bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Probability weighting for losses and for gains among smallholder farmers in Uganda
Authors: Verschoor Arjan , D’Exelle Ben
Published: December 2020

Probability weighting is a marked feature of decision-making under risk. For poor people in rural areas of developing countries, how probabilities are evaluated matters for livelihoods decisions, especially the probabilities associated with losses. Previous studies of risky choice among poor people in developing countries seldom consider losses and do not offer a refined tracking of the probability-weighting function (PWF). We investigate probability weighting among smallholder farmers in Uganda, separately for losses and for gains, using a method (common consequence ladders) that allows refined tracking of the PWF for a population with low levels of literacy. For losses, we find marked probability weighting near zero, which is in line with evidence found in Western labs. For gains, the absence of probability weighting is remarkable, particularly its absence near 100%. We also find marked differences in probability weighting for traditional farmers which are in line with the observed livelihoods strategies in the study area.
Recognition of cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms in older patients with heart failure
Authors: Oud F. M. M. , Spies P. E. , Braam R. L. , van Munster B. C.
Published: December 2020

Introduction

Cognitive impairment and depression in patients with heart failure (HF) are common comorbidities and are associated with increased morbidity, readmissions and mortality. Timely recognition of cognitive impairment and depression is important for providing optimal care. The aim of our study was to determine if these disorders were recognised by clinicians and, secondly, if they were associated with hospital admissions and mortality within 6 months’ follow-up.

Methods

Patients (aged ≥65 years) diagnosed with HF were included from the cardiology outpatient clinic of Gelre Hospitals. Cognitive status was evaluated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test (score ≤22). Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Geriatric Depression Scale (score >5). Patient characteristics were collected from electronic patient files. The clinician was blinded to the tests and asked to assess cognitive status and mood.

Results

We included 157 patients. Their median age was 79 years (65–92); 98 (62%) were male. The majority had New York Heart Association functional class II. Cognitive impairment was present in 56 (36%) patients. Depressive symptoms were present in 21 (13%) patients. In 27 of 56 patients (48%) cognitive impairment was not recognised by clinicians. Depressive symptoms were not recognised in 11 of 21 patients (52%). During 6 months’ follow-up 24 (15%) patients were readmitted for HF-related reasons and 18 (11%) patients died. There was no difference in readmission and mortality rate between patients with or without cognitive impairment and patients with or without depressive symptoms.

Conclusion

Cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms were infrequently recognised during outpatient clinic visits.
Thinking Probabilistically
Authors: Amir Ariel
Published: December 2020

Probability theory has diverse applications in a plethora of fields, including physics, engineering, computer science, chemistry, biology and economics. This book will familiarize students with various applications of probability theory, stochastic modeling and random processes, using examples from all these disciplines and more. The reader learns via case studies and begins to recognize the sort of problems that are best tackled probabilistically. The emphasis is on conceptual understanding, the development of intuition and gaining insight, keeping technicalities to a minimum. Nevertheless, a glimpse into the depth of the topics is provided, preparing students for more specialized texts while assuming only an undergraduate-level background in mathematics. The wide range of areas covered - never before discussed together in a unified fashion – includes Markov processes and random walks, Langevin and Fokker–Planck equations, noise, generalized central limit theorem and extreme values statistics, random matrix theory and percolation theory.
Fur, Fashion and Transatlantic Trade during the Seventeenth Century
Authors: Appleby John C.
Published: December 2020

An excellent insight, using the example of the Chesapeake Bay fur trade, into how the different elements of transatlantic trade in the seventeenth century fitted together.
It’s Complicated: What Our Attitudes toward Pregnancy, Abortion, and Miscarriage Tell Us about the Moral Status of Early Fetuses
Authors: Chambers K. Lindsey
Published: December 2020

Many accounts of the morality of abortion assume that early fetuses must all have or lack moral status in virtue of developmental features that they share. Our actual attitudes toward early fetuses don’t reflect this all-or-nothing assumption. If we start with the assumption that our attitudes toward fetuses are accurately tracking their value, then we need an account of fetal moral status that can explain why it is appropriate to love some fetuses but not others. I argue that a fetus can come to have moral claims on persons who have taken up the activity of person-creation.
William Desmond, Jean-Luc Marion, and the Passion of Charity
Authors: Duns Ryan
Published: December 2020

Theologians have recently shown interest in the work of Irish metaphysician William Desmond. A prevailing antimetaphysical sentiment may, however, discourage others from engaging his work. To allay concerns, this article brings Desmond into conversation with Jean-Luc Marion on the topic of divine revelation. The purpose is twofold. First, for those wary of metaphysics, this essay demonstrates that Desmond's metaxology evades Marion's critique and, more importantly, shows how the two thinkers share a “familial intimacy.” Despite the opposition between metaphysics and phenomenology, this intimacy renders them companion thinkers. Second, this companionship is theologically beneficial to Desmond. With Marion as guide, we consider how the concept of divine charity can be added into Desmond's metaphysics in what I call the passio caritatis, or “passion of charity.” The article concludes by suggesting how undergoing the passio caritatis effects a theological expansion of Desmond's metaphysics and puts it at the service of theological reflection.
Hausdorff measure and Assouad dimension of generic self-conformal IFS on the line
Authors: Bárány Balázs , Simon Károly , Kolossváry István , Rams Michał
Published: December 2020

This paper considers self-conformal iterated function systems (IFSs) on the real line whose first level cylinders overlap. In the space of self-conformal IFSs, we show that generically (in topological sense) if the attractor of such a system has Hausdorff dimension less than 1 then it has zero appropriate dimensional Hausdorff measure and its Assouad dimension is equal to 1. Our main contribution is in showing that if the cylinders intersect then the IFS generically does not satisfy the weak separation property and hence, we may apply a recent result of Angelevska, Käenmäki and Troscheit. This phenomenon holds for transversal families (in particular for the translation family) typically, in the self-similar case, in both topological and in measure theoretical sense, and in the more general self-conformal case in the topological sense.
Beware the Dogs! The Phallic Epithet in Phil 3.2
Authors: Collman Ryan D.
Published: December 2020

The scholarly trope that ancient Jews commonly referred to gentiles as ‘dogs’ has coloured exegesis of Phil 3.2 for centuries. This view gave rise to the interpretation that when Paul calls his opponents ‘dogs’, he is ironically inverting the epithet and using it to identify them as Jews. The present article provides a critical assessment of this interpretation and evaluates the data that has been used to justify this claim. I then provide a new interpretation of how Paul is employing the term ‘dog’ in Phil 3.2. On the basis of its broader usage in the Greek-speaking world and the context related to circumcision in Phil 3.2, I propose that Paul is using ‘dog’ as a vulgar, phallic epithet for his opponents.
Hidden Transcripts? The Supposedly Self-Censoring Paul and Rome as Surveillance State in Modern Pauline Scholarship
Authors: Robinson Laura
Published: December 2020

This article argues that one of the central theses of the counter-imperial reading of Paul has been more asserted than proved – namely, the thesis that Paul disguised anti-imperial sentiments in his letters specifically because speaking out against imperial authorities was too dangerous. This claim is the basic assumption behind the search in Paul's letters for ‘hidden’ or ‘coded’ transcripts. Such an approach can be found in the works of Warren Carter, N. T. Wright, and Richard Horsley, among others. But how likely is it that Paul would have felt the need to encode his anti-imperial sentiments? Was there really a risk that Roman soldiers would have intercepted Paul's mail or prosecuted him for its contents? Is the ‘hidden transcript’ idea an anachronistic concept based on modern surveillance states and transposed into the ancient world? This paper questions how likely it is that Rome's provincial governments would have had the inclination or ability to police private correspondence for seditious sentiments. From there, we can determine whether Paul is speaking as openly as he wants or is in fact protecting himself using ‘hidden transcripts’.
Property, the environment, and the Lockean Proviso
Authors: van der Vossen Bas
Published: December 2020

It is common to posit a clear opposition between the values served by property systems and the value of the environment. To give the environment its due, this view holds, the role of private property needs to be limited. Support for this has been said to be found in Locke’s famous ‘enough and as good’ proviso. This article shows that this opposition is mistaken, and corrects the implied reading of Locke’s proviso. In reality, there is no opposition between property and the environment. This is shown using Locke’s theory of appropriation, as well as the real-life case of instream water appropriation.
Investigation of 18 physiologically dormant Australian native species: germination response, environmental correlations and the implications for conservation
Authors: Collette Justin C. , Ooi Mark K.J.
Published: December 2020

For physiologically dormant (PD) species in fire-prone environments, dormancy can be both complex due to the interaction between fire and seasonal cues, and extremely deep due to long intervals between recruitment events. Due to this complexity, there are knowledge gaps particularly surrounding the dormancy depth and cues of long-lived perennial PD species. This can be problematic for both in situ and ex situ species management. We used germination experiments that tested seasonal temperature, smoke, dark and heat for 18 PD shrub species distributed across temperate fire-prone Australia and assessed how germination was correlated with environmental factors associated with their home environments. We found extremely high levels of dormancy, with only eight species germinating above 10% and three species producing no germination at all. Seven of these eight species had quite specific seasonal temperature requirements and/or very strong responses to smoke cues. The maximum germination for each species was positively correlated with the mean temperature of the source population but negatively correlated with rainfall seasonality and driest months. The strong dependence on a smoke cue for some of the study species, along with examples from other studies, provides evidence that an obligate smoke response could be a fire-adapted germination cue. Germination response correlated with rainfall season of the source populations is a pattern which has often been assumed but little comparative data across sites with different rainfall seasonality exists. Further investigation of a broader range of species from different rainfall season environments would help to elucidate this knowledge gap.
Food consumption in Tunisian university students and its association with sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle behaviours
Authors: Delicado-Soria Amalia , Serrano-Urrea Ramón , Cervera-Burriel Faustino , Daouas Thouraya , García-Meseguer María-José
Published: December 2020

Objective:

This study aimed to characterise food consumption among students at the University of Carthage (Tunisia), assessing quality of diet and main dietary patterns, and their association with potential conditioning factors.

Design:

Cross-sectional study. Participants self-reported food consumption in two 24-h recalls and information about sociodemographic, anthropometric and lifestyle characteristics such as BMI, birthplace, physical activity, eating places or kitchen appliances. Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) and the Nutrient Rich Foods (NRF) index (NRF9.3) were used to assess diet quality. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to identify eating patterns. Linear regression models were used to test the association of dietary patterns with the diet quality markers.

Setting:

Students at the University of Carthage, Tunisia.

Participants:

132 students

Results:

Almost 96 % of participants need shifts towards healthier food. Four main food patterns were identified ‘Traditional food’, ‘Transitional food’, ‘European breakfast’ and ‘Western food’. ‘Traditional food’ was the first dietary model, positively associated with MDS and NRF9.3. Women showed higher adherence to ‘European breakfast’ and higher quality of diet by NRF9.3. Students eating out of home showed higher adherence to ‘Western food’, those who never kept a regular schedule of meals consumed lower amount of vegetables and tubers, and sedentary or low active students had a higher intake of ready-to-eat products.

Conclusions:

Diet quality of the participating Tunisian students is inadequate, but traditional Mediterranean diet remains the main pattern in spite of the advanced transitional nutrition. Some lifestyle risk behaviours affecting quality of diet were identified in this work, which supports the youth’s particular vulnerability.
The role of colour and summary indicators in influencing front-of-pack food label effectiveness across seven countries
Authors: Pettigrew Simone , Dana Liyuwork Mitiku , Talati Zenobia , Tian Maoyi , Praveen Devarsetty
Published: December 2020

Objective:

Many countries are considering the implementation of front-of-pack nutrition labels as a strategy to address high and increasing levels of overweight and obesity. A growing body of work demonstrates the superiority of labels that use colour and/or provide a summary indicator of product healthiness to enhance comprehension. However, previous studies have been confounded in determining the relative effectiveness of these two attributes by comparing labels that also differ in other ways. The present study tested labels that varied only on use of colour and/or reliance on a summary indicator across an international sample to provide unique insights into the relative importance of these attributes.

Design:

Participants were randomised to see one of four variations of the Health Star Rating label that differed on the basis of use of colour and sole provision of a summary indicator.

Setting:

Australia, Canada, China, India, New Zealand, the UK and the USA.

Participants:

Adults (n 7545) in seven countries were exposed to online choice tasks requiring them to select a preferred breakfast cereal and then nominate the healthiest cereal.

Results:

Overall, the coloured versions, and particularly the one with just a summary indicator, outperformed the monochrome version that included nutrient-specific information. However, there were some differences by country, with results from Canada and China indicating superior outcomes for monochrome labels and those providing nutrient-specific information.

Conclusions:

The results highlight the importance of colour, but suggest that the introduction of front-of-pack nutrition labels should be preceded by country-specific formative testing to identify potential differences in outcomes.
Determinants of household food security and dietary diversity during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
Authors: Kundu Satyajit , Banna Md. Hasan Al , Sayeed Abu , Sultana Mst. Sadia , Brazendale Keith , Harris Jody , Mandal Moumita , Jahan Ishrat , Abid Mohammad Tazrian , Khan Md Shafiqul Islam
Published: December 2020

Objectives:

The study aimed to determine the associated factors of household food security (HFS) and household dietary diversity (HDD) during the COVID−19 pandemic in Bangladesh.

Design:

Both online survey and face-to-face interviews were employed in this cross-sectional study. The Household Food Security Scale and Household Dietary Diversity Score were used to access HFS and HDD, respectively. The HDD scores were derived from a 24-h recall of food intake from 12 groups.

Setting:

Bangladesh.

Participants:

A total sample of 1876 households were recruited.

Results:

The overall mean scores of HFS and HDD were 31·86 (sd 2·52) and 6·22 (sd 5·49), respectively. Being a rural resident, having no formal education, occupation of household head other than government job and low monthly income were potential determinants of lower HFS and HDD. Approximately 45 % and 61 % of Bangladeshi households did not get the same quantity and same type of food, respectively, as they got before the pandemic. Over 10 % of respondents reported that they lost their job or had to close their businesses, and income reduction was reported by over 70 % of household income earners during the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn was negatively associated with HFS and HDD.

Conclusion:

Household socio-economic variables and COVID-19 effects on occupation and income are potential predictors of lower HFS and HDD scores. HFS and HDD deserve more attention during this pandemic particularly with reference to low-earning households and the households whose earning persons’ occupation has been negatively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
5G beamforming techniques for the coverage of intended directions in modern wireless communication: in-depth review
Authors: Rao Leevanshi , Pant Mohit , Malviya Leeladhar , Parmar Ajay , Charhate Sandhya Vijay
Published: December 2020

The growing need of the compact and portable antennas with high speed and low latency wireless communication is the present and future demand of the voice over Internet protocol, on-demand bandwidth, and multimedia applications. Fifth-generation (5G) covers certain low-frequency bands under 6 GHz spectrum, and most of the high-frequency bands under 60 GHz. 5G is the part of the millimeter wave spectrum (30–300 GHz) and is introduced to overcome the problem of spectrum shortage due to exponential enhancement of wireless applications in industry, medical, airborne, radar, satellite, and research fields. The International Telecommunication Union's objective of wireless communications promises to provide higher data rates up to 10 Gbps for 5G mobile users and connectivity to the artificial intelligence devices, along with high spectral efficiencies and enhanced coverage. The users for the 5G require around 5 and 50 Gbps of data rates for low and high mobility, respectively. Beamforming in 5G is the modern powerful technique for the coverage of the intended user/direction using the narrow beam width radiation patterns. A brief survey on 5G beamforming techniques, i.e. analog, digital, hybrid, switched, and adaptive etc. and its types, working algorithms, design of compact antennas, gain, and size/type of the substrates is carried out in this paper. The study of the hybrid coupler, branchline coupler, Wilkinson power divider, and Butler matrix in beamforming is required for 5G smart antennas. Different beam widths like ±15, ±35, ±45, and ±55° etc. are produced for the intended directions using a variety of beamforming techniques. From lower to higher frequency band beamforming applications with Roger's Duroid 4003/4350/5880, tectonic, and aluminum oxide dielectric substrates are discussed here. Various beamforming techniques with their merits, demerits, and applications are included in the paper for the knowledge extension of the beamforming antenna designers and research community.
Assessments of User Comments With “Alternative Views”	as a Function of Media Trust
Authors: Kunst Marlene
Published: December 2020

Abstract. Comments sections under news articles have become popular spaces for audience members to oppose the mainstream media’s perspective on political issues by expressing alternative views. This kind of challenge to mainstream discourses is a necessary element of proper deliberation. However, due to heuristic information processing and the public concern about disinformation online, readers of comments sections may be inherently skeptical about user comments that counter the views of mainstream media. Consequently, commenters with alternative views may participate in discussions from a position of disadvantage because their contributions are scrutinized particularly critically. Nevertheless, this effect has hitherto not been empirically established. To address this gap, a multifactorial, between-subjects experimental study ( N = 166) was conducted that investigated how participants assess the credibility and argument quality of media-dissonant user comments relative to media-congruent user comments. The findings revealed that media-dissonant user comments are, indeed, disadvantaged in online discussions, as they are assessed as less credible and more poorly argued than media-congruent user comments. Moreover, the findings showed that the higher the participants’ level of media trust, the worse the assessment of media-dissonant user comments relative to media-congruent user comments. Normative implications and avenues for future research are discussed.
Land Surface Air Temperature Variations Across the Globe Updated to 2019: The CRUTEM5 Data Set
Authors: Osborn T. J. , Jones P. D. , Lister D. H. , Morice C. P. , Simpson I. R. , Winn J. P. , Hogan E. , Harris I. C.
Published: December 2020

Climatic Research Unit temperature version 5 (CRUTEM5) is an extensive revision of our land surface air temperature data set. We have expanded the underlying compilation of monthly temperature records from 5,583 to 10,639 stations, of which those with sufficient data to be used in the gridded data set has grown from 4,842 to 7,983. Many station records have also been extended or replaced by series that have been homogenized by national meteorological and hydrological services. We have improved the identification of potential outliers in these data to better capture outliers during the reference period; to avoid classifying some real regional temperature extremes as outliers; and to reduce trends in outlier counts arising from climatic warming. Due to these updates, the gridded data set shows some regional increases in station density and regional changes in temperature anomalies. Nonetheless, the global‐mean timeseries of land air temperature is only slightly modified compared with previous versions and previous conclusions are not altered. The standard gridding algorithm and comprehensive error model are the same as for the previous version, but we have explored an alternative gridding algorithm that removes the under‐representation of high latitude stations. The alternative gridding increases estimated global‐mean land warming by about 0.1°C over the course of the whole record. The warming from 1861–1900 to the mean of the last 5 years is 1.6°C using the standard gridding (with a 95% confidence interval for errors on individual annual means of −0.11 to +0.10°C in recent years), while the alternative gridding gives a change of 1.7°C.
Event‐Based Storylines to Address Climate Risk
Authors: Sillmann Jana , Shepherd Theodore G. , van den Hurk Bart , Hazeleger Wilco , Martius Olivia , Slingo Julia , Zscheischler Jakob
Published: December 2020

The climate science community is challenged to adopt an actionable risk perspective, which is difficult to align with the traditional focus on model‐based probabilistic climate change projections. Event‐based storylines can provide a way out of this conundrum by putting emphasis on plausibility rather than probability. This links directly to common practices in disaster risk management using “stress‐testing” for emergency preparedness based on events that are conditional on specific and plausible assumptions. Event‐based storylines allow for conditional explanations, without full attribution of every causal factor, which is crucial when some aspects of the latter are complex and highly uncertain.
The Most Parsimonious Ultralow‐Velocity Zone Distribution From Highly Anomalous SPdKS Waveforms
Authors: Thorne Michael S. , Leng Kuangdai , Pachhai Surya , Rost Sebastian , Wicks June , Nissen‐Meyer Tarje
Published: December 2020

The locations of ultralow‐velocity zones (ULVZs) at the core‐mantle boundary (CMB) have been linked to a variety of features including hot spot volcanoes and large low‐velocity province (LLVP) boundaries, yet only a small portion of the CMB region has been probed for ULVZ existence. Here we present a new map of lower mantle heterogeneity locations using a global collection of highly anomalous SPdKS recordings based on a dataset of more than 58,000 radial component seismograms, which sample 56.9% of the CMB by surface area. The inference of heterogeneity location using the SPdKS seismic phase is challenging due to source‐versus receiver‐side ambiguity. Due to this ambiguity, we conducted an inversion using the principle of parsimony. The inversion is conducted using a genetic algorithm which is repeated several thousand times in order to construct heterogeneity probability maps. This analysis reveals that at probabilities 0.5, 0.25, and 0.125 up to 1.3%, 8.2%, or 19.7% of the CMB may contain ULVZ‐like heterogeneities. These heterogeneities exist in all lower mantle settings, including both high‐ and low‐velocity regions. Additionally, we present evidence that the Samoan ULVZ may be twice as large as previously estimated, and also present evidence for the existence of additional mega‐sized ULVZs, such as a newly discovered ULVZ located to the east of the Philippines. We provide new evidence for the ULVZ east of the Philippines through an analysis of ScP records.
On the Quasi‐Three Dimensional Configuration of Magnetic Clouds
Authors: Hu Qiang , He Wen , Qiu Jiong , Vourlidas Angelos , Zhu Chunming
Published: December 2020

We develop an optimization approach to model the magnetic field configuration of magnetic clouds, based on a linear force‐free formulation in three dimensions. Such a solution, dubbed the Freidberg solution, is kin to the axisymmetric Lundquist solution, but with more general “helical symmetry.” The merit of our approach is demonstrated via its application to two case studies of in situ measured magnetic clouds. Both yield results of reduced χ2 ≈ 1. Case 1 shows a winding flux rope configuration with one major polarity. Case 2 exhibits a double‐helix configuration with two flux bundles winding around each other and rooted on regions of mixed polarities. This study demonstrates the three‐dimensional complexity of the magnetic cloud structures.
Parameterizing Subgrid Variations of Land Surface Heat Fluxes to the Atmosphere Improves Boreal Summer Land Precipitation Simulation With the NCAR CESM1.2
Authors: Sun Wenqi , Wang Bin , Wang Yong , Zhang Guang J. , Han Yilun , Wang Xu , Yang Mengmiao
Published: December 2020

Subgrid horizontal variations of land surface heat fluxes to the atmosphere resulting from subgrid land cover heterogeneity are important in land‐atmosphere interaction in global climate models (GCMs). To incorporate it, a parameterization using stochastic sampling based on truncated normal distributions diagnosed from the land model and internal ensemble mean of multiple calls to the planetary boundary layer and deep convection schemes is developed. After its implementation in the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Earth System Model version 1.2 (CESM1.2), large changes of simulated land precipitation are found to occur in regions where large subgrid variations of surface heat fluxes exist. The simulated precipitation is improved in boreal summer, especially over eastern China and the coastal areas of the Bay of Bengal. The improved precipitation is mainly a result of improved large‐scale moisture convergence and advection by altered vertical diffusion and convection.
Changing Spatial Structure of Summer Heavy Rainfall, Using Convection‐Permitting Ensemble
Authors: Chen Yuting , Paschalis Athanasios , Kendon Elizabeth , Kim Dongkyun , Onof Christian
Published: December 2020

Subdaily rainfall extremes have been found to intensify, both from observations and climate model simulations, but much uncertainty remains regarding future changes in the spatial structure of rainfall events. Here, future changes in the characteristics of heavy summer rainfall are analyzed by using two sets (1980–2000, 2060–2080) of 12‐member 20‐year‐long convection‐permitting ensemble simulations (2.2 km, hourly) over the UK. We investigated how the peak intensity, spatial coverage and the speed of rainfall events will change and how those changes jointly affect hourly extremes at different spatial scales. We found that in addition to the intensification of heavy rainfall events, the spatial extent tends to increase in all three subregions, and by up to 49.3% in the North‐West. These changes act to exacerbate intensity increases in extremes for most of spatial scales (North: 30.2%–34.0%, South: 25.8%). The increase in areal extremes is particularly pronounced for catchments with sizes 20–500 km2.
Formation and Release of the Harang Reversal Relating With the Substorm Onset Process
Authors: Tanaka T. , Ebihara Y. , Watanabe M. , Den M. , Fujita S. , Kikuchi T. , Hashimoto K. K. , Kataoka R.
Published: December 2020

With the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) that turns from northward to southward, the global simulation successively reproduces the growth phase, the onset, and the expansion phase of the substorm. The calculated ionospheric convection for the growth phase reproduces the development of the Harang reversal (HR), the upward field‐aligned current (FAC), and the upcoming onset point as observed. Magnetic field lines traced from the center of the nightside upward FAC are open, while the magnetic field line traced from the onset point is closed. These open magnetic field lines map to flow shear just outside the O/C boundary. Seen from the magnetic configuration, the growth phase proceeds as the replacement process of nulls. Two new nulls appear on the dayside under the southward IMF, while two old nulls under the northward IMF retreat tailward forming two bifurcation regions on the dawn and dusk flanks. Flow shear around the O/C boundary forms by magnetospheric convection that returns to the dayside via bifurcation regions. The expansion phase proceeds through a topological change by the near‐earth neutral line (NENL). The NENL occurs inside the thinned structure of the northward IMF remnant, on the low‐latitude side of the flow shear, and projects down to the low‐latitude edge of the upward FAC. Associated with the NENL, the convection return path changes to the center of the plasma sheet and reveals in the ionosphere as the release of the HR. By the shrinkage of projecting magnetic field line, the O/C boundary migrates poleward in the ionosphere.
Equatorial Pitch Angle Distributions of 1–50 keV Electrons in Earth's Inner Magnetosphere: An Empirical Model Based on the Van Allen Probes Observations
Authors: Zhao H. , Friedel R. H. W. , Chen Y. , Baker D. N. , Li X. , Malaspina D. M. , Larsen B. A. , Skoug R. M. , Funsten H. O. , Reeves G. D. , Boyd A. J.
Published: December 2020

Using 7 years of data from the Helium, Oxygen, Proton, and Electron instrument on the Van Allen Probes, equatorial pitch angle distributions (PADs) of 1–50 keV electrons in Earth's inner magnetosphere are investigated statistically. An empirical model of electron equatorial PADs as a function of radial distance, magnetic local time, geomagnetic activity, and electron energy is constructed using the method of Legendre polynomial fitting. Model results show that most equatorial PADs of 1–10s of keV electrons in Earth's inner magnetosphere are pancake PADs, and the lack of butterfly PADs is likely due to their relatively flat or positive flux radial gradients at higher altitudes. During geomagnetically quiet times, more anisotropic distributions of 1–10s of keV electrons at dayside than nightside are observed, which could be responsible for moderate chorus wave activities at dayside during quiet times as reported by previous studies. During active times, the anisotropy of 1–10s of keV electrons significantly enhances, consistent with the enhanced chorus wave activity during active times and suggesting the critical role of 1–10s of keV electrons in generating chorus waves in Earth's inner magnetosphere. Different enhanced anisotropy patterns of different energy electrons are also observed during active times: at R > ∼4 RE, keV electrons are more anisotropic at dawn to noon, while 10s of keV electrons have larger anisotropy at midnight to dawn. These differences, combined with the statistical distribution of chorus waves shown in previous studies, suggest the differential roles of electrons with different energies in generating chorus waves with different properties.
Occurrence Distribution of Polar Cap Patches: Dependences on UT, Season and Hemisphere
Authors: Kagawa A. , Hosokawa K. , Ogawa Y. , Ebihara Y. , Kadokura A.
Published: December 2020

Polar cap patches are islands of enhanced electron density in the polar cap F region ionosphere, which sometimes affect the propagation of trans‐ionospheric radio waves. Considering the intake of daytime sunlit plasma by the high‐latitude convection as the primary cause of patches, the spatial overlap between the convection and the daytime sunlit plasma should be one of the critical factors controlling the generation of patches. To confirm this hypothesis, we statistically investigated the UT and seasonal distributions of patch occurrence frequency in both the hemispheres by using in situ plasma density data from the Swarm satellite. As a result, it was found that the occurrence distribution of patches is a complex function of UT, season and hemisphere, but it can be mostly interpreted by the spatial overlap between the high‐latitude convection and the solar terminator. This suggests that polar cap patches are not necessarily phenomena that occur only during winter months. That is, patches can often be observed even in periods away from the winter solstice if the location of solar terminator in the magnetic coordinate system is appropriate for the generation of patches. For example, in the southern hemisphere, where the offset between the geographic and magnetic poles is larger than that in the northern hemisphere, the highest patch occurrence rate is obtained around the equinoctial periods. These results indicate that it is needed to take these dependences into account when we discuss and predict the space weather impacts of patches on the trans‐ionospheric radio propagation.
Collapse of the Last Eurasian Ice Sheet in the North Sea Modulated by Combined Processes of Ice Flow, Surface Melt, and Marine Ice Sheet Instabilities
Authors: Gandy Niall , Gregoire Lauren J. , Ely Jeremy C. , Cornford Stephen L. , Clark Christopher D. , Hodgson David M.
Published: December 2020

The record of the confluence and collapse of the British‐Irish Ice Sheet and the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet is obscured by the North Sea, hindering reconstructions of the glacial dynamics of this sector of the Eurasian Ice Sheet complex during the last glacial cycle. Previous numerical simulations of the deglaciation of the North Sea have also struggled to capture the confluence and separation of the British‐Irish and Fennoscandian Ice Sheets. We ran an ensemble of 70 experiments simulating the deglaciation of the North Sea between 23 and 18 ka BP using the BISICLES ice sheet model. A novel suite of quantitative model‐data comparison tools was used to identify plausible simulations of deglaciation that match empirical data for ice flow, margin position, and retreat ages, allowing comparisons to large amounts of empirical data. In ensemble members that best match the empirical data, the North Sea deglaciates through the collapse of the marine‐based Norwegian Channel Ice Stream, unzipping the confluence between the British‐Irish Ice Sheet and the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet. Thinning of the Norwegian Channel Ice Stream causes surface temperature feedbacks, rapid grounding line retreat, and ice stream acceleration, further driving separation of the British‐Irish and the Fennoscandian Ice Sheets. These simulations of the North Sea deglaciation conform with the majority of empirical evidence, and therefore provide physically plausible insights that are consistent with reconstructions based on the empirical evidence, and permit a quantitative comparison between model and data.
The human respiratory tract microbial community structures in healthy and cystic fibrosis infants
Authors: Pust Marie-Madlen , Wiehlmann Lutz , Davenport Colin , Rudolf Isa , Dittrich Anna-Maria , Tümmler Burkhard
Published: December 2020

The metagenome development of the human respiratory tract was investigated by shotgun metagenome metagenomic sequencing of cough swabs from healthy children and children with cystic fibrosis (CF) between 3 weeks and 6 years of age. A healthy microbial community signature was associated with increased absolute abundances in terms of bacterial–human cell ratios of core and rare species across all age groups, with a higher diversity of rare species and a tightly interconnected species co-occurrence network, in which individual members were found in close proximity to each other and negative correlations were absent. Even without typical CF pathogens, the CF infant co-occurrence network was found to be less stable and prone to fragmentation due to fewer connections between species, a higher number of bridging species and the presence of negative species correlations. Detection of low-abundant DNA of the CF hallmark pathogenPseudomonas aeruginosawas neither disease- nor age-associated in our cohort. Healthy and CF children come into contact withP. aeruginosaon a regular basis and from early on.
Alterations in resting-state network dynamics along the Alzheimer’s disease continuum
Authors: Puttaert D. , Coquelet N. , Wens V. , Peigneux P. , Fery P. , Rovai A. , Trotta N. , Sadeghi N. , Coolen T. , Bier J.-C. , Goldman S. , De Tiège X.
Published: December 2020

Human brain activity is intrinsically organized into resting-state networks (RSNs) that transiently activate or deactivate at the sub-second timescale. Few neuroimaging studies have addressed how Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects these fast temporal brain dynamics, and how they relate to the cognitive, structural and metabolic abnormalities characterizing AD. We aimed at closing this gap by investigating both brain structure and function using magnetoencephalography (MEG) and hybrid positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance (PET/MR) in 10 healthy elders, 10 patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD), 10 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and 10 patients with typical Alzheimer’s disease with dementia (AD). The fast activation/deactivation state dynamics of RSNs were assessed using hidden Markov modeling (HMM) of power envelope fluctuations at rest measured with MEG. Correlations were sought between temporal properties of HMM states and participants' cognitive test scores, whole hippocampal grey matter volume and regional brain glucose metabolism. The posterior default-mode network (DMN) was less often activated and for shorter durations in AD patients than matched healthy elders. No significant difference was found in patients with SCD or aMCI. The time spent by participants in the activated posterior DMN state did not correlate significantly with cognitive scores, nor with the whole hippocampal volume. However, it correlated positively with the regional glucose consumption in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). AD patients present alterations of posterior DMN power activation dynamics at rest that identify an additional electrophysiological correlate of AD-related synaptic and neural dysfunction. The right DLPFC may play a causal role in the activation of the posterior DMN, possibly linked to the occurrence of mind wandering episodes. As such, these data might suggest a neural correlate of the decrease in mind wandering episodes reported in pathological aging.
Publisher Correction: Bioactivities of Allium longicuspis Regel against anthracnose of mango caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.)
Authors: de Guzman Alvindia Dionisio , Mangoba Mark Anthony Angeles
Published: December 2020

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Identification of potential transcription factors that enhance human iPSC generation
Authors: Swaidan Nuha T. , Salloum-Asfar Salam , Palangi Freshteh , Errafii Khaoula , Soliman Nada H. , Aboughalia Ahmed T. , Wali Abdul Haseeb S. , Abdulla Sara A. , Emara Mohamed M.
Published: December 2020

Although many factors have been identified and used to enhance the iPSC reprogramming process, its efficiency remains quite low. In addition, reprogramming efficacy has been evidenced to be affected by disease mutations that are present in patient samples. In this study, using RNA-seq platform we have identified and validated the differential gene expression of five transcription factors (TFs) (GBX2, NANOGP8, SP8, PEG3,andZIC1) that were associated with a remarkable increase in the number of iPSC colonies generated from a patient with Parkinson's disease. We have applied different bioinformatics tools (Gene ontology, protein–protein interaction, and signaling pathways analyses) to investigate the possible roles of these TFs in pluripotency and developmental process. Interestingly,GBX2, NANOGP8, SP8, PEG3,andZIC1were found to play a role in maintaining pluripotency, regulating self-renewal stages, and interacting with other factors that are involved in pluripotency regulation includingOCT4, SOX2, NANOG,andKLF4. Therefore, the TFs identified in this study could be used as additional transcription factors that enhance reprogramming efficiency to boost iPSC generation technology.
Identification of metabolic markers predictive of prediabetes in a Korean population
Authors: Lee Heun-Sik , Park Tae-Joon , Kim Jeong-Min , Yun Jun Ho , Yu Ho-Yeong , Kim Yeon-Jung , Kim Bong-Jo
Published: December 2020

Prediabetes (PD) is a high-risk state of developing type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Metabolomics-based biomarker studies can provide advanced opportunities for prediction of PD over the conventional methods. Here, we aimed to identify metabolic markers and verify their abilities to predict PD, as compared to the performance of the traditional clinical risk factor (CRF) and previously reported metabolites in other population-based studies. Targeted metabolites quantification was performed in 1723 participants in the Korea Association REsource (KARE) cohort, from which 500 normal individuals were followed up for 6 years. We selected 12 significant metabolic markers, including five amino acids, four glycerophospholipids, two sphingolipids, and one acylcarnitine, at baseline, resulting in a predicted incidence of PD with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.71 during follow-up. The performance of these metabolic markers compared to that of fasting glucose was significantly higher in obese patients (body mass index: BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, 0.79 vs. 0.58, P < 0.001). The combination with metabolic markers, CRF, and fasting glucose yielded the best prediction performance (AUC = 0.86). Our results revealed that metabolic markers were not only associated with the risk of PD, but also improved the prediction performance in combination with conventional approaches.
The impact of fixed orthodontic appliances on oral microbiome dynamics in Japanese patients
Authors: Kado Isamu , Hisatsune Junzo , Tsuruda Keiko , Tanimoto Kotaro , Sugai Motoyuki
Published: December 2020

Fixed orthodontic appliances are common and effective tools to treat malocclusion. Adverse effects of these appliances, such as dental caries and periodontitis, may be associated with alteration of the microbiome. This study investigated the impact of these appliances on the dynamics of the oral microbiome. Seventy-one patients were selected. Supragingival plaque samples were collected before placement (T0) and six months after placement (T1). Saliva samples were collected at T0 and T1, and then when appliance removal (T2). Microbial DNA was analyzed by 16S rRNA meta-sequencing. The diversity analysis indicated dynamic changes in the structure of the oral microbiome. Taxonomic analysis at phylum level showed a significant increase in Bacteroidetes and Saccharibacteria (formally TM7) and decrease in Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria over time, in both plaque and saliva. Genus level analysis of relative abundance indicated a significant increase in anaerobic and facultative anaerobes in both plaque and saliva. Fixed orthodontic appliances induced measurable changes in the oral microbiome. This was characterized by an increase in relative abundance of obligate anaerobes, including periodontal pathogens. It can be concluded that this dysbiosis induced by fixed orthodontic appliances is likely to represent a transitional stage in the shift in microbiome from healthy to periodontitis.
Prognostic value of occult lymph node metastases in patients with completely resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Chen Shao-bin , Liu Di-tian , Huang Shu-jie , Weng Hong-rui , Wang Geng , Li Hua , Chen Yu-ping
Published: December 2020

To investigate the prognostic value of occult lymph node metastases (OLNMs) in patients with pathologically lymph node negative (pN0) esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). OLNMs were detected in 516 pN0 ESCC patients by immunohistochemical staining. The correlation between the clinicopathological features and OLNM, and the prognostic value of OLNM was explored. Eighty-eight patients (17.1%) had OLNMs, including 37 patients with isolated tumor cells (ITCs), 49 patients with micrometastases, and 2 patients with macrometastases (> 2 mm). The OLNM-positive group had poorer differentiation and a more advanced pT category. The 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival for patients with OLNMs were significantly worse than those of IHC-negative patients (P < 0.001), but similar to those of the pN1 patients (P > 0.05). The multivariate analysis showed that OLNM was an independent prognostic factor. In subgroup analyses, the IHC-negative patients had significant survival advantages compared with the ITC group and the micrometastasis group, whereas the survival for the ITC group was similar to that of the micrometastasis group. IHC staining in pN0 ESCC patients might help to identify patients at high risk of death after resection, and ITCs in the lymph nodes appear to have a prognostic value equal to that of micrometastases.