in Mandarin-speaking children: A longitudinal study
Authors: HUNG Yi-Fang , CHANG Chien-Ju
Published: January 2023

This study investigated the developmental pattern of early lexical production and composition in Mandarin-speaking children. Forty Mandarin-speaking children and their parents participated in this one-and-a-half-year longitudinal study, and naturalistic samples of parent-to-child speech in toy play were collected when the children were 1;8, 2;2, and 3;0. The results showed that children’s lexical production increased significantly between ages 1;8 and 3;0. The proportion of closed-class words increased significantly with age, whereas the proportion of common nouns showed the inverse pattern, indicating the role of grammatical words increased as the children grew. Furthermore, nouns and verbs were predominant in Mandarin-speaking children between ages 1;8 and 3;0, and Mandarin-speaking children used more verbs than nouns at 2;2 and 3;0 in the toy play context. The longitudinal study clarifies early lexical development in Mandarin-speaking children, which provides a valuable contrast for different language systems.
The Mask of Bourgeois Masculinity and Franz Schreker's Die Gezeichneten
Authors: Hsieh Amanda
Published: January 2023

This article interrogates how Franz Schreker's Die Gezeichneten and its early reception reflected an uneasiness about the confines of manhood. As an opera with a complex genesis and a difficult reception history, Die Gezeichneten's allure comes from its resistance to being reduced to only one thing. I nevertheless seek to locate this opera around the time of its premiere towards the end of the First World War. I contend that Die Gezeichneten and its immediate reception charted a key transition in Austro-German masculinity. Specifically, the opera's early performances marked a move away from the period's normative models of bourgeois masculinity (and their corresponding ideas about appearance, health and nationhood) and towards an alternative masculinity preoccupied with degeneracy. I focus on the opera's masks, arguing that, through acts of concealment and disclosure, the opera's two male protagonists struggle to negotiate expectations of an emotionally controlled modern manhood, calling attention to wartime anxieties about what it meant to be a man. Such anxieties resulted in a hardening of attitudes towards the masculine gender, which influenced contemporary music criticism too. Die Gezeichneten's highly sensationalist early reviews relied on a language of degeneracy. Yet I suggest that the opera's initial reception captured a critical moment in this language's history before it was subsumed under Nazi ideology.
A Mexican Semiramide: García and Rossini in Postcolonial Latin America
Authors: Milella Francesco
Published: January 2023

In 1828, five years after the premiere in Venice of Rossini's final Italian opera, Semiramide, Gaetano Rossi's libretto was again set to music, this time by the famed bel canto tenor and composer Manuel García in Mexico City. The opera, one of the first to be composed in Latin America after the collapse of the Spanish empire, was intended to demonstrate independent Mexico's ability not just to import Italian opera from Europe but also to produce new works. Instead of proving Mexico's credentials as a successful operatic nation, however, García's Semiramide became a problematic space for bringing to light tensions between underlying colonial resistance and the new liberal influence of France, England and Italy. This article contextualises this momentous operatic event within the wider frame of Mexico's nation building and investigates how the manifold political tensions and cultural contradictions of Mexico's postcolonial transition were absorbed and amplified by both García's composition and its staging.
Transcatheter closure with a “single lobe” Amplatzer Vascular Plug of a tubular patent ductus arteriosus in a neonate with transposition of the great arteries and heart failure
Authors: Sharma Shiv-Raj , Michielon Guido , Fraisse Alain
Published: January 2023

A patent ductus arteriosus in patients with transposition of the great arteries is usually beneficial to allow shunting between pulmonary and systemic circulations. However, if the duct is too large, it can cause haemodynamic instability, pulmonary oedema and compromised organ perfusion. We present a neonate in whom a 5 mm short and tubular ductus arteriosus was causing significant cardiac failure with necrotising enterocolitis and liver impairment, leaving him too unstable for the arterial switch operation. At day 14 of life (3.1 kg), the baby underwent successful transcatheter closure using an Amplatzer vascular plug (Abbott, Chicago, Il, USA) delivered through a 5Fr catheter from the aortic side. The procedure was uncomplicated and successful as the neonate was extubated 2 days later. He subsequently underwent successful arterial switch surgery.
Arabians for guns: Wahhabi matchlocks, world trade, and the rise of the first Saudi state
Authors: Halevi Leor
Published: January 2023

Historical explanations of the rise and expansion of the first Saudi state have given Wahhabism pride of place. Principally, they have dwelt on religion and ideology, emphasising the role of the eighteenth-century theologian Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb and arguing that his charisma, puritanical zeal, exclusivist approach to monotheistic worship, or neo-orthodox reform programme inspired a series of consequential political and military actions, beginning with the foundation of a theocratic emirate in Dirʿiyya and culminating in the conquest of much of Arabia. However much Wahhabi doctrines might have motivated warfare and state expansion, this article contends that the rise of the Saudi state depended on the spread of a new weapon—the matchlock gun. It considers the significance of firearms in regional warfare and, after making the case that they were likely to have been imported, builds up the revisionist argument that Najd had significant connections to world trade.
Global Evaluation of the Fidelity of Clouds in the ECMWF Integrated Forecast System
Authors: Aumann Hartmut H. , Wilson R. Chris , Geer Alan , Huang Xianglei , Chen Xiuhong , DeSouza‐Machado Sergio , Liu Xu
Published: January 2023

Weather forecasting centers mainly assimilate infrared sounder data in clear‐conditions or in channels with their main sensitivity to the atmosphere well above the cloud tops. Sometimes channels with stronger cloud sensitivity are used in overcast conditions, but currently no cloud information is used from infrared sounders, and all‐sky assimilation approaches are still under development. However, cloudy radiances could already be used for validating the quality of clouds in forecasts. We illustrate this by comparing the brightness temperatures observed (obs) with AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) to those calculated (cal) based on the clouds specified in the ECMWF (European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting) Integrated Forecast System (IFS). Our analysis is based on a 12 hr ingest of AIRS data into the ECMWF assimilation system. We show that the standard deviation of (obs‐cal) using the 1,231 cm−1 atmospheric window channel is a metric of the fidelity of the clouds in the IFS. The global standard deviation of 5 K after accounting for likely space/time interpolation errors, appears to be dominated by clouds in the IFS which are not seen in the AIRS data, and vice versa. Our metric capitalizes on the unique sensitivity of infrared sounders to clouds for the routine monitoring of the fidelity of clouds in weather forecasts.
Statistical Study of Global Lightning Activity and Thunderstorm‐Induced Gravity Waves in the Ionosphere Using WWLLN and GNSS‐TEC
Authors: Chowdhury Swati , Kundu Subrata , Ghosh Soujan , Sasmal Sudipta , Brundell James , Chakrabarti Sandip K.
Published: January 2023

We present a statistical study of global lightning activity and correlate this activity with ionospheric fluctuations in the Total Electron Content (TEC). Thunderstorms play a significant role in modulating the ionosphere's plasma distribution. Using the well‐known World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) system, we investigate the diurnal, monthly, and seasonal variations in lightning stroke numbers across six continents. Typically, the monsoon causes a significant increase in lightning occurrences, as reflected in the WWLLN observations. We chose a time frame of July–December 2019, which usually covers the peak and post‐monsoon seasons on all the continents. The diurnal lightning activity is observed to be highest in the early afternoon for all the locations. In addition, we observe hemispherical changes in lightning activity that appear opposite in nature. Using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)‐International GNSS Service data, we use the Vertical TEC (VTEC) and Rate of change Of TEC Index as proxies for the amplitude scintillation S4 index. Using the wavelet analysis of the small‐scale fluctuations in the VTEC profile, we provide a time series analysis of wave‐like TEC fluctuations alongside lightning stroke count as a proxy for thunderstorm activity. It is found that, in most cases, Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (TIDs) or a local maximum of small‐scale fluctuation in VTEC (dVTEC) that could be coupled to atmospheric gravity waves are observed during periods of peak thunderstorm activity. Most of the locations show that the spectral power of TIDs and the stroke energy density are highly correlated.
Propagation of the Interplanetary Shock Induced Pulse: New Observations by the Global Navigation Satellite System
Authors: Chen Xingran , Zong Qiugang , Hao Yongqiang , Li Quanhan , Zhang Donghe , Zhang Hui
Published: January 2023

We revisited a typical interplanetary (IP) shock event on 7 November 2004, with high time resolution (1 s) total electron content (TEC) observations. The IP shock impinged on the dayside magnetopause at ∼18:27 UT, and launched a pulse into the magnetosphere. Using the multi‐spacecraft timing method, the pulse was estimated to propagate at an angular velocity of ∼0.1 MLT/s. While the in situ spacecraft observations only provided a first‐order estimation of the propagation speed, a more precise monitoring of the propagating pulse was achieved by the densely distributed network of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Following the shock arrival, GNSS receivers throughout the equatorial region recorded the associated TEC impulses. The signatures were sequentially observed from the sub‐solar to the nightside via both flanks, which in turn demonstrated the concrete propagation pattern of the pulse. In addition to a consistent angular velocity, a ∼40 s difference was systematically found between the TEC measurements and the in situ spacecraft observations, revealing the timescale of the shock‐induced magnetospheric‐ionospheric coupling.
Formation of Tarim Large Igneous Province and Strengthened Lithosphere Revealed Through Machine Learning
Authors: Zhang Ruixuan , Cheng Zhiguo , Zhang Zhaochong , Chen Zhen , Ernst Richard , Santosh M.
Published: January 2023

Earth history is punctuated by voluminous magmatism and the formation of large igneous provinces (LIPs). Although anomalous mantle temperatures are known to be involved in many LIPs formation, the potentially critical role of fluids remains elusive. Here we apply machine learning methods (e.g., random forest, deep neural network, and support vector machines) to train models based on global datasets of basalts associated with different settings. The trained models predict that the basalts of Tarim LIP in northwestern China show a spatial decrease in their island arc affinity from northeast to southwest, which can be correlated to fluids released from earlier southward oceanic subduction. Temporally, the fluid activity declined from 290 Ma basalts to 270 Ma mafic dykes, suggesting that the fusible components in the mantle source were waning over time and ultimately a strengthened lithosphere was generated. Our study provides new insights into the crucial role of fluids in the generation of LIPs, particularly those related to ancient subducted slabs.
Spectral Characterization of Parent Soils From Globally Important Dust Aerosol Entrainment Regions
Authors: Sadrian Mohammad R. , Calvin Wendy M. , Engelbrecht Johann P. , Moosmüller Hans
Published: January 2023

We investigated the variation in the mineralogical composition of surface soil samples from a wide range of atmospheric dust aerosol generating regions. These soils likely have mineral compositions similar to dust aerosols. We measured the visible, shortwave infrared (VSWIR) and long wave infrared (LWIR) reflectance spectra, as well as LWIR transmission spectra and carried out linear spectral mixture modeling on the transmission data. The spectroscopically identified minerals were compared with the mineralogy previously obtained using X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and optical microscopy (OM). The results showed that VSWIR is very sensitive to iron‐bearing minerals and better identifies their presence and type compared to XRD and OM. Clay minerals and carbonates have multiple distinct absorptions features in SWIR but are often overlapping, limiting our ability to uniquely assign spectral features. LWIR reflectance easily distinguishes carbonates, even in trace amounts that were not identified with other techniques. LWIR reflectance spectra for silicates were more complicated to interpret. In some samples, we were able to identify Si‐O features diagnostic of common silicates; however, in most cases these features were absent, and an unusual new peak (∼7.4–7.9 μm) was observed. LWIR transmission is characterized by strong absorption that arises from overlapping features from multiple silicate minerals, but carbonates are readily identifiable. Spectroscopy is complementary to XRD and can help identify additional minerals in these soil samples. Our results can help improve global soil atlases and can be used to support interpretation and validation of data acquired by current and future remote sensing instruments.
Spatial Heterogeneity of Aerosol Effect on Liquid Cloud Microphysical Properties in the Warm Season Over Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Zhao Pengguo , Zhao Wen , Yuan Liang , Zhou Xin , Ge Fei , Xiao Hui , Zhang Peiwen , Wang Yuting , Zhou Yunjun
Published: January 2023

The effect of aerosol on liquid cloud microphysical properties over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) during the warm season is investigated by using aerosol index (AI) and cloud property parameters data. Distinct differences in aerosol effect on liquid cloud microphysical properties have been found between the northern Tibetan Plateau (NTP) and southernTibetan Plateau (STP). The composite liquid cloud droplet effective radius liquid cloud droplet effective radius (LREF) anomalies for positive AI events are positive in the NTP and negative in the STP. In both NTP and STP, when the AI anomalies are positive, the LREF anomalies are also positive, which suggests that the increased aerosol loading reduces the solar radiation reaching the ground and thus enhances the atmospheric stability, which reduces the cloud base height and makes the liquid cloud area thicker, which gives cloud droplets more space to grow by collision‐coalescence. This indicates that the aerosol radiative effect is not likely the reason causing the distinct differences of aerosol effects on liquid cloud properties between NTP and STP. Further analysis shows that in the STP, the LREF first increases and then decreases with the increase of AI, while in the NTP, the LREF always increases with the increase of AI, suggesting a spatial difference in aerosol microphysical effect. In the STP, the influence of aerosol on liquid clouds is mainly dependent on liquid water path and convective available potential energy, while in the NTP, the influence of aerosol on liquid cloud is more likely related to large aerosol particles.
Spectral Induced Polarization (SIP) of Denitrification‐Driven Microbial Activity in Column Experiments Packed With Calcareous Aquifer Sediments
Authors: Strobel C. , Abramov S. , Huisman J. A. , Cirpka O. A. , Mellage A.
Published: January 2023

Spectral Induced Polarization (SIP) has been suggested as a non‐invasive monitoring proxy for microbial processes. Under natural conditions, however, multiple and often coupled polarization processes co‐occur, impeding the interpretation of SIP signals. In this study, we analyze the sensitivity of SIP to microbially‐driven reactions under quasi‐natural conditions. We conducted flow‐through experiments in columns equipped with SIP electrodes and filled with natural calcareous, organic‐carbon‐rich aquifer sediment, in which heterotrophic denitrification was bio‐stimulated. Our results show that, even in the presence of parallel polarization processes in a natural sediment under field‐relevant geochemical conditions, SIP is sufficiently sensitive to microbially‐driven changes in electrical charge storage. Denitrification yielded an increase in imaginary conductivity of up to 3.1  (+140%) and the formation of a distinct peak between 1 and 10 Hz, that matched the timing of expected microbial activity predicted by a reactive transport model fitted to solute concentrations. A Cole‐Cole decomposition allowed separating the polarization contribution of microbial activity from that of cation exchange, thereby helping to locate microbial hotspots without the need for (bio)geochemical data to constrain the Cole‐Cole parameters. Our approach opens new avenues for the application of SIP as a rapid method to monitor a system's reactivity in situ. While in preceding studies the SIP signals of microbial activity in natural sediments were influenced by mineral precipitation/dissolution reactions, the imaginary conductivity changes measured in the biostimulation experiments presented here were dominated by changes in the polarization of the bacterial cells rather than a reaction‐induced alteration of the abiotic matrix.
A Multi‐Model Ensemble Kalman Filter for Data Assimilation and Forecasting
Authors: Bach Eviatar , Ghil Michael
Published: January 2023

Data assimilation (DA) aims to optimally combine model forecasts and observations that are both partial and noisy. Multi‐model DA generalizes the variational or Bayesian formulation of the Kalman filter, and we prove that it is also the minimum variance linear unbiased estimator. Here, we formulate and implement a multi‐model ensemble Kalman filter (MM‐EnKF) based on this framework. The MM‐EnKF can combine multiple model ensembles for both DA and forecasting in a flow‐dependent manner; it uses adaptive model error estimation to provide matrix‐valued weights for the separate models and the observations. We apply this methodology to various situations using the Lorenz96 model for illustration purposes. Our numerical experiments include multiple models with parametric error, different resolved scales, and different fidelities. The MM‐EnKF results in significant error reductions compared to the best model, as well as to an unweighted multi‐model ensemble, with respect to both probabilistic and deterministic error metrics.
PRPF8 increases the aggressiveness of hepatocellular carcinoma by regulating FAK/AKT pathway via fibronectin 1 splicing
Authors: López-Cánovas Juan L. , Hermán-Sánchez Natalia , del Rio-Moreno Mercedes , Fuentes-Fayos Antonio C. , Lara-López Araceli , Sánchez-Frias Marina E. , Amado Víctor , Ciria Rubén , Briceño Javier , de la Mata Manuel , Castaño Justo P. , Rodriguez-Perálvarez Manuel , Luque Raúl M. , Gahete Manuel D.
Published: January 2023

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) pathogenesis is associated with alterations in splicing machinery components (spliceosome and splicing factors) and aberrant expression of oncogenic splice variants. We aimed to analyze the expression and potential role of the spliceosome component PRPF8 (pre-mRNA processing factor 8) in HCC. PRPF8 expression (mRNA/protein) was analyzed in a retrospective cohort of HCC patients (n = 172 HCC and nontumor tissues) and validated in two in silico cohorts (TCGA and CPTAC). PRPF8 expression was silenced in liver cancer cell lines and in xenograft tumors to understand the functional and mechanistic consequences. In silico RNAseq and CLIPseq data were also analyzed. Our results indicate that PRPF8 is overexpressed in HCC and associated with increased tumor aggressiveness (patient survival, etc.), expression of HCC-related splice variants, and modulation of critical genes implicated in cancer-related pathways. PRPF8 silencing ameliorated aggressiveness in vitro and decreased tumor growth in vivo. Analysis of in silico CLIPseq data in HepG2 cells demonstrated that PRPF8 binds preferentially to exons of protein-coding genes, and RNAseq analysis showed that PRPF8 silencing alters splicing events in multiple genes. Integrated and in vitro analyses revealed that PRPF8 silencing modulates fibronectin (FN1) splicing, promoting the exclusion of exon 40.2, which is paramount for binding to integrins. Consistent with this finding, PRPF8 silencing reduced FAK/AKT phosphorylation and blunted stress fiber formation. Indeed, HepG2 and Hep3B cells exhibited a lower invasive capacity in membranes treated with conditioned medium from PRPF8-silenced cells compared to medium from scramble-treated cells. This study demonstrates that PRPF8 is overexpressed and associated with aggressiveness in HCC and plays important roles in hepatocarcinogenesis by altering FN1 splicing, FAK/AKT activation and stress fiber formation.
Tooth number abnormality: from bench to bedside
Authors: Zhang Han , Gong Xuyan , Xu Xiaoqiao , Wang Xiaogang , Sun Yao
Published: January 2023

Tooth number abnormality is one of the most common dental developmental diseases, which includes both tooth agenesis and supernumerary teeth. Tooth development is regulated by numerous developmental signals, such as the well-known Wnt, BMP, FGF, Shh and Eda pathways, which mediate the ongoing complex interactions between epithelium and mesenchyme. Abnormal expression of these crutial signalling during this process may eventually lead to the development of anomalies in tooth number; however, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. In this review, we summarized the major process of tooth development, the latest progress of mechanism studies and newly reported clinical investigations of tooth number abnormality. In addition, potential treatment approaches for tooth number abnormality based on developmental biology are also discussed. This review not only provides a reference for the diagnosis and treatment of tooth number abnormality in clinical practice but also facilitates the translation of basic research to the clinical application.
Functional and molecular characterization of suicidality factors using phenotypic and genome-wide data
Authors: Quintero Reis Andrea , Newton Brendan A. , Kessler Ronald , Polimanti Renato , Wendt Frank R.
Published: January 2023

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of suicidal thoughts and behaviors support the existence of genetic contributions. Continuous measures of psychiatric disorder symptom severity can sometimes model polygenic risk better than binarized definitions. We compared two severity measures of suicidal thoughts and behaviors at the molecular and functional levels using genome-wide data. We used summary association data from GWAS of four traits analyzed in 122,935 individuals of European ancestry: thought life was not worth living (TLNWL), thoughts of self-harm, actual self-harm, and attempted suicide. A new trait for suicidal thoughts and behaviors was constructed first, phenotypically, by aggregating the previous four traits (termed “suicidality”) and second, genetically, by using genomic structural equation modeling (gSEM; termed S-factor). Suicidality and S-factor were compared using SNP-heritability (h2) estimates, genetic correlation (rg), partitioned h2, effect size distribution, transcriptomic correlations (ρGE) in the brain, and cross-population polygenic scoring (PGS). The S-factor had good model fit (χ2 = 0.21, AIC = 16.21, CFI = 1.00, SRMR = 0.024). Suicidality (h2 = 7.6%) had higher h2 than the S-factor (h2 = 2.54, Pdiff = 4.78 × 10−13). Although the S-factor had a larger number of non-null susceptibility loci (πc = 0.010), these loci had small effect sizes compared to those influencing suicidality (πc = 0.005, Pdiff = 0.045). The h2 of both traits was enriched for conserved biological pathways. The rg and ρGE support highly overlapping genetic and transcriptomic features between suicidality and the S-factor. PGS using European-ancestry SNP effect sizes strongly associated with TLNWL in Admixed Americans: Nagelkerke’s R2 = 8.56%, P = 0.009 (PGSsuicidality) and Nagelkerke’s R2 = 7.48%, P = 0.045 (PGSS-factor). An aggregate suicidality phenotype was statistically more heritable than the S-factor across all analyses and may be more informative for future genetic study designs interested in common genetic factors among different suicide related phenotypes.
Multiscale molecular simulations for the solvation of lignin in ionic liquids
Authors: Mohan Mood , Simmons Blake A. , Sale Kenneth L. , Singh Seema
Published: January 2023

Lignin, the second most abundant biopolymer found in nature, has emerged as a potential source of sustainable fuels, chemicals, and materials. Finding suitable solvents, as well as technologies for efficient and affordable lignin dissolution and depolymerization, are major obstacles in the conversion of lignin to value-added products. Certain ionic liquids (ILs) are capable of dissolving and depolymerizing lignin but designing and developing an effective IL for lignin dissolution remains quite challenging. To address this issue, the COnductor-like Screening MOdel for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS) model was used to screen 5670 ILs by computing logarithmic activity coefficients (ln(γ)) and excess enthalpies (HE) of lignin, respectively. Based on the COSMO-RS computed thermodynamic properties (ln(γ) and HE) of lignin, anions such as acetate, methyl carbonate, octanoate, glycinate, alaninate, and lysinate in combination with cations like tetraalkylammonium, tetraalkylphosphonium, and pyridinium are predicted to be suitable solvents for lignin dissolution. The dissolution properties such as interaction energy between anion and cation, viscosity, Hansen solubility parameters, dissociation constants, and Kamlet–Taft parameters of selected ILs were evaluated to assess their propensity for lignin dissolution. Furthermore, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to understand the structural and dynamic properties of tetrabutylammonium [TBA]+-based ILs and lignin mixtures and to shed light on the mechanisms involved in lignin dissolution. MD simulation results suggested [TBA]+-based ILs have the potential to dissolve lignin because of their higher contact probability and interaction energies with lignin when compared to cholinium lysinate.