bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Corporate Social Performance and the Likelihood of Bankruptcy: Evidence from a Period of Economic Upswing
Authors: Habermann Florian , Fischer Felix Bernhard
Published: October 2021

The paper aims to investigate the effects of corporate social performance (CSP) on bankruptcy likelihood in times of economic upswing. This is important because prior related literature focused on data containing times of economic crises. We measure bankruptcy likelihood with the Altman Z score and CSP with Refinitiv ESG scores. By applying static panel data regressions and instrumental variable regressions on a sample of 6696 US-firm-year observations from 2010 to 2019 our main findings are: (i) In contrast to existing research, the level of firms’ CSP seems to have no (positive) effect on the likelihood of bankruptcy during times of economic upswing. (ii) Increasing a firm’s CSP in times of economic upswing leads to a rise in bankruptcy likelihood. We conclude that the positive effects of CSP on stakeholder relationships fail to materialize in flourishing business environments. The costs of increasing CSP, thus, exceed their immediate positive effects and raise bankruptcy likelihood. However, as they reduce financial default risk in subsequent crises, CSP investments can be seen as a balancing measure. Our findings bear implications for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.
Presentations for vertex-transitive graphs
Authors: Georgakopoulos Agelos , Wendland Alex
Published: October 2021

We generalise the standard constructions of a Cayley graph in terms of a group presentation by allowing some vertices to obey different relators than others. The resulting notion of presentation allows us to represent every vertex-transitive graph.
On design sensitivities in the structural analysis and optimization of flexible multibody systems
Authors: Held Alexander
Published: October 2021

The structural analysis and optimization of flexible multibody systems become more and more popular due to the ability to efficiently compute gradients using sophisticated approaches such as the adjoint variable method and the adoption of powerful methods from static structural optimization. To drive the improvement of the optimization process, this work addresses the computation of design sensitivities for multibody systems with arbitrarily parameterized rigid and flexible bodies that are modeled using the floating frame of reference formulation. It is shown that it is useful to augment the body describing standard input data files by their design derivatives. In this way, a clear separation can be achieved between the body modeling and parameterization and the system simulation and analysis.
Business models for the Anthropocene: accelerating sustainability transformations in the private sector
Authors: Burch Sarah , Di Bella Jose
Published: October 2021

The rapid pace and escalating severity of climate change impacts have made clear that current incremental approaches to pressing global socio-ecological challenges are insufficient to address the root causes of unsustainable development. This has spurred increasing interest in the dynamics of transformation: the actors, capacities and resources needed to fundamentally shift development paths. The private sector is at the core of essential transformative processes necessary to build a future premised on environmental integrity, social inclusivity, and resilience. The activities of the private sector are structured and driven by their underlying business model, which is at its core a set of assumptions about how a business creates, extracts and delivers value. Dominant conceptualizations of the business model remain a narrow imagining of how business interacts with societal processes and shape development patterns. In this article we call for the conceptualization and design of business models anchored in societal purpose and operating within planetary boundaries, apt for the Anthropocene. We identify five building blocks for business models where transdisciplinary sustainability research can accelerate entrepreneurial activity that fosters desirable sustainable pathways by enabling the creation of new capabilities in support of broader transformational processes. This article seeks to inform (and potentially re-orient the efforts of) transdisciplinary scholars engaging the private sector in the co-production of community-based sustainability and resilience-building initiatives. Likewise, the building blocks provide a guide for businesses who aim to deepen their capacity to build new partnerships, identify, and incorporate new information on climate risk into their operations and develop practices, sequences and procedures oriented toward the sustainable development goals and disaster resilience.
Discourses for deep transformation: perceptions of economic growth in two rural communities in Lower Saxony, Germany
Authors: Lübker Hannah Marlen , Abson David J. , Riechers Maraja
Published: October 2021

Ecological degradation stemming from the paradigmatic pursuit of economic growth is well known. Transforming the current dominant economic discourse will be a great challenge of our time and one that can foster a transformation to a more sustainable state. Little research exists concerning perceptions of growth by individuals in rural areas. In this empirical study, we analysed 33 interviews from two rural communities in Northwest Germany through qualitative content analysis. Our results highlight four archetypical perceptions of economic growth: (1) growth as inherently positive, (2) growth as being self-evident and without alternatives, (3) growth as a systemic constraint, and (4) growth as critical and with negative consequences. Differing perceptions about five key themes within broader societal discourses shape the four archetypical perceptions. All four archetypes are characterized by a common perception of systemic constraints, a lack of concrete alternatives to the current economic system and a lack of individual and societal agency, showing a system that is locked into its current trajectory. The understanding of the consequences of growth, stemming from the knowledge of rural inhabitants, can lay the groundwork for future research on discourses of growth. We envision a strengthening of tangible alternatives to the dominant economic growth paradigm within and with the local communities as necessary for a sustainability transformation.
Robust optimal classification trees under noisy labels
Authors: Blanco Victor , Japón Alberto , Puerto Justo
Published: October 2021

In this paper we propose a novel methodology to construct Optimal Classification Trees that takes into account that noisy labels may occur in the training sample. The motivation of this new methodology is based on the superaditive effect of combining together margin based classifiers and outlier detection techniques. Our approach rests on two main elements: (1) the splitting rules for the classification trees are designed to maximize the separation margin between classes applying the paradigm of SVM; and (2) some of the labels of the training sample are allowed to be changed during the construction of the tree trying to detect the label noise. Both features are considered and integrated together to design the resulting Optimal Classification Tree. We present a Mixed Integer Non Linear Programming formulation for the problem, suitable to be solved using any of the available off-the-shelf solvers. The model is analyzed and tested on a battery of standard datasets taken from UCI Machine Learning repository, showing the effectiveness of our approach. Our computational results show that in most cases the new methodology outperforms both in accuracy and AUC the results of the benchmarks provided by OCT and OCT-H.
Management of patients with cervical spine trauma in the emergency department: a systematic critical appraisal of guidelines with a view to developing standardized strategies for clinical practice
Authors: Gesu Elisa , Bellone Pietro , Bonzi Mattia , Bertani Giulio Andrea , Brignolo Ottolini Barbara , Bosco Paola , Conte Giorgio , Ferrari Matteo , Fiorelli Elisa Maria , Kurihara Hayato , Solbiati Monica , Solimeno Luigi Piero , Costantino Giorgio
Published: October 2021

Several guidelines on the evaluation of patients with suspected cervical spine trauma in the Emergency Department (ED) exist. High heterogeneity between different guidelines has been reported. Aim of this study was to find areas of agreement and disagreement between guidelines, to identify topics in which further research is needed and to provide an evidence-based cervical spine trauma algorithm for ED physicians. The three most relevant guidelines published on cervical spine trauma in the last 10 years were selected screening websites of the main scientific societies and through the comparison of a normalized Google Scholar and SCOPUS citation index. We compared the selected guidelines through seven a-priori defined questions. In case of disagreement between the guidelines or if the quality of evidence appeared low, evidence from published systematic reviews on the topic was added to build an evidence-based algorithm for approach to spinal trauma in the ED. The three selected guidelines were: NICE 2016, Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma 2009 and American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons 2013. We found complete agreement on one question, partial agreement for one questions, no agreement for two questions, while agreement was not assessable for 3 questions. The agreement between different guidelines and the evidence on which recommendations are based is low. An attempt to build an evidence-based algorithm has been made. More studies are needed on many topics.
The effects of green consumer empowerment in advertising on corporate evaluations and purchase intention: the case of organic food
Authors: Yang Xisi , Weber Anja , Grimm Anna-Katharina
Published: October 2021

This research aims to investigate the potential of consumer empowerment, the activation of consumers’ perceived power over companies, to achieve improved advertising effects for organic food compared to only communicating ecological benefits (classical green appeals). Two online experiments were conducted to analyze the ad effectiveness for consumers’ responses including their evaluations of the company and purchase intentions (nStudy1 = 294; nStudy2 = 457). Results indicate that green empowerment ads reach overall better performance to increase people’s perceived customer orientation and purchase intentions compared to green appeals, while similar effects are identified for perceived corporate environmental responsibility. Empowerment tactics are especially effective when consumers perceive the supplier to be a larger, high-resource company compared to a smaller, low-resource one. The significant effects of perceived corporate resources also indicates that smaller companies should use differentiated ad strategies depending on if they intend to enhance consumers’ purchase intentions or their environmental reputation.
α-Synuclein Induces the GSK-3-Mediated Phosphorylation and Degradation of NURR1 and Loss of Dopaminergic Hallmarks
Authors: García-Yagüe Ángel Juan , Lastres-Becker Isabel , Stefanis Leonidas , Vassilatis Demetrios K. , Cuadrado Antonio
Published: October 2021

In Parkinson’s disease, the dysfunction of the dopaminergic nigrostriatal tract involves the loss of function of dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta followed by death of these neurons. The functional recovery of these neurons requires a deep knowledge of the molecules that maintain the dopaminergic phenotype during adulthood and the mechanisms that subvert their activity. Previous studies have shown that transcription factor NURR1, involved in differentiation and maintenance of the dopaminergic phenotype, is downregulated by α-synuclein (α-SYN). In this study, we provide a mechanistic explanation to this finding by connecting α-SYN-induced activation of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) with NURR1 phosphorylation followed by proteasomal degradation. The use of sequential deletion mutants and single point mutants of NURR1 allowed the identification of a domain comprising amino acids 123-PSSPPTPSTPS-134 that is targeted by GSK-3 and leads to subsequent ubiquitination and proteasome degradation. This study provides a detailed analysis of the regulation of NURR1 stability by phosphorylation in synucleinopathies such as Parkinson’s disease.

Graphical abstract
Mechanism of Cellular Formation and In Vivo Seeding Effects of Hexameric β-Amyloid Assemblies
Authors: Vrancx Céline , Vadukul Devkee M. , Suelves Nuria , Contino Sabrina , D’Auria Ludovic , Perrin Florian , van Pesch Vincent , Hanseeuw Bernard , Quinton Loïc , Kienlen-Campard Pascal
Published: October 2021

The β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) is found as amyloid fibrils in senile plaques, a typical hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, intermediate soluble oligomers of Aβ are now recognized as initiators of the pathogenic cascade leading to AD. Studies using recombinant Aβ have shown that hexameric Aβ in particular acts as a critical nucleus for Aβ self-assembly. We recently isolated hexameric Aβ assemblies from a cellular model, and demonstrated their ability to enhance Aβ aggregation in vitro. Here, we report the presence of similar hexameric-like Aβ assemblies across several cellular models, including neuronal-like cell lines. In order to better understand how they are produced in a cellular context, we investigated the role of presenilin-1 (PS1) and presenilin-2 (PS2) in their formation. PS1 and PS2 are the catalytic subunits of the γ-secretase complex that generates Aβ. Using CRISPR-Cas9 to knockdown each of the two presenilins in neuronal-like cell lines, we observed a direct link between the PS2-dependent processing pathway and the release of hexameric-like Aβ assemblies in extracellular vesicles. Further, we assessed the contribution of hexameric Aβ to the development of amyloid pathology. We report the early presence of hexameric-like Aβ assemblies in both transgenic mice brains exhibiting human Aβ pathology and in the cerebrospinal fluid of AD patients, suggesting hexameric Aβ as a potential early AD biomarker. Finally, cell-derived hexameric Aβ was found to seed other human Aβ forms, resulting in the aggravation of amyloid deposition in vivo and neuronal toxicity in vitro.
An appeal to our government for nationwide policies in the prevention of cardiovascular disease
Authors: van Trier T. J. , Mohammadnia N. , Snaterse M. , Peters R. J. G. , Jørstad H. T. , Bax W. A. , Mackenbach J. D.
Published: October 2021

The high prevalence and burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is largely attributable to unhealthy lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and unhealthy food habits. Prevention of CVD, through the promotion of healthy lifestyles, appears to be a Sisyphean task for healthcare professionals, as the root causes of an unhealthy lifestyle lie largely outside their scope. Since most lifestyle choices are habitual and a response to environmental cues, rather than rational and deliberate choices, nationwide policies targeting the context in which lifestyle behaviours occur may be highly effective in the prevention of CVD. In this point-of-view article, we emphasise the need for government policies beyond those mentioned in the National Prevention Agreement in the Netherlands to effectively reduce the CVD risk, and we address the commonly raised concerns regarding ‘paternalism’.
Endovascular renal sympathetic denervation to improve heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: the IMPROVE-HF-I study
Authors: Feyz L. , Nannan Panday R. , Henneman M. , Verzijlbergen F. , Constantinescu A. A. , van Dalen B. M. , Brugts J. J. , Caliskan K. , Geleijnse M. L. , Kardys I. , Van Mieghem N. M. , Manintveld O. , Daemen J.
Published: October 2021

Introduction

The aim of the present study was to assess the safety and efficacy of renal sympathetic denervation (RDN) in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).

Methods

We randomly assigned 50 patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 35% and NYHA class ≥ II, in a 1:1 ratio, to either RDN and optimal medical therapy (OMT) or OMT alone. The primary safety endpoint was the occurrence of a combined endpoint of cardiovascular death, rehospitalisation for heart failure, and acute kidney injury at 6 months. The primary efficacy endpoint was the change in iodine-123 meta-iodobenzylguanidine (123I‑MIBG) heart-to-mediastinum ratio (HMR) at 6 months.

Results

Mean age was 60 ± 9 years, 86% was male and mean LVEF was 33 ± 8%. At 6 months, the primary safety endpoint occurred in 8.3% vs 8.0% in the RDN and OMT groups, respectively (p = 0.97). At 6 months, the mean change in late HMR was −0.02 (95% CI: −0.08 to 0.12) in the RDN group, versus −0.02 (95% CI: −0.09 to 0.12) in the OMT group (p = 0.95) whereas the mean change in washout rate was 2.34 (95% CI: −6.35 to 1.67) in the RDN group versus −2.59 (95% CI: −1.61 to 6.79) in the OMT group (p-value 0.09).

Conclusion

RDN with the Vessix system in patients with HFrEF was safe, but did not result in significant changes in cardiac sympathetic nerve activity at 6 months as measured using 123I‑MIBG.
Chemically Enhanced Solid–Liquid Separation of Digestate: Suspended Solids Removal and Effects on Environmental Quality of Separated Fractions
Authors: Beggio Giovanni , Peng Wei , Lü Fan , Cerasaro Andrea , Bonato Tiziano , Pivato Alberto
Published: October 2021

Chemically enhanced solid–liquid separation (CES) of digestate can improve its membrane filterability but potentially influence the environmental features of the separated solid fraction, thus hindering its possible agricultural reuse. In this study, the effects were assessed of different dosages of polyaluminum chloride (PAC), epichlorohydrine-dimethylamine with ethylendiamine (DEED) and polyacrilamides (PAM) on CES of digestate from biowaste in terms of Total Suspended Solid (TSS) mitigation in the liquid fractions and resulting environmental quality of the solid fractions. Results from lab-scale trials showed that applied chemicals significantly increased the centrifugation efficiency with achieving minimum TSS concentration of 2347 ± 281 mgTSS/L (up to 90% improved TSS mitigation). Also, performed treatments led to almost complete removal of P and Heavy Metals (HMs) from the liquid fractions after centrifugation. Conditioned solid fractions showed higher Al (reaching 20 g kg−1 TS), organic carbon and nitrogen content (up to 324 mgTOC kg−1 TS and 44.1 mgTKN kg−1 TS, respectively) due to residual PAC, DEED and PAM. However, achieved concentrations of HMs guaranteed full consistency with EU regulation limits established for agricultural reuse of organic soil amendments. Further, leaching tests performed on the treated solid fractions indicate higher chlorides and soluble Al concentrations in the water extracts (up to 4.6 g L−1 and 2.3 g L−1, respectively), but lower HMs leachability from the digestates undergone CES. Nevertheless, water extracts from treated biosolids were characterized by higher phytotoxicity, likely related with direct Al toxicity and increased salinity due to chemicals addition. Accordingly, the effects on soil–plant system should be better investigated when agricultural reuse of CES-treated solid fraction of digestate is foreseen.

Graphic abstract
Artificial Intelligence: Mind, Computer and the Dance of the Wu Li Masters
Authors: Siekmann Jörg
Published: October 2021

In these days of exuberant fantasies about the future development of artificial intelligence—mostly written by people who have never in their lives developed an AI program—the GFFT (Society for the Promotion of Technology Transfer) has also unleashed a competition on future AI scenarios to honour Wolfgang Bibel. Because I was allowed to give the laudatory speech for Wolfgang, I was also asked to contribute something to the pen. And because, despite everything else, it is not reprehensible to think about the future, I could not refrain from doing so. Here is my somewhat expanded contribution.
How Teacher and Grammarly Feedback Complement One Another in Myanmar EFL Students’ Writing
Authors: Thi Nang Kham , Nikolov Marianne
Published: October 2021

Providing feedback on students’ writing is considered important by both writing teachers and students. However, contextual constraints including excess workloads and large classes pose major and recurrent challenges for teachers. To lighten the feedback burden, teachers can take advantage of a range of automated feedback tools. This paper investigated how automated feedback can be integrated into traditional teacher feedback by analyzing the focus of teacher and Grammarly feedback through a written feedback analysis of language- and content-related issues. This inquiry considered whether and how successfully students exploited feedback from different sources in their revisions and how the feedback provisions helped improve their writing performance. The study sample of texts was made up of 216 argumentative and narrative essays written by 27 low-intermediate level students at a Myanmar university over a 13-week semester. By analyzing data from the feedback analysis, we found that Grammarly provided feedback on surface-level errors, whereas teacher feedback covered both lower- and higher-level writing concerns, suggesting a potential for integration. The results from the revision analysis and pre- and post-tests suggested that students made effective use of the feedback received, and their writing performance improved according to the assessment criteria. The data were triangulated with self-assessment questionnaires regarding students’ emic perspectives on how useful they found the feedback. The pedagogical implications for integrating automated and teacher feedback are presented.
An optimal nuclei segmentation method based on enhanced multi-objective GWO
Authors: Sharma Ravi , Sharma Kapil
Published: October 2021

In breast cancer image analysis, reliable segmentation of the nuclei is still an open-ended research problem. In this paper, a new clustering-based nuclei segmentation method is presented. First, the proposed method pre-processes the histopathology image through SLIC method. Then, a novel variant of multi-objective grey wolf optimizer is employed to group the obtained super-pixels into optimal clusters. Lastly, the optimal cluster with minimum value is segmented as the nuclei region. The experimental results demonstrates that the proposed variant of multi-objective grey wolf algorithm surpasses the existing multi-objective algorithms over ten standard multi-objective benchmark functions belonging to different categories. Particularly, the proposed variant has achieved best fitness value of more than 0.90 on 90% of the considered functions. Further, the nuclei segmentation accuracy of the proposed method is validated on H&E-stained estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer images. Experimental results illustrates that the proposed method has attained dice-coefficient value of more than 0.52 on 80% of the images. This illustrates that the proposed method is efficient in producing efficacious segmenting over histology images of Breast cancer.
Reflecting on reflection: prospect theory, our behaviors, and our environment
Authors: Oliver Adam
Published: October 2021

In a previously published article, I reported some tests of prospect theory's reflection effect over outcomes defined by money and life years gained from treatment. Those results suggested qualified support for the reflection effect over money outcomes and strong support over longevity outcomes. This article reruns those tests while accounting for the intensity of individual risk attitudes, and, overall, show consistency with the reflection effect. However, I argue that these results do not necessarily offer support for the explanatory power of prospect theory. Rather, the results may be driven by evolved responses to circumstances that provoke perceptions of scarcity and abundance. Therefore, from an ecological perspective, behavioral patterns such as those that are consistent with the reflection effect, which, by extension, tend to be considered as erroneous or biased by most behavioral economists because they conflict with the postulates of rational choice theory, may not be unreasonable. Recognizing as such is important when considering how behavioral insights ought to inform public policy design and implementation.
Waves in the gas centrifuge: asymptotic theory and similarities with the atmosphere
Authors: Rodal Marie , Schlutow Mark
Published: October 2021

We study the stratified gas in a rapidly rotating centrifuge as a model for the Earth's atmosphere. Based on methods of perturbation theory, it is shown that in certain regimes, internal waves in the gas centrifuge have the same dispersion relation to leading order as their atmospheric siblings. Assuming an air filled centrifuge with a radius of around 50 cm, the optimal rotational frequency for realistic atmosphere-like waves is around 10 000 revolutions per minute. Using gases of lower heat capacities at constant pressure, such as xenon, the rotational frequencies can be even halved to obtain the same results. Similar to the atmosphere, it is feasible in the gas centrifuge to generate a clear scale separation of wave frequencies and therefore phase speeds between acoustic waves and internal waves. In addition to the centrifugal force, the Coriolis force acts in the same plane. However, its influence on axially homogeneous internal waves appears only as a higher-order correction. We conclude that the gas centrifuge provides an unprecedented opportunity to investigate atmospheric internal waves experimentally with a compressible working fluid.
Under the Microscope: Gender and Accountability in the US Congress
Authors: KASLOVSKY JACLYN , ROGOWSKI JON C.
Published: October 2021

We study how officeholder gender affects issue accountability and examine whether constituents evaluate women and men legislators differently on the basis of their policy records. Data from 2008 through 2018 show that constituents’ approval ratings and vote choices in US House elections are more responsive to the policy records of women legislators than of men legislators. These patterns are concentrated among politically aware constituents, but we find no evidence that the results are driven disproportionately by either women or men constituents or by issues that are gendered in stereotypical ways. Additional analyses suggest that while constituents penalize women and men legislators at similar rates for policy incongruence, women legislators are rewarded more than men as they are increasingly aligned with their constituents. Our results show that accountability standards are applied differently across legislator gender and suggest a link between the quality of policy representation and the gender composition of American legislatures.
Comparison of Objective Prognostic Score and Palliative Prognostic Score performance in inpatients with advanced cancer in Japan and Korea
Authors: Hiratsuka Yusuke , Kim Daye , Suh Sang-Yeon , Kim Sun-Hyun , Yoon Seok-Joon , Koh Su-Jin , Park Shin Ae , Seo Ji-Yeon , Kwon Jung Hye , Park Jeanno , Park Youngmin , Hwang Sun Wook , Lee Eon Sook , Choi Hana , Ahn Hong-Yup , Cheng Shao-Yi , Chen Ping-Jen , Yamaguchi Takashi , Morita Tatsuya , Tsuneto Satoru , Mori Masanori , Inoue Akira ,   EASED Investigators
Published: October 2021

Objective

Accurate prognostication is important for patients and their families to prepare for the end of life. Objective Prognostic Score (OPS) is an easy-to-use tool that does not require the clinicians’ prediction of survival (CPS), whereas Palliative Prognostic Score (PaP) needs CPS. Thus, inexperienced clinicians may hesitate to use PaP. We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of OPS compared with PaP in inpatients in palliative care units (PCUs) in three East Asian countries.

Method

This study was a secondary analysis of a cross-cultural, multicenter cohort study. We enrolled inpatients with far-advanced cancer in PCUs in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan from 2017 to 2018. We calculated the area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) curve to compare the accuracy of OPS and PaP.

Results

A total of 1,628 inpatients in 33 PCUs in Japan and Korea were analyzed. OPS and PaP were calculated in 71.7% of the Japanese patients and 80.0% of the Korean patients. In Taiwan, PaP was calculated for 81.6% of the patients. The AUROC for 3-week survival was 0.74 for OPS in Japan, 0.68 for OPS in Korea, 0.80 for PaP in Japan, and 0.73 for PaP in Korea. The AUROC for 30-day survival was 0.70 for OPS in Japan, 0.71 for OPS in Korea, 0.79 for PaP in Japan, and 0.74 for PaP in Korea.

Significance of results

Both OPS and PaP showed good performance in Japan and Korea. Compared with PaP, OPS could be more useful for inexperienced physicians who hesitate to estimate CPS.
Cost-effective millimeter-wave measurement setup for narrowband path loss and angle-of-arrival measurements: uncertainty analysis and specular building reflection measurements
Authors: Schulpen R. , Bronckers L. A. , Smolders A. B. , Johannsen U.
Published: October 2021

A cost-effective millimeter-wave measurement setup for narrowband path loss and angle-of-arrival measurements is presented in this paper. The setup consists of ubiquitous radio-frequency lab equipment and additional low-cost components. An algorithm is developed, which improves the measurement accuracy and reduces the required measurement time. An uncertainty analysis is performed, including a noise analysis, amplifier linearity, antenna misalignment and general system impairments. A theoretical model of the received signal plus noise is developed, which is used in Monte Carlo simulations to show the impact of snapshot averaging on the uncertainty. The estimated combined uncertainty with a 95.45% confidence level is 1.1 dB at the maximum measurable path loss and 0.3 dB in the case of low path loss, where the uncertainty due to receiver noise is negligible. The measurement setup is used in outdoor specular building reflection measurements at 24.00–24.25 GHz. The measured single-building reflections show a 1–9 dB excess loss compared to the free-space path loss. The measured excess loss is 9–20 dB for double-building reflections. These results indicate that buildings could potentially be used as effective millimeter-wave specular reflectors to extend millimeter-wave coverage.
Global Wet/Dry Patterns and Mechanisms Since the Last Glacial Maximum: A Key to Future Projection
Authors: Li Yu , Zhang Yuxin , Ye Wangting , Zhang Xinzhong
Published: October 2021

Investigating the response mechanisms of long‐term global wet/dry pattern changes to cold/warm periods and climate forcings can provide scientific supports for the projection of future wet/dry patterns in the context of global warming. Here we present a systematic assessment into the response of global wet/dry patterns to cold/warm periods since the Last Glacial Maximum, and test the triggers for global wet/dry status change. Then we conduct an assessment of future global wet/dry patterns based on a thorough analysis of modern observations, paleoclimate simulations and records. Results show that regions following the hypothesis of “wet gets wetter, dry gets drier” (WWDD) account for 22.81% of the world's land area except Antarctica in the future. Regions complied with future “DD” pattern mostly concentrate in the parts of southwestern North America, southwestern South America, Mediterranean, northern Africa, southern Africa and Asia, covering 18.21% of the modern dry regions. Regions complied with future “WW” pattern occupy 25.41% of the modern wet regions, mainly distributing around the parts of northeastern South America, central Africa, western Russia, eastern Asia and northeastern Australia. Besides we investigate global wet/dry patterns during the abrupt climate change and find that global wet/dry patterns generally have the opposite status between abrupt warm and cold periods. If an abrupt cold event appears in the near warm future, it is likely that some parts of southwestern North America and Mediterranean in modern dry regions will be getting wet.
Tracing Carbonate Formation, Serpentinization, and Biological Materials With Micro‐/Meso‐Scale Infrared Imaging Spectroscopy in a Mars Analog System, Samail Ophiolite, Oman
Authors: Leask Ellen K. , Ehlmann Bethany L. , Greenberger Rebecca N. , Pinet Patrick , Daydou Yves , Ceuleneer Georges , Kelemen Peter
Published: October 2021

Visible‐shortwave infrared (VSWIR) imaging spectrometers map composition remotely with spatial context, typically at many meters‐scale from orbital and airborne data. Here, we evaluate VSWIR imaging spectroscopy capabilities at centimeters to sub‐millimeter scale at the Samail Ophiolite, Oman, where mafic and ultramafic lithologies and their alteration products, including serpentine and carbonates, are exposed in a semi‐arid environment, analogous to similar mineral associations observed from Mars orbit that will be explored by the Mars‐2020 rover. At outcrop and hand specimen scales, VSWIR spectroscopy (a) identifies cross‐cutting veins of calcite, dolomite, magnesite, serpentine, and chlorite that record pathways and time‐order of multiple alteration events of changing fluid composition; (b) detects small‐scale, partially altered remnant pyroxenes and localized epidote and prehnite that indicate protolith composition and temperatures and pressures of multiple generations of faulting and alteration, respectively; and (c) discriminates between spectrally similar carbonate and serpentine phases and carbonate solid solutions. In natural magnesite veins, minor amounts of ferrous iron can appear similar to olivine's strong 1‐μm absorption, though no olivine is present. We also find that mineral identification for carbonate and serpentine in mixtures with each other is strongly scale‐ and texture‐dependent; ∼40 area% dolomite in mm‐scale veins at one serpentinite outcrop and ∼18 area% serpentine in a calcite‐rich travertine outcrop are not discriminated until spatial scales of <∼1–2 cm/pixel. We found biological materials, for example bacterial mats versus vascular plants, are differentiated using wavelengths <1 μm while shortwave infrared wavelengths >1 μm are required to identify most organic materials and distinguish most mineral phases.
On the Damping Time Scale of EVP Sea Ice Dynamics
Authors: Danilov Sergey , Koldunov Nikolay V. , Sidorenko Dmitry , Scholz Patrick , Wang Qiang
Published: October 2021

We propose to make the damping time scale, which governs the decay of pseudo‐elastic waves in the Elastic Viscous Plastic (EVP) sea‐ice solvers, independent of the external time step and large enough to warrant numerical stability for a moderate number of internal time steps. A necessary condition is that the forcing on sea ice varies slowly on the damping time scale, in which case an EVP solution may still approach a Viscous Plastic one, but on a time scale longer than a single external time step. In this case, the EVP method becomes very close to the recently proposed modified EVP (mEVP) method in terms of stability and simulated behavior. In a simple test case dealing with sea ice breaking under the forcing of a moving cyclone, the EVP method with an enlarged damping time scale can simulate linear kinematic features which are very similar to those from the traditional EVP implementation, although a much smaller number of internal time steps is used. There is more difference in sea‐ice thickness and linear kinematic features simulated in a realistic Arctic configuration between using the traditional and our suggested choices of EVP damping time scales, but it is minor considering model uncertainties associated with choices of many other parameters in sea‐ice models.
Representing Microphysical Uncertainty in Convective‐Scale Data Assimilation Using Additive Noise
Authors: Feng Yuxuan , Janjić Tijana , Zeng Yuefei , Seifert Axel , Min Jinzhong
Published: October 2021

For convective clouds and precipitation, model uncertainty in cloud microphysics is considered one of the most significant sources of model error. In this study, samples for model microphysical uncertainty are obtained by calculating the differences between simulations equipped with two‐ and one‐moment schemes during a one‐month training period. The samples are then added to convective‐scale ensemble data assimilation as additive noise and combined with large‐scale additive noise based on samples from climatological atmospheric background error covariance. Two experiments, including the combination and large‐scale error only, are conducted for a one‐week convective period. The results reveal that the simulation with a two‐moment scheme triggers more convection and has larger ice‐phase precipitation particles, which produce a stronger signal in the melting layer. During data assimilation cycling, although more water is introduced to the model, it is shown that the combination performs better for both background and analysis and significantly improves short‐term ensemble forecasts of radar reflectivity and hourly precipitation.
Targeting the miRNA-155/TNFSF10 network restrains inflammatory response in the retina in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Burgaletto Chiara , Platania Chiara Bianca Maria , Di Benedetto Giulia , Munafò Antonio , Giurdanella Giovanni , Federico Concetta , Caltabiano Rosario , Saccone Salvatore , Conti Federica , Bernardini Renato , Bucolo Claudio , Cantarella Giuseppina
Published: October 2021

Age-related disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) share common features such as amyloid-β (Aβ) protein accumulation. Retinal deposition of Aβ aggregates in AMD patients has suggested a potential link between AMD and AD. In the present study, we analyzed the expression pattern of a focused set of miRNAs, previously found to be involved in both AD and AMD, in the retina of a triple transgenic mouse model of AD (3xTg-AD) at different time-points. Several miRNAs were differentially expressed in the retina of 3xTg-AD mice, compared to the retina of age-matched wild-type (WT) mice. In particular, bioinformatic analysis revealed that miR-155 had a central role in miRNA-gene network stability, regulating several pathways, including apoptotic and inflammatory signaling pathways modulated by TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TNFSF10). We showed that chronic treatment of 3xTg-AD mice with an anti-TNFSF10 monoclonal antibody was able to inhibit the retinal expression of miR-155, which inversely correlated with the expression of its molecular target SOCS-1. Moreover, the fine-tuned mechanism related to TNFSF10 immunoneutralization was tightly linked to modulation of TNFSF10 itself and its death receptor TNFRSF10B, along with cytokine production by microglia, reactive gliosis, and specific AD-related neuropathological hallmarks (i.e., Aβ deposition and Tau phosphorylation) in the retina of 3xTg-AD mice. In conclusion, immunoneutralization of TNFSF10 significantly preserved the retinal tissue in 3xTg-AD mice, suggesting its potential therapeutic application in retinal degenerative disorders.
Economic disparity among generations under the Paris Agreement
Authors: Yang Haozhe , Suh Sangwon
Published: October 2021

The costs and benefits of climate change mitigation are known to be distributed unevenly across time and space, while their intergenerational distribution across nations has not been evaluated. Here, we analyze the lifetime costs and benefits of climate change mitigation by age cohorts across countries under the Paris Agreement. Our results show that the age cohorts born prior to 1960 generally experience a net reduction in lifetime gross domestic product per capita. Age cohorts born after 1990 will gain net benefits from climate change mitigation in most lower income countries. However, no age cohorts enjoy net benefits regardless of the birth year in many higher income countries. Furthermore, the cost-benefit disparity among old and young age cohorts is expected to widen over time. Particularly, lower income countries are expected to have much larger cost-benefit disparity between the young and the old. Our findings highlight the challenges in building consensus for equitable climate policy among nations and generations.
High resolution global spatiotemporal assessment of rooftop solar photovoltaics potential for renewable electricity generation
Authors: Joshi Siddharth , Mittal Shivika , Holloway Paul , Shukla Priyadarshi Ramprasad , Ó Gallachóir Brian , Glynn James
Published: October 2021

Rooftop solar photovoltaics currently account for 40% of the global solar photovoltaics installed capacity and one-fourth of the total renewable capacity additions in 2018. Yet, only limited information is available on its global potential and associated costs at a high spatiotemporal resolution. Here, we present a high-resolution global assessment of rooftop solar photovoltaics potential using big data, machine learning and geospatial analysis. We analyse 130 million km2of global land surface area to demarcate 0.2 million km2of rooftop area, which together represent 27 PWh yr−1of electricity generation potential for costs between 40–280 $ MWh−1. Out of this, 10 PWh yr−1can be realised below 100 $ MWh−1. The global potential is predominantly spread between Asia (47%), North America (20%) and Europe (13%). The cost of attaining the potential is lowest in India (66 $ MWh−1) and China (68 $ MWh−1), with USA (238 $ MWh−1) and UK (251 $ MWh−1) representing some of the costliest countries.
Machine learning-guided acyl-ACP reductase engineering for improved in vivo fatty alcohol production
Authors: Greenhalgh Jonathan C. , Fahlberg Sarah A. , Pfleger Brian F. , Romero Philip A.
Published: October 2021

Alcohol-forming fatty acyl reductases (FARs) catalyze the reduction of thioesters to alcohols and are key enzymes for microbial production of fatty alcohols. Many metabolic engineering strategies utilize FARs to produce fatty alcohols from intracellular acyl-CoA and acyl-ACP pools; however, enzyme activity, especially on acyl-ACPs, remains a significant bottleneck to high-flux production. Here, we engineer FARs with enhanced activity on acyl-ACP substrates by implementing a machine learning (ML)-driven approach to iteratively search the protein fitness landscape. Over the course of ten design-test-learn rounds, we engineer enzymes that produce over twofold more fatty alcohols than the starting natural sequences. We characterize the top sequence and show that it has an enhanced catalytic rate on palmitoyl-ACP. Finally, we analyze the sequence-function data to identify features, like the net charge near the substrate-binding site, that correlate with in vivo activity. This work demonstrates the power of ML to navigate the fitness landscape of traditionally difficult-to-engineer proteins.
Understanding the effectiveness of government interventions against the resurgence of COVID-19 in Europe
Authors: Sharma Mrinank , Mindermann Sören , Rogers-Smith Charlie , Leech Gavin , Snodin Benedict , Ahuja Janvi , Sandbrink Jonas B. , Monrad Joshua Teperowski , Altman George , Dhaliwal Gurpreet , Finnveden Lukas , Norman Alexander John , Oehm Sebastian B. , Sandkühler Julia Fabienne , Aitchison Laurence , Gavenčiak Tomáš , Mellan Thomas , Kulveit Jan , Chindelevitch Leonid , Flaxman Seth , Gal Yarin , Mishra Swapnil , Bhatt Samir , Brauner Jan Markus
Published: October 2021

European governments use non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to control resurging waves of COVID-19. However, they only have outdated estimates for how effective individual NPIs were in the first wave. We estimate the effectiveness of 17 NPIs in Europe’s second wave from subnational case and death data by introducing a flexible hierarchical Bayesian transmission model and collecting the largest dataset of NPI implementation dates across Europe. Business closures, educational institution closures, and gathering bans reduced transmission, but reduced it less than they did in the first wave. This difference is likely due to organisational safety measures and individual protective behaviours—such as distancing—which made various areas of public life safer and thereby reduced the effect of closing them. Specifically, we find smaller effects for closing educational institutions, suggesting that stringent safety measures made schools safer compared to the first wave. Second-wave estimates outperform previous estimates at predicting transmission in Europe’s third wave.
Stabilizing indium sulfide for CO2 electroreduction to formate at high rate by zinc incorporation
Authors: Chi Li-Ping , Niu Zhuang-Zhuang , Zhang Xiao-Long , Yang Peng-Peng , Liao Jie , Gao Fei-Yue , Wu Zhi-Zheng , Tang Kai-Bin , Gao Min-Rui
Published: October 2021

Recently developed solid-state catalysts can mediate carbon dioxide (CO2) electroreduction to valuable products at high rates and selectivities. However, under commercially relevant current densities of > 200 milliamperes per square centimeter (mA cm−2), catalysts often undergo particle agglomeration, active-phase change, and/or element dissolution, making the long-term operational stability a considerable challenge. Here we report an indium sulfide catalyst that is stabilized by adding zinc in the structure and shows dramatically improved stability. The obtained ZnIn2S4 catalyst can reduce CO2 to formate with 99.3% Faradaic efficiency at 300 mA cm−2 over 60 h of continuous operation without decay. By contrast, similarly synthesized indium sulfide without zinc participation deteriorates quickly under the same conditions. Combining experimental and theoretical studies, we unveil that the introduction of zinc largely enhances the covalency of In-S bonds, which “locks” sulfur—a catalytic site that can activate H2O to react with CO2, yielding HCOO* intermediates—from being dissolved during high-rate electrolysis.
A light tunable differentiation system for the creation and control of consortia in yeast
Authors: Aditya Chetan , Bertaux François , Batt Gregory , Ruess Jakob
Published: October 2021

Artificial microbial consortia seek to leverage division-of-labour to optimize function and possess immense potential for bioproduction. Co-culturing approaches, the preferred mode of generating a consortium, remain limited in their ability to give rise to stable consortia having finely tuned compositions. Here, we present an artificial differentiation system in budding yeast capable of generating stable microbial consortia with custom functionalities from a single strain at user-defined composition in space and in time based on optogenetically-driven genetic rewiring. Owing to fast, reproducible, and light-tunable dynamics, our system enables dynamic control of consortia composition in continuous cultures for extended periods. We further demonstrate that our system can be extended in a straightforward manner to give rise to consortia with multiple subpopulations. Our artificial differentiation strategy establishes a novel paradigm for the creation of complex microbial consortia that are simple to implement, precisely controllable, and versatile to use.