bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Regional water resources security assessment and optimization path analysis in karst areas based on emergy ecological footprint
Authors: Li Bo , Zhang Wenjie , Long Jie , Chen Mengyu , Nie Junli , Liu Pu
Published: June 2023

With the continuous growth of the world's social economy and population, problems such as water shortage and water environment deterioration need to be solved urgently. Combining the emergy carrying capacity of water resources and the emergy ecological footprint method, the water security and sustainable development status of the typical city in the karst region (Anshun City) was evaluated, and the internal driving factors and optimization suggestions were discussed. The research results of water security in Anshun City show that: The water resources carrying capacity fluctuates greatly with rainfall and is generally in a low-level surplus state. The ecological pressure index and the sustainable utilization index show a downward trend. The pressure intensity of social and economic systems on water resources is increasing, and the sustainable development of water resources is not optimistic. Water resources security is mainly affected by natural ecological mechanisms centered on mountain systems, geological structures and hydrological systems, as well as social mechanisms centered on changes in population scale, land development and utilization, and urban development. In the future, the sustainable development of water resources can be promoted by changing the mode of economic development, optimizing the allocation of water resources, and protecting the ecological environment.
On complete Kählerian manifolds endowed with closed conformal vector fields
Authors: Alías Luis J. , Caminha Antonio , Nascimento F. Yure do
Published: June 2023

Let $${\overline{M}}^{2n}$$

M
¯

2
n

, $$n>1$$

n
>
1

, be a complete, noncompact Kählerian manifold, endowed with a nontrivial closed conformal vector field $$\xi $$
ξ
having at least one singular point. Under a reasonable set of conditions, we show that $$\xi $$
ξ
has just one singular point p and that $${\overline{M}}{\setminus }\{p\}$$

M
¯

\

{
p
}

is isometric to a one dimensional cone over a simply connected Sasakian manifold N diffeomorphic to $${\mathbb {S}}^{2n-1}$$

S

2
n
-
1

.As a straightforward consequence, we conclude that if the addition of a single point to the Kählerian cone of a $$(2n-1)$$

(
2
n
-
1
)

-dimensional Sasakian manifold N has the structure of a complete, noncompact, 2n-dimensional Kählerian manifold whose metric extends that of the cone, and such that the canonical vector field of the cone extends to it having a singularity at the extra point, then N is isometric to $$\mathbb S^{2n-1}$$

S

2
n
-
1

, endowed with an appropriate Sasakian structure.
Sorption capacity of biochars obtained by gasification of rice husks and wild sugarcane: removal of malachite green and arsenic from water solutions
Authors: Barría Yorgelis , Burbano Aura , James Arthur , Gascó Gabriel , Méndez Ana
Published: June 2023

The presence of contaminants in water has been of great concern worldwide, as it causes health risks to living organisms and general deterioration of the environment. Therefore, their elimination is essential. In the present study, rice husk (BRH) and wild sugarcane (BWS) biochars obtained by gasification were evaluated for their use as sorbents of malachite green dye (MG) and arsenite [As (III)] in aqueous solution. The chemical composition and physical structure of the two biochars were characterized by various techniques, including elemental analysis, N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, FTIR, and Z potential. In addition, the adsorbate removal rate was determined using the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models. Batch sorption studies were carried out to remove arsenite and MG from aqueous solutions, considering the operating parameters such as initial solution pH, temperature, contact time, concentration, and temperature. The results showed that 120 min contact time is enough to reach sorption equilibrium. The percent removal of BRH and BWS to MG was 61.99% and 97.46%, respectively, while for arsenite, it was 82.79% and 82.36%, respectively. The kinetic analysis concluded that the sorption process predominantly followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model for both case studies since the R
2 value is approximately one. The sorption capacity calculated based on this model fitted better with the sorption capacity experimental. Finally, it was demonstrated that BRH and BWS biochars obtained as a by-product of rice husk and wild sugarcane gasification could be used as low-cost sorbent materials to remove MG dye and arsenite from an aqueous solution.
Out of Control: How to Design Digital Placebos
Authors: Blease Charlotte
Published: June 2023

Purpose

Placebo terminology and their applications are well embedded in clinical and research contexts. This review seeks to clarify the principles of good placebo control design and to offer recommendations for improving placebos in digital mental healthcare.

Recent Findings

Terminological confusions associated with understanding the function of placebos in pharmacology and psychotherapy reveal an underappreciation of the challenges associated with designing adequate placebo controls in clinical trials. It would be surprising if similar challenges did not arise with the testing of digital therapeutics, and emerging evidence shows an attendant lack of placebo literacy in digital health.

Despite the burgeoning health app economy with tens of thousands of apps now available to download by consumers, few researchers have interrogated what constitutes a good placebo control in digital healthcare. This review sought to disambiguate placebo concepts and to offer recommendations for improving placebo design to advance and future proof the field digital therapeutics.
New XAI tools for selecting suitable 3D printing facilities in ubiquitous manufacturing
Authors: Wang Yu-Cheng , Chen Toly
Published: June 2023

Several artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have been applied to assist in the selection of suitable three-dimensional (3D) printing facilities in ubiquitous manufacturing (UM). However, AI applications in this field may not be easily understood or communicated with, especially for decision-makers without relevant background knowledge, hindering the widespread acceptance of such applications. Explainable AI (XAI) has been proposed to address this problem. This study first reviews existing XAI techniques to explain AI applications in selecting suitable 3D printing facilities in UM. This study addresses the deficiencies of existing XAI applications by proposing four new XAI techniques: (1) a gradient bar chart with baseline, (2) a group gradient bar chart, (3) a manually adjustable gradient bar chart, and (4) a bidirectional scatterplot. The proposed methodology was applied to a case in the literature to demonstrate its effectiveness. The bidirectional scatterplot results from the experiment demonstrated the suitability of the 3D printing facilities in terms of their proximity. Furthermore, manually adjustable gradient bars increased the effectiveness of the AI application by decision-makers subjectively adjusting the derived weights. Furthermore, only the proposed methodology fulfilled most requirements for an effective XAI tool in this AI application.
Electrochemically Grown Ultrathin Platinum Nanosheet Electrodes with Ultralow Loadings for Energy-Saving and Industrial-Level Hydrogen Evolution
Authors: Ding Lei , Xie Zhiqiang , Yu Shule , Wang Weitian , Terekhov Alexander Y. , Canfield Brian K. , Capuano Christopher B. , Keane Alex , Ayers Kathy , Cullen David A. , Zhang Feng-Yuan
Published: June 2023

Nanostructured catalyst-integrated electrodes with remarkably reduced catalyst loadings, high catalyst utilization and facile fabrication are urgently needed to enable cost-effective, green hydrogen production via proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells (PEMECs). Herein, benefitting from a thin seeding layer, bottom-up grown ultrathin Pt nanosheets (Pt-NSs) were first deposited on thin Ti substrates for PEMECs via a fast, template- and surfactant-free electrochemical growth process at room temperature, showing highly uniform Pt surface coverage with ultralow loadings and vertically well-aligned nanosheet morphologies. Combined with an anode-only Nafion 117 catalyst-coated membrane (CCM), the Pt-NS electrode with an ultralow loading of 0.015 mgPt cm−2 demonstrates superior cell performance to the commercial CCM (3.0 mgPt cm−2), achieving 99.5% catalyst savings and more than 237-fold higher catalyst utilization. The remarkable performance with high catalyst utilization is mainly due to the vertically well-aligned ultrathin nanosheets with good surface coverage exposing abundant active sites for the electrochemical reaction. Overall, this study not only paves a new way for optimizing the catalyst uniformity and surface coverage with ultralow loadings but also provides new insights into nanostructured electrode design and facile fabrication for highly efficient and low-cost PEMECs and other energy storage/conversion devices.
Through-thickness distribution of bamboo tensile strength parallel to fibres
Authors: Al-Rukaibawi Layth S. , Károlyi György
Published: June 2023

A tensile test program of Moso bamboo samples was carried out in order to obtain information on the radial distribution of elastic and strength properties. In accordance with previous studies, the elastic modulus and the tensile strength were found to increase outwards in the radial direction. This spatial dependence was compared with the distribution of the fibre content of the layers and found excellent correlation suggesting that the fibres are the main load bearing components. The fibre content was quantified using regression analysis in the radial direction as 0.1 (inner layer), 0.19 (middle-1 layer), 0.28 (middle-2 layer) and 0.44 (outer layer). The Rule of Mixture theory allowed the estimation of the elastic modulus and the tensile strength of the main individual components, the fibres and the parenchyma matrix.

Article Highlights

Radial distribution of bamboo fibres across the culm wall and stiffness properties obtained from tensile test parallel to fibres were compared.

The radial distribution of bamboo fibres was analysed in layers using image analysis software.

The tensile failure mechanisms of bamboo samples were identified and found to depend on fibre content.
Negotiating Your Way Through the Vigilance Agreement Maze—is There a Better Way?
Authors: Corbel-Ecalard Catherine , Kilgour-Christie Jean , Trun Weronika , Lewis David J.
Published: June 2023

The pharmacovigilance agreements (PVA) landscape has evolved over recent decades with rapid growth in the number and complexity of partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions between pharmaceutical companies. Simultaneously there has been increasing scrutiny from regulatory authorities. Detailed regulations and guidance are lacking in this domain; hence companies have developed their own processes, templates, and tools, which have headed in different directions. Where feasible, marketing authorization holders (MAHs) have written contracts based on mutually understood requirements. Currently, MAHs are striving to find optimal solutions that safeguard patients, and in turn, support pharmacovigilance compliance. Through the TransCelerate BioPharma consortium MAHs are seeking simplification and efficiencies, to optimize the process of developing contractual agreements for pharmacovigilance. A survey of MAHs confirmed the perceptions above, and the need for efficient solutions to help navigate through the maze of complexity. The authors have led the development of tools and techniques to enable partnership between MAHs, and ultimately to support patient safety.
A prediction model for low functional status after colorectal cancer surgery: A retrospective cohort study using administrative data
Authors: Fukuda Taeko , Imai Shinobu , Maruo Kazushi , Horiguchi Hiromasa
Published: June 2023

Abstract

Introduction

Colorectal cancer (CRC) accounts for 10% of all cancer incidences globally and often affects older populations and people with poor nutrition. As such, we developed a prediction model for low functional status following CRC surgery using inpatient data collected during routine practice, and investigated the relationship between low functional status and outcomes.

Methods

Data from 690 patients who underwent CRC surgery were analysed, and the Barthel Index was used to evaluate functional status [activity of daily living (ADL)]. A low-ADL status was defined as a lower score at discharge than at admission, and unchanged complete dependence from admission to discharge. The model input data included 10 basic characteristics, eight comorbidities, and four laboratory parameters. The final model was developed using stepwise logistic regression.

Results

The low-ADL predictive model was successfully developed using nine variables: age, ADL dependence, nursing home residency, ambulance use, disturbance of consciousness on admission, diabetes, cerebrovascular disease, low creatinine, and low protein (c-statistics = 0.857). Only 6.5% of high-ADL patients were unable to return home following discharge; in contrast, 53.5% of low-ADL patients were unable to return home. Low-ADL patients also had significantly longer post-operative hospital stays and higher medical costs than high-ADL patients.

Conclusion

Low-ADL patients had decreased rates of discharge to homes, experienced longer hospital stays, and incurred higher medical costs than high-ADL patients. Pre-operative prediction of low ADL status is important, and essential for taking efficient preventive measures.

Highlights
Retrieval of Additional Doses of Epinephrine From the New Teva Epinephrine Autoinjector Pen
Authors: Axtell Alexander J. , Haines Carver M. , Stannard Tyler J.
Published: June 2023

Epinephrine autoinjectors are commonly used in urban environments for anaphylaxis. In remote environments, the effects of a single dose of epinephrine may diminish before one can access higher medical care. By retrieving additional epinephrine from common autoinjectors, a medical provider may be able to treat or delay decompensation of anaphylaxis in the field during evacuation. The new Teva epinephrine autoinjectors were obtained. The design of the mechanism was researched by studying patents and disassembling trainers and medication-containing autoinjectors. Multiple methods of access were tried to find the quickest, most reliable method that required minimal tools or equipment. A quick, reliable method of removing the injection syringe from the autoinjector using a knife was determined, as outlined in this article. The syringe plunger had a security design to prevent dispensing further doses from the syringe, so a long narrow object is also required to dispense additional doses. There are 4 additional doses of approximately 0.3-mg epinephrine in these Teva autoinjectors. Prior knowledge of epinephrine equipment and the devices that may be encountered in the field is important for providing life-saving medical care. The ability to retrieve additional doses of epinephrine from a used autoinjector can provide additional life-saving medication while evacuating to a higher level of medical care. This method does carry risks to rescuers and patients; however, it can potentially be life saving.
THE SCRIBAL WITNESS: NARRATIVE AUTHORITY IN ANCIENT CHINESE LITERATURE
Authors: Crone Thomas
Published: June 2023

The scribe has been granted a special role in the creation of ancient Chinese narrative prose. Many texts seem to imply the presence of his person or written records, and scholars have often treated this feature as an indication of authorship. In this paper, I argue that another way of relating the scribe to ancient Chinese narrative prose is to see in him not an author but a witness of the events told. I will use several examples to demonstrate that the figure of the scribe stands out by its function of authenticating the narratives in which scribes takes part. Moreover, occasionally scribes appear to have been added to pre-existing “scribe-less” narratives. I will conclude my discussion by detailing how these findings shed light on the composition of individual pieces of literature and the nature of ancient Chinese narrative writing in general.
Ethnic politics, the Cold War and sub-national dynamics: the Indonesian Communist Party, the ethnic Chinese minority and anti-Chinese activities in West Java, 1949–67
Authors: Woolgar Matthew
Published: June 2023

A growing body of scholarship has examined the intertwining of ideological polarization and inter-ethnic tensions during the Cold War. In this context, increasing attention has been paid to the experiences of the ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia, and how they were affected by international and national-level developments. Less scrutiny has been given to the role of sub-national forces, despite the fact that patterns of ethnic conflict sometimes varied markedly between different parts of a single country. This article addresses this lacuna via the case study of West Java, Indonesia. The article analyses the relationship between the Indonesian Communist Party (Partai Komunis Indonesia, PKI), Indonesia’s ethnic Chinese population and anti-Chinese agitation in the 1950s and 1960s. International and national forces encouraged closer relations between the PKI and some ethnic Chinese Indonesians through the 1950s. From the late 1950s to the mid-1960s there were also recurrent episodes of anti-Chinese harassment, driven primarily by anti-communist groups. The strength of the anti-communist coalition within West Java helped make the province the epicentre of anti-Chinese agitation during crises in 1959–60 and 1963. Yet shifts in the configuration of military and political forces in the region meant anti-Chinese actions in West Java during the contentious period 1965–67 were less severe than in some other provinces. Overall the article highlights the need to consider the interaction of not only international and national processes but also sub-national regional dynamics when analysing the relationship between Cold War polarization and inter-ethnic conflict.
Hearts and minds in Hong Kong’s New Territories: Agriculture and vegetable marketing in a Cold War borderland,circa1946–1967
Authors: Ng Michael , Mok Florence , Wong John , Wu Wallace
Published: June 2023

Using declassified colonial and British records in Hong Kong and London, as well as memoirs of former leftists and newspapers, this article explores the strategies the Hong Kong colonial government employed in a propaganda campaign to garner political support of the rural population in the New Territories, a porous land frontier during the Cold War. It also analyses the varying political orientations of migrant farmers, who often had received economic benefits from both the colonial government and the leftist organizations. This article reveals that the colonial government established the Vegetable Marketing Organization (VMO), a state-owned enterprise, to first nationalize the vegetable wholesale market in the immediate post-war period, and subsequently used it to combat increasing political influence and anti-government activities of the communist-controlled Society of Plantations. Despite the improvement of the livelihood of immigrant farmers, the VMO Scheme failed to out-compete the Society economically, which was ultimately eliminated by draconian measures. Through studying the agrarian politics and economic contestations in Hong Kong’s rural area, this article provides a lens on how the Cold War was played out at a village level in East Asia.
Deep Regional Fluid Pathways in an Extensional Setting: The Role of Transfer Zones in the Hot and Cold Degassing Areas of the Larderello Geothermal System (Northern Apennines, Italy)
Authors: Taussi Marco , Nisi Barbara , Brogi Andrea , Liotta Domenico , Zucchi Martina , Venturi Stefania , Cabassi Jacopo , Boschi Gabriele , Ciliberti Marika , Vaselli Orlando
Published: June 2023

High‐temperature geothermal areas are often characterized by widespread surficial manifestations, whose location is strictly controlled by sets of faults of regional relevance. The geochemical and isotopic signature of the discharged fluids can reveal key information on the geothermal fluids pathway, shedding light on the sources and fluid‐rock interaction within the geothermal reservoirs. In this paper, a geochemical and structural data set from the Larderello geothermal area and surroundings is presented and discussed. We constrain the role of transfer and normal faults in controlling the geothermal circulation enhanced by a cooling magmatic intrusion underneath the Lago area (SW of Larderello). The structural control on the fluids circulation is highlighted by both the location of the CO2 emissions along the fault segments, where permeability is enhanced, and their degassing rates, which increase moving away from the core of the Larderello geothermal system. The main results unravel the presence of deep regional pathways along which endogenous fluids circulate before being discharged in the investigated areas. The peripheral zone emissions are affected by interaction with shallow aquifers and condensation processes whereas the CO2 emitted from the central areas, located near the core of the geothermal system, was accompanied by high amounts of steam, and suffers intense shallow fractionation processes. The latter areas emit medium‐to‐low normalized‐CO2‐degassing rates (<270 t d−1 km−2) when compared to the extremely high values occurring in the peripheral sectors (up to 1,300 t d−1 km−2) of the Larderello geothermal systems, possibly suggesting an incipient propagation of such a system, likely wider than previously thought.
Special Sea‐Level and Circulation Anomalies in the Philippine Sea During the 2006/2007 and 2009/2010 El Niño Events
Authors: Li Rui , Wang Fan , Li Yuanlong , Ren Qiuping , Lyu Yilong
Published: June 2023

The Philippine Sea (PS) tends to show sea‐level falling and cyclonic upper‐layer circulation anomalies during the developing stage (spring and summer) of El Niño, with notable influences on the circulation, climate, and biosystems of downstream regions. These changes show diversity across individual events, partly associated with El Niño‐Southern Oscillation complexity and bringing uncertainties to scientific attribution and prediction. Here, we focus on the positive sea‐level anomalies (SLAs) and anticyclonic circulation anomalies in the boreal spring and summer of 2006 and 2009, which are opposite in sign to the changes observed during other El Niño events. Correspondingly, exceptional changes were seen in downstream regions, such as the enhanced Indonesian throughflow in the Makassar Strait. Our analysis highlights the persistent equatorial easterly wind anomalies during the preceding winter, which were likely favorable for these special changes in 2006 and 2009. This is confirmed by sensitivity experiments of a simplified ocean model. The results show that the negative off‐equatorial wind stress curls in the western and central North Pacific play the key role in causing positive SLAs in the PS through evoking downwelling Rossby waves, and equatorial winds played a secondary role. Further analysis indicates that such special changes of the PS tend to take place in late‐onset weak El Niño events following the La Niña conditions.
Flow Development and Entrainment in Turbulent Particle‐Laden Jets
Authors: Shannon Laura K. , Viggiano Bianca , Cal Raúl B. , Mastin Larry G. , Van Eaton Alexa R. , Solovitz Stephen A.
Published: June 2023

Explosive eruptions expel volcanic gases and particles at high pressures and velocities. Within this multiphase fluid, small ash particles affect the flow dynamics, impacting mixing, entrainment, turbulence, and aggregation. To examine the role of turbulent particle behavior, we conducted an analogue experiment using a particle‐laden jet. We used compressed air as the carrier fluid, considering turbulent conditions at Reynolds numbers from approximately 5,000 to 20,000. Two different particles were examined: 14‐μm diameter solid nickel spheres and 13‐μm diameter hollow glass spheres. These resulted in Stokes numbers between 1 and 35 based on the convective scale. The particle mass percentage in the mixture is varied from 0.3% to more than 20%. Based on a 1‐D volcanic plume model, these Stokes numbers and mass loadings corresponded to millimeter‐scale particle diameters at heights of 4–8 km above the vent during large, sustained eruptions. Through particle image velocimetry, we measured the mean flow behavior and the turbulence statistics in the near‐exit region, primarily focusing on the dispersed phase. We show that the flow behavior is dominated by the particle inertia, with high Stokes numbers reducing the entrainment by more than 40%. When applied to volcanic plumes, these results suggest that high‐density particles can greatly increase the probability of column collapse.
Local and Non‐Local Biophysical Impacts of Deforestation on Global Temperature During Boreal Summer: CMIP6‐LUMIP Multimodel Analysis
Authors: Liu Shuyu , Hua Wenjian , Zhou Liming , Chen Haishan , Yu Miao , Li Xing , Cui Yazhu
Published: June 2023

Biophysical effects of forest cover changes are often neglected by climate policies and recent state‐of‐the‐art climate models exhibit wide spreads in simulating the biophysical impacts of deforestation. By using the CMIP6‐LUMIP simulations, here we examined the biophysical impacts of deforestation on global temperature and attributed deforestation‐induced surface temperature change to different biophysical effects (i.e., radiative forcing, aerodynamic resistance, Bowen ratio and atmospheric feedbacks) at regional scales. Results show that models agree on the sign of temperature responses to different biophysical factors in the tropics, but exhibit wide divergence in the extratropical regions. Among the three local biophysical factors (i.e., radiative forcing, aerodynamic resistance, and Bowen ratio), aerodynamic resistance contributes largely to local surface warming in models. As the local effects rarely affect the areas away from the deforested regions, much of the modeled discrepancies result from non‐local atmospheric feedbacks in the middle and high latitudes. Our results suggest that climate responses to deforestation have a large spread in current models and highlight the need to improve our understanding and modeling of non‐local effects in the biophysical impacts of deforestation.
New Insights Into the Role of Atmospheric Transport and Mixing on Column and Surface Concentrations of NO2 at a Coastal Urban Site
Authors: Adams Taylor J. , Geddes Jeffrey A. , Lind Elena S.
Published: June 2023

We use a multi‐year record of Pandora‐derived NO2 total column abundance in Boston to examine the influence of atmospheric transport on column NO2 and its surface concentrations during the warm season in a coastal urban environment. We derive tropospheric NO2 estimates from the total column with a measurement‐model fusion approach using near‐real‐time estimates of stratospheric NO2 from NASA's Goddard Earth Observing System Composition Forecast model system and find the average influence of stratospheric NO2 at this urban site can be 30%–70% depending on season and time of day. Sea breeze days tend to exhibit rapid temporal variability in the column that which can go in the opposite direction of changes in surface NO2 concentrations. By comparing tropospheric NO2 with surface concentrations, we constrain the role of boundary layer entrainment processes in the evolution of surface NO2 concentrations, while highlighting the value of column measurements in identifying sea breeze frontal dynamics. We estimate an apparent equal mixing layer height of NO2 and infer that surface NOx emissions remain concentrated near the surface regardless of atmospheric stability regime. When comparing the Pandora‐ to TROPOMI‐derived column NO2 measurements, we find that sea breeze days present a unique challenge likely due to higher spatial heterogeneity in NO2 and the meteorology involved that is not well represented in retrieval inputs. Our observations provide new insights into column and surface variability of NO2 which will be relevant to interpreting geostationary observations, especially in coastal urban locations.
Climate Change Impacts on Surface Heat Fluxes in a Deep Monomictic Lake
Authors: Ayala Ana I. , Mesman Jorrit P. , Jones Ian D. , de Eyto Elvira , Jennings Eleanor , Goyette Stéphane , Pierson Donald C.
Published: June 2023

Turbulent and radiative energy exchanges between lakes and the atmosphere play an important role in determining the process of lake‐mixing and stratification, including how lakes respond to climate and to climate change. Here we used a one‐dimensional hydrodynamic lake model to assess seasonal impacts of climate change on individual surface heat flux components in Lough Feeagh, Ireland, a deep, monomictic lake. We drove the lake model with an ensemble of outputs from four climate models under three future greenhouse gas scenarios from 1976 to 2099. In these experiments, the results showed significant increases in the radiative budget that were largely counteracted by significant increases in the turbulent fluxes. The combined change in the individual surface heat fluxes led to a change in the total surface heat flux that was small, but sufficient to lead to significant changes in the volume‐weighted average lake temperature. The largest projected changes in total surface heat fluxes were in spring and autumn. Both spring heating and autumnal cooling significantly decreased under future climate conditions, while changes to total surface heat fluxes in winter and summer were an order of magnitude lower. This led to counter‐intuitive results that, in a warming world, there would be less heat not more entering Lough Feeagh during the springtime, and little change in net heating over the summer or winter compared to natural climate conditions, projected increases in the volume‐weighted average lake temperature were found to be largely due to reduced heat loss during autumn.
Inverse Modeling of the Initial Stage of the 1991 Pinatubo Volcanic Cloud Accounting for Radiative Feedback of Volcanic Ash
Authors: Ukhov A. , Stenchikov G. , Osipov S. , Krotkov N. , Gorkavyi N. , Li Can , Dubovik O. , Lopatin A.
Published: June 2023

The way volcanic clouds evolve is very sensitive to the initial spatial 3D distributions of volcanic materials, which are often unknown. In this study, we conducted inverse modeling of the Mt. Pinatubo cloud using total ozone mapping spectrometer 2D mapping of Aerosol Index and SO2 loading during the first three post‐eruption days to estimate the time‐dependent emissions profiles and initial 3D spatial distributions of volcanic ash and SO2. We account for aerosol radiative feedback and dynamic lofting of volcanic ash in the inversion calculations for the first time. This resulted in a lower ash injection height (by 1.5 km for ash) than without ash radiative feedback. The Pinatubo eruption ejected ≈77% of fine ash at 12–23 km, ≈65% of SO2 at 18–25 km. In contrast with previous studies, which suggested that all volcanic materials were emitted above the tropopause, a significant fraction of SO2 (5.1 of 15.5 Mt) and fine ash (37.2 of 66.5 Mt) were ejected in the troposphere, where SO2 quickly oxidized into sulfate aerosol that is short‐lived in the troposphere. This explains the early presence of sulfate aerosols in the plume and why the models can reproduce the observed volcanic aerosols' optical depth (AOD), assuming lower‐than‐observed SO2 emission in the stratosphere. Despite the quicker than in observations build‐up of sulfate AOD, in a month after the eruption, the evolution of the Pinatubo AOD simulated using the obtained ash and SO2 initial distributions converges with the available stratospheric aerosol and gas experiment observations.
Thermal Conductivity and Thermal Diffusivity of Tremolite at High Temperature and Pressure and Implications for the Thermal Structure of the Venusian Lithosphere
Authors: Han Kenan , Wang Duojun , Zhang Ruixin , Chen Peng , Cai Nao , Zhang Rui , Cao Yang
Published: June 2023

Thermal conductivity (κ) and thermal diffusivity (D) of tremolite were measured at up to 2.5 GPa and 1,373 K using the transient plane‐source method in a multi‐anvil apparatus. Thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of tremolite decrease monotonically before dehydration (<1,173 K) and increase significantly after dehydration. Tremolite exhibits positive pressure dependence before dehydration. Heat capacity (C) of tremolite calculated fromκandDshows a positive pressure dependence and is controlled by an almost constant thermal expansion coefficient (α) with temperature. Conductive heat transport and radiative heat transport dominate the heat transport process before dehydration, and the significant increase in thermal conductivity after dehydration is attributed to convective heat transport. A compositional model of the Venusian lithosphere composed of a basaltic crust and peridotite mantle with or without tremolite was established. The thickness of the Venusian lithosphere with or without tremolite for Venus was calculated by combining the heat flow (from 20 to 80 mW/m2) at a certain depth (from 5 to 25 km) of crust, ranging from 24.4 to 184.6 km.
The 1965 Mahavel Landslide (Réunion Island, Indian Ocean): Morphology, Volumes, Flow Dynamics, and Causes of a Rock Avalanche in Tropical Setting
Authors: Michon Laurent , Gayer Eric , Lucas Antoine , Bellin Franziska , Gougeon Matthieu
Published: June 2023

In May 1965, a main landslide occurred in a deeply incised valley of Piton de la Fournaise volcano, in Réunion Island. This event occurred one day after heavy rainfalls and was consequently interpreted as a mud/debris flow. We take advantage of several sets of historical photographs to reappraise this event. They show that the collapse of a large part of the valley headwall produced a rock flow that dropped 1,740 m and traveled 5,050 m. The surface morphology suggests that the landslide produced a main flow that evolved in a secondary flow in the distal part. The main flow deposit is composed of a matrix‐rich fragmented facies and a jigsaw‐fracturated facies. The matrix presents a gravely‐to‐silty granulometry and fractal dimensions ranging between 2.472 and 2.865. Volumes of the collapsed material (59.7 ± 3.1 Mm3) and the deposit (46 ± 13 Mm3) were determined from a photogrammetric approach. We estimated velocities ranging between 86 and 44 m s−1 along the flow path. Our simulations with SHALTOP reveal that the landslide geometry and velocities are well reproduced with frictional Coulomb rheology. We thus interpret the 1965 Mahavel landslide as a main rock avalanche rather than a mud/debris flow. We propose that the trigger of the 1965 avalanche, and of the smaller events in 1995 and 2001, is the water infiltration related to the intense rainfalls, which systematically preceded by one day each collapse. Finally, the succession of dry and wet years before each collapse event could promote favorable conditions to failure.
Anisotropic leaky-like perturbation with subwavelength gratings enables zero crosstalk
Authors: Kabir Md Faiyaz , Mia Md Borhan , Ahmed Ishtiaque , Jaidye Nafiz , Ahmed Syed Z. , Kim Sangsik
Published: June 2023

Electromagnetic coupling via an evanescent field or radiative wave is a primary characteristic of light, allowing optical signal/power transfer in a photonic circuit but limiting integration density. A leaky mode, which combines both evanescent field and radiative wave, causes stronger coupling and is thus considered not ideal for dense integration. Here we show that a leaky oscillation with anisotropic perturbation rather can achieve completely zero crosstalk realized by subwavelength grating (SWG) metamaterials. The oscillating fields in the SWGs enable coupling coefficients in each direction to counteract each other, resulting in completely zero crosstalk. We experimentally demonstrate such an extraordinarily low coupling between closely spaced identical leaky SWG waveguides, suppressing the crosstalk by ≈40 dB compared to conventional strip waveguides, corresponding to ≈100 times longer coupling length. This leaky-SWG suppresses the crosstalk of transverse–magnetic (TM) mode, which is challenging due to its low confinement, and marks a novel approach in electromagnetic coupling applicable to other spectral regimes and generic devices.
Long term structural and functional neural changes following a single infusion of Ketamine in PTSD
Authors: Duek Or , Korem Nachshon , Li Yutong , Kelmendi Ben , Amen Shelley , Gordon Charles , Milne Madison , Krystal John H. , Levy Ifat , Harpaz-Rotem Ilan
Published: June 2023

NMDA receptor antagonists have a vital role in extinction, learning, and reconsolidation processes. During the reconsolidation window, memories are activated into a labile state and can be reconsolidated in an altered form. This concept might have significant clinical implications in treating PTSD. In this pilot study we tested the potential of a single infusion of ketamine, followed by brief exposure therapy, to enhance post-retrieval extinction of PTSD trauma memories. 27 individuals diagnosed with PTSD were randomly assigned to receive either ketamine (0.5 mg/kg 40 min; N = 14) or midazolam (0.045 mg/kg; N = 13) after retrieval of the traumatic memory. 24 h following infusion, participants received a four-day trauma-focused psychotherapy. Symptoms and brain activity were assessed before treatment, at the end of treatment, and at 30-day follow-up. Amygdala activation to trauma scripts (a major biomarker of fear response) served as the main study outcome. Although PTSD symptoms improved equally in both groups, post-treatment, ketamine recipients showed a lower amygdala (−0.33, sd = 0.13, 95%HDI [−0.56,−0.04]) and hippocampus (−0.3 (sd = 0.19), 95%HDI [−0.65, 0.04]; marginal effect) reactivation to trauma memories, compared to midazolam recipients. Post-retrieval ketamine administration was also associated with decreased connectivity between the amygdala and hippocampus (−0.28, sd = 0.11, 95%HDI [−0.46, −0.11]), with no change in amygdala-vmPFC connectivity. Moreover, reduction in fractional anisotropy in bi-lateral uncinate fasciculus was seen in the Ketamine recipients compared with the midazolam recipients (right: post-treatment: −0.01108, 95% HDI [−0.0184,−0.003]; follow-up: −0.0183, 95% HDI [−0.02719,−0.0107]; left: post-treatment: −0.019, 95% HDI [−0.028,−0.011]; follow-up: −0.017, 95% HDI [−0.026,−0.007]). Taken together it is possible that ketamine may enhance post-retrieval extinction of the original trauma memories in humans. These preliminary findings show promising direction toward the capacity to rewrite human traumatic memories and modulate the fear response for at least 30 days post-extinction. When combined with psychotherapy for PTSD, further investigation of ketamine dose, timing of administration, and frequency of administration, is warranted.
p53 inhibitor iASPP is an unexpected suppressor of KRAS and inflammation-driven pancreatic cancer
Authors: Miller Paul , Akama-Garren Elliot H. , Owen Richard P. , Demetriou Constantinos , Carroll Thomas M. , Slee Elizabeth , Al Moussawi Khatoun , Ellis Michael , Goldin Robert , O’Neill Eric , Lu Xin
Published: June 2023

Oncogenic KRAS activation, inflammation and p53 mutation are key drivers of pancreatic cancer (PC) development. Here we report iASPP, an inhibitor of p53, as a paradoxical suppressor of inflammation and oncogenic KRASG12D-driven PC tumorigenesis. iASPP suppresses PC onset driven by KRASG12D alone or KRASG12D in combination with mutant p53R172H. iASPP deletion limits acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM) in vitro but accelerates inflammation and KRASG12D-induced ADM, pancreatitis and PC tumorigenesis in vivo. KRASG12D/iASPPΔ8/Δ8 tumours are well-differentiated classical PCs and their derivative cell lines form subcutaneous tumours in syngeneic and nude mice. Transcriptomically, either iASPP deletion or p53 mutation in the KRASG12D background altered the expression of an extensively overlapping gene set, comprised primarily of NF-κB and AP1-regulated inflammatory genes. All these identify iASPP as a suppressor of inflammation and a p53-independent oncosuppressor of PC tumorigenesis.
APOBEC3B coordinates R-loop to promote replication stress and sensitize cancer cells to ATR/Chk1 inhibitors
Authors: Zong Chunyan , Zhang Zhe , Gao Li , He Jie , Wang Yiran , Li Qian , Liu Xiaoting , Yang Jie , Chen Di , Huang Rui , Zheng Guopei , Jin Xiaoliang , Wei Wu , Jia Renbing , Shen Jianfeng
Published: June 2023

The cytidine deaminase, Apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme catalytic subunit 3B (APOBEC3B, herein termed A3B), is a critical mutation driver that induces genomic instability in cancer by catalyzing cytosine-to-thymine (C-to-T) conversion and promoting replication stress (RS). However, the detailed function of A3B in RS is not fully determined and it is not known whether the mechanism of A3B action can be exploited for cancer therapy. Here, we conducted an immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry (IP-MS) study and identified A3B to be a novel binding component of R-loops, which are RNA:DNA hybrid structures. Mechanistically, overexpression of A3B exacerbated RS by promoting R-loop formation and altering the distribution of R-loops in the genome. This was rescued by the R-loop gatekeeper, Ribonuclease H1 (RNASEH1, herein termed RNH1). In addition, a high level of A3B conferred sensitivity to ATR/Chk1 inhibitors (ATRi/Chk1i) in melanoma cells, which was dependent on R-loop status. Together, our results provide novel insights into the mechanistic link between A3B and R-loops in the promotion of RS in cancer. This will inform the development of markers to predict the response of patients to ATRi/Chk1i.
Development of allosteric and selective CDK2 inhibitors for contraception with negative cooperativity to cyclin binding
Authors: Faber Erik B. , Sun Luxin , Tang Jian , Roberts Emily , Ganeshkumar Sornakala , Wang Nan , Rasmussen Damien , Majumdar Abir , Hirsch Laura E. , John Kristen , Yang An , Khalid Hira , Hawkinson Jon E. , Levinson Nicholas M. , Chennathukuzhi Vargheese , Harki Daniel A. , Schönbrunn Ernst , Georg Gunda I.
Published: June 2023

Compared to most ATP-site kinase inhibitors, small molecules that target an allosteric pocket have the potential for improved selectivity due to the often observed lower structural similarity at these distal sites. Despite their promise, relatively few examples of structurally confirmed, high-affinity allosteric kinase inhibitors exist. Cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) is a target for many therapeutic indications, including non-hormonal contraception. However, an inhibitor against this kinase with exquisite selectivity has not reached the market because of the structural similarity between CDKs. In this paper, we describe the development and mechanism of action of type III inhibitors that bind CDK2 with nanomolar affinity. Notably, these anthranilic acid inhibitors exhibit a strong negative cooperative relationship with cyclin binding, which remains an underexplored mechanism for CDK2 inhibition. Furthermore, the binding profile of these compounds in both biophysical and cellular assays demonstrate the promise of this series for further development into a therapeutic selective for CDK2 over highly similar kinases like CDK1. The potential of these inhibitors as contraceptive agents is seen by incubation with spermatocyte chromosome spreads from mouse testicular explants, where they recapitulate Cdk2-/- and Spdya-/- phenotypes.
Discharge domains regulation and dynamic processes of direct-current triboelectric nanogenerator
Authors: Zhang Jiayue , Gao Yikui , Liu Di , Zhao Jing-Shan , Wang Jie
Published: June 2023

Direct-current triboelectric nanogenerators arising from electrostatic breakdown can eliminate the bottleneck problem of air breakdown in conventional triboelectric nanogenerators, offering critical benefits of constant-current output, resistance to electromagnetic interference, and high output power density. Previous understanding is that its output characteristics are described by a capacitor-breakdown model or dictated by one or two discharge domains in direct-current triboelectric nanogenerators. Here, we demonstrate that the former holds only for ideal conditions and the latter cannot fully explain the dynamic process and output performance. We systematically image, define, and regulate three discharge domains in direct-current triboelectric nanogenerators, then a “cask model” is developed to bridge the cascaded-capacitor-breakdown dynamic model in ideal conditions and real outputs. Under its guidance, the output power is increased by an order of magnitude within a wide range of resistive loads. These unexplored discharge domains and optimization methods revolutionize the output performance and potential applications of direct-current triboelectric nanogenerators.
CasTuner is a degron and CRISPR/Cas-based toolkit for analog tuning of endogenous gene expression
Authors: Noviello Gemma , Gjaltema Rutger A. F. , Schulz Edda G.
Published: June 2023

Certain cellular processes are dose-dependent, requiring specific quantities or stoichiometries of gene products, as exemplified by haploinsufficiency and sex-chromosome dosage compensation. Understanding dosage-sensitive processes requires tools to quantitatively modulate protein abundance. Here we present CasTuner, a CRISPR-based toolkit for analog tuning of endogenous gene expression. The system exploits Cas-derived repressors that are quantitatively tuned by ligand titration through a FKBP12F36V degron domain. CasTuner can be applied at the transcriptional or post-transcriptional level using a histone deacetylase (hHDAC4) fused to dCas9, or the RNA-targeting CasRx, respectively. We demonstrate analog tuning of gene expression homogeneously across cells in mouse and human cells, as opposed to KRAB-dependent CRISPR-interference systems, which exhibit digital repression. Finally, we quantify the system’s dynamics and use it to measure dose-response relationships of NANOG and OCT4 with their target genes and with the cellular phenotype. CasTuner thus provides an easy-to-implement tool to study dose-responsive processes in their physiological context.
Lysophosphatidic acid modulates CD8 T cell immunosurveillance and metabolism to impair anti-tumor immunity
Authors: Turner Jacqueline A. , Fredrickson Malia A. , D’Antonio Marc , Katsnelson Elizabeth , MacBeth Morgan , Van Gulick Robert , Chimed Tugs-Saikhan , McCarter Martin , D’Alessandro Angelo , Robinson William A. , Couts Kasey L. , Pelanda Roberta , Klarquist Jared , Tobin Richard P. , Torres Raul M.
Published: June 2023

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a bioactive lipid which increases in concentration locally and systemically across different cancer types. Yet, the exact mechanism(s) of how LPA affects CD8 T cell immunosurveillance during tumor progression remain unknown. We show LPA receptor (LPAR) signaling by CD8 T cells promotes tolerogenic states via metabolic reprogramming and potentiating exhaustive-like differentiation to modulate anti-tumor immunity. We found LPA levels predict response to immunotherapy and Lpar5 signaling promotes cellular states associated with exhausted phenotypes on CD8 T cells. Importantly, we show that Lpar5 regulates CD8 T cell respiration, proton leak, and reactive oxygen species. Together, our findings reveal that LPA serves as a lipid-regulated immune checkpoint by modulating metabolic efficiency through LPAR5 signaling on CD8 T cells. Our study offers key insights into the mechanisms governing adaptive anti-tumor immunity and demonstrates LPA could be exploited as a T cell directed therapy to improve dysfunctional anti-tumor immunity.