bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sharing food with hyenas: a latrine of Pachycrocuta brevirostris in the Early Pleistocene assemblage of Fuente Nueva-3 (Orce, Baza Basin, SE Spain)
Authors: Espigares M. P. , Palmqvist P. , Rodríguez-Ruiz M. D. , Ros-Montoya S. , Pérez-Ramos A. , Rodríguez-Gómez G. , Guerra-Merchán A. , García-Aguilar J. M. , Granados A. , Campaña I. , Martínez-Navarro B.
Published: May 2023

The Early Pleistocene archeological site of Fuente Nueva-3 (FN3) preserves some of the oldest evidence of hominin presence in Western Europe, including a huge assemblage of Oldowan tools and evidence of butchering and marrow processing of large mammal bones. Moreover, there is also evidence of the regular presence of carnivores at the site, including a small proportion of bones that show tooth marks, the majority of which can be attributed to the giant, short-faced hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris, and there are 220 coprolites, most of them from the Upper Archeological Level. In order to identify the defecating agent, we analyze here the coprolites and compare them with other specimens from the literature and with scats from zoo spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). The morphology, color, size, and chemical composition of the FN3 coprolites allow us to attribute them to the hyena P. brevirostris, which is also represented at the site by fossil specimens. In addition, we evaluate the origin of the accumulation of coprolites and discuss on the role played by the scavenging hyenas in the accumulation and modification of the bone remains unearthed at the site, which allows evaluating the contribution of the giant hyena to this Early Pleistocene site. Finally, based on the lithology of layer 5 of the Upper Archeological Level, fine sands and clays deposited in a salt-lake environment, we hypothesize that this layer may have acted as a quicksand where large-sized animals like elephants were trapped and their carcasses lured scavenging carnivores.
Cognitive Phenomenology Neuroscience and Computation
Authors: Sfeir Neyla , Aleksander Igor
Published: May 2023

Phenomenology is concerned with the first-person experience of or about some object, and is generally related to sensory experience, for example, auditory or visual. Cognitive phenomenology refers to an element of phenomenological experience that does not have a sensory character. Experiences of thought, understanding, and appreciation of meaning are less figurative than the sensory kind and therefore suggest a treatment separate from that related to sensory experience. Where sensory phenomenology is discussed as there being something, it is like to be in a sensory state (of color or some object like a banana), and it is less evident that there is something it is like to think, understand, or recognize meaning. As Strawson [1] puts it: “It’s strange that the existence of cognitive phenomenology is a matter of dispute.” But dispute there is, this paper examines this The Nature of Cognitive Phenomenology and Its Denial and suggests instances from neurology and logical argumentation that CP does exist. In this paper, while the existence phenomenal consciousness is a matter of philosophical debate, the CP of understanding is seen as important to those who work on language understanding in a computational domain. The salient method is a critical examination and comparison of relevant literature in different disciplines. Specifically, one instance of cognitive phenomenology is addressed: the understanding experience. However, the very existence of cognitive phenomenology is a controversial issue in philosophical discourse. Accordingly, in addition to a presentation of cognitive phenomenology, the controversy over its necessity as a concept is examined: a study dismissing CP is presented, and an example (a phenomenal contrast argument) is introduced. New arguments based on formal examples of “understanding” are proposed to further corroborate the existence of CP. Then, in the light of existing work on event-related potentials that measure changes in brain activity patterns under linguistic input, a neural support for cognitive phenomenology is elicited as an additional proof of its existence. The key result is that arguments from neurology and linguistics provide support for the existence of at least one facet of cognitive phenomenology (understanding) with the possibility that such presence could be measurable and extended to other modes. The arguments presented in the paper provide a grounding for using the CP concept in computing, as a complement to synthetic phenomenology.
Online monitoring of dynamic networks using flexible multivariate control charts
Authors: Flossdorf Jonathan , Fried Roland , Jentsch Carsten
Published: May 2023

Change-point detection in dynamic networks is a challenging task which is particularly due to the complex nature of temporal graphs. Existing approaches are based on the extraction of a network’s information by the reduction to a model or to a single metric. Whereas the former one requires restrictive assumptions and has limited applicability for real-world social networks, the latter one may suffer from a huge information loss. We demonstrate that an extension to a well-balanced multivariate approach that uses multiple metrics jointly to cover the relevant network information can overcome both issues, since it is applicable to arbitrary network shapes and promises to strongly mitigate the information loss. In this context, we give guidelines on the crucial questions of how to properly choose a suitable multivariate metric set together with the choice of a meaningful parametric or nonparametric control chart and show that an improper application may easily lead to unsatisfying results. Furthermore, we identify a solution that achieves reasonable performances in flexible circumstances in order to give a reliably applicable approach for various types of social networks and application fields. Our findings are supported by the use of extensive simulation studies, and its applicability is demonstrated on two real-world data sets from economics and social sciences.
DAC: Discriminative Associative Classification
Authors: Seyfi Majid , Xu Yue , Nayak Richi
Published: May 2023

In this paper, discriminative associative classification is proposed as a new classification technique based on class discriminative association rules (CDARs). These rules are defined based on discriminative itemsets. The discriminative itemset is frequent in one data class and has much higher frequencies compared with the same itemset in other data classes. The CDAR is a class associative rule (CAR) in one data class that has higher support compared with the same rule in other data classes. Compared to associative classification, there are additional challenges as the Apriori property of the subset is not applicable. The proposed algorithm is designed particularly based on well-defined distinguishing characteristics of the rules, to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the classification in data classes. A novel compact prefix-tree structure is defined for holding the rules in data classes. The empirical analysis shows the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method on small and large real datasets.
Expanding the possible: exploring the role for heterodox economics in integrated climate-economy modeling
Authors: Proctor J. Christopher
Published: May 2023

This paper explores the degree to which heterodox economics can contribute to the development and use of climate-economy integrated assessment models. To do so, it introduces the field of integrated assessment modeling, with a focus on the core economic methodology used by various types of models. It then summarizes some of the literature critiquing these models and how they inform policy. The paper then provides an extended classification of ways in which heterodox economics could be applied to climate-economy models and presents a number of storylines, or pathways, which could be created using insights and methods from heterodox schools. The paper concludes with an assessment of the scope for heterodox economics to answer the criticisms of climate-economy models, finding that despite not resolving all issues, the heterodoxy has a substantial role to play.
On binding mechanism exploration of organic amphoteric dye Rhodamine B with natural polymeric DNA
Authors: Yanthan Senchumbeni , Bhattacharyya Jhimli
Published: May 2023

Nucleic acids, like DNA and RNA, are molecules that are present in any life form. Their most notable function is to encode biological information. DNA also has unique material properties, which attract material scientists, nanotechnologists, and engineers. The study and investigation of the structural and dynamical properties of complex biological systems have attracted considerable interest among scientists in general and physicists and biologists in particular.The alteration in DNA due to the introduction of any small molecule changes the overall function and stability of DNA. So quantitative information about the effects of such ligand binding on the structure and function of DNAs, are very much required. In this study, the interaction between natural polymeric DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid sodium salt from herring testes; derived from the sperm of herring fish) and organic amphoteric dye molecule (fluorescent, biomarker), Rhodamine B, has been studied quantitatively. An overview of the overall changes occurring in the macromolecule was estimated using multi-spectroscopic methods and complemented with computational analyses. The results obtained provide an understanding of the binding affinity, stoichiometry, and structural details of the ligand-DNA complex, followed by an estimation of associated binding thermodynamics. Finally, structure–function relationships and molecular aspects of ligand binding to DNA have been established in the current piece of research work, which can have multifaceted applications in drug development and pharmacology.
Eulophia gracilis pseudobulb extract mitigates cyclophosphamide-induced genotoxicity and oxidative stress on murine hepatic tissue
Authors: Ola Olaniyi Solomon , Odunola Oyeronke Adunni
Published: May 2023

The reports over the years on chemotherapeutic regimen involving cyclophosphamide (CYP), a bifunctional alkylating agent, demonstrated hepatotoxic side effect. Eulophia gracilis (EG) is a medicinal plant with folkloric utility in the treatment of liver damage and blood related diseases. However, there is a knowledge gap on the impact of E. gracilis effectiveness on CYP-associated hepatic toxicity in the literature. We investigated on potency of aqueous methanolic extract of E. gracilis (AMEG) and CYP-mediated hepatic toxicity in rats. Experimental rats were administered with CYP (2 mg/kg) or co-treated with AMEG (200 or 400 mg/kg) for 7 days consecutively. The result showed that co-treatment with AMEG significantly reduces alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma glutamyl transferase and lactate dehydrogenase activities compared to the CYP group. Moreover, AMEG abated CYP-induced decreases in superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase enzymes in the liver homogenate. AMEG alleviated CYP-facilitated surges of hepatic concentration of advanced oxidized protein product (AOPPs) and lipid peroxidation in rats. Additionally, AMEG reduced pathological lesions in the liver of co-treated rats and elicited anti-genotoxic effect by mitigating CYP-mediated increases of frequency of formation of polychromatic erythrocyte in the bone marrow and hepatic percentage DNA fragmentation in CYP-exposed rats. Overall, AMEG protective effect improved liver dysfunction occasioned by CYP-mediated toxicities in rats by abating oxidative stress and alleviating genotoxic responses.
Theoretical investigation of combining cooling tower and cooling coil with direct evaporative cooler
Authors: Aldamaad Munadhil A. H. , Kadhim Hakim T.
Published: May 2023

A theoretical study is developed to examine the feasibility of using the cooling tower and the cooling coil with the direct evaporative cooler in the highest summer temperature in Karbala/Iraq. This is due to the inability of the direct evaporative cooler in reducing the outside air temperature and efficiency reduction in the mechanical vapor compression systems despite its high electrical energy consumption at high temperatures. The water in the cooling tower is cooled to a temperature higher than the outdoor wet-bulb temperature by (3.9 $$^\circ$$

∘

C). The water then passes through the cooling coil where the outdoor air is pre-cooled through it, and the outdoor air temperature decreases by (17 $$^\circ$$

∘

C) without an increase in humidity. Then the pre-cooled air passes through the direct evaporative cooler where its temperature decreases by (10 $$^\circ$$

∘

C) and humidity increases. The temperature of the air leaving this combining system is reduced by (27 $$^\circ$$

∘

C). The results showed that the temperature of the air leaving this combining system is adequate and passes through the comfort zone in the psychrometric chart. The results presented that the cooling tower and the cooling coil alone were unable to reduce the air temperature to reach the comfort zone. A similar observation is noted with the direct evaporative cooler. Therefore, the combining system is considered a more effective alternative to the direct evaporative cooler, and its effectiveness reaches more than 100%. Additionally, it is clean, environmentally friendly, energy efficient, and does not add heat to the surrounding environment in comparison with mechanical vapor compression systems.
Fibroscopic-guided percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy in critically ill children: a single center observational study
Authors: Durand Philippe , Miatello Jordi , Martin Laurent , Carter Michael J. , Mbieleu Blaise , Bellocq Thomas , Morin Luc , Tissières Pierre
Published: May 2023

Background

Percutaneous tracheostomy is rarely used in children due to limited experience and safety concerns, in contrast to adult patients where the overwhelming majority of tracheostomies are placed via the percutaneous route. To assess the feasibility of percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) using the modified fibroscopic-guided Ciaglia technique, we prospectively recorded and analyzed all PDT procedures performed for persistent failure to wean from mechanical ventilation and inability to protect the airway in our pediatric intensive care unit.

Results

From January 2003 to March 2022, 27 children (median age 12, range 5–17, years; median weight 38, range 19.5–80 kg; median PRISM II 10, range 6–11) underwent a PDT for acute encephalitis (10 children), neurovascular disease (5 children), and other indications, using a Shiley cannula ranging from 5.5 to 7 mm internal diameter (ID) after a median length of mechanical ventilation of 13 (range 10–22) days. Early complications included a few minor events, and we did not observe significant peristomal granulation nor infection. Three patients required transient tracheal stenting for suprastomal collapse, and four others developed severe subglottis (1) or substromal tracheal stenosis (3). The overall in-hospital mortality was 27%. Among the long-term survivors, cannulas were removed in 85% of cases after a median length of tracheostomy of 47 (range 31–77) days.

Conclusions

PDT is feasible and could be an alternative option to traditional surgical tracheostomy in adolescents and children over the age of 5.
Intergenerational risk sharing in a defined contribution pension system: analysis with Bayesian optimization
Authors: Chen An , Kanagawa Motonobu , Zhang Fangyuan
Published: May 2023

We study a fully funded, collective defined contribution (DC) pension system with multiple overlapping generations. We investigate whether the welfare of participants can be improved by intergenerational risk sharing (IRS) implemented with a realistic investment strategy (e.g., no borrowing) and without an outside entity (e.g., shareholders) that helps finance the pension fund. To implement IRS, the pension system uses an automatic adjustment rule for the indexation of individual accounts, which adapts to the notional funding ratio of the pension system. The pension system has two parameters that determine the investment strategy and the strength of the adjustment rule, which are optimized by expected utility maximization using Bayesian optimization. The volatility of the retirement benefits and that of the funding ratio are analyzed, and it is shown that the trade-off between them can be controlled by the optimal adjustment parameter to attain IRS. Compared with the optimal individual DC benchmark using the life cycle strategy, the studied pension system with IRS is shown to improve the welfare of risk-averse participants, when the financial market is volatile.
Why did doctrinal religions first appear in the Northern Subtropical Zone?
Authors: Dunbar R.I.M.
Published: May 2023

Doctrinal religions that involve recognised gods, more formal theologies, moral codes, dedicated religious spaces and professional priesthoods emerged in two phases during the Neolithic. Almost all of these appeared in a narrow latitudinal band (the northern Subtropical Zone). I suggest that these developments were the result of a need to facilitate community bonding in response to scalar stresses that developed as community sizes increased dramatically beyond those typical of hunter–gatherer societies. Conditions for population growth (as indexed by rainfall patterns and the difference between pathogen load and the length of the growing season) were uniquely optimised in this zone, creating an environment of ecological release in which populations could grow unusually rapidly. The relationship between latitude, religion and language in contemporary societies suggests that the peculiar characteristics of the northern (but not the southern) Subtropical Zone were especially favourable for the evolution of large scale religions as a way of enforcing community cohesion.
Basal debris of the NEEM ice core, Greenland: a window into sub-ice-sheet geology, basal ice processes and ice-sheet oscillations
Authors: Blard Pierre-Henri , Protin Marie , Tison Jean-Louis , Fripiat François , Dahl-Jensen Dorthe , Steffensen Jørgen P. , Mahaney William C. , Bierman Paul R. , Christ Andrew J. , Corbett Lee B. , Debaille Vinciane , Rigaudier Thomas , Claeys Philippe ,   ASTER Team
Published: May 2023

We present new data from the debris-rich basal ice layers of the NEEM ice core (NW Greenland). Using mineralogical observations, SEM imagery, geochemical data from silicates (meteoric10Be, εNd,87Sr/86Sr) and organic material (C/N, δ13C), we characterize the source material, succession of previous glaciations and deglaciations and the paleoecological conditions during ice-free episodes. Meteoric10Be data and grain features indicate that the ice sheet interacted with paleosols and eroded fresh bedrock, leading to mixing in these debris-rich ice layers. Our analysis also identifies four successive stages in NW Greenland: (1) initial preglacial conditions, (2) glacial advance 1, (3) glacial retreat and interglacial conditions and (4) glacial advance 2 (current ice-sheet development). C/N and δ13C data suggest that deglacial environments favored the development of tundra and taiga ecosystems. These two successive glacial fluctuations observed at NEEM are consistent with those identified from the Camp Century core basal sediments over the last 3 Ma. Further inland, GRIP and GISP2 summit sites have remained glaciated more continuously than the western margin, with less intense ice-substratum interactions than those observed at NEEM.
INVESTIGATING THE COMPUTABLE FRIEDMAN–STANLEY JUMP
Authors: ANDREWS URI , SAN MAURO LUCA
Published: May 2023

The Friedman–Stanley jump, extensively studied by descriptive set theorists, is a fundamental tool for gauging the complexity of Borel isomorphism relations. This paper focuses on a natural computable analog of this jump operator for equivalence relations on
$\omega $
, written
${\dotplus }$
, recently introduced by Clemens, Coskey, and Krakoff. We offer a thorough analysis of the computable Friedman–Stanley jump and its connections with the hierarchy of countable equivalence relations under the computable reducibility
$\leq _c$
. In particular, we show that this jump gives benchmark equivalence relations going up the hyperarithmetic hierarchy and we unveil the complicated highness hierarchy that arises from
${\dotplus }$
.
Cesare Cremonini's non-theological cosmology: a contribution to Padua's secular culture in times of wars of religion
Authors: Omodeo Pietro Daniel
Published: May 2023

This essay deals with the cultural-political motivations behind the cosmological conceptions of the Padua Aristotelian Cesare Cremonini (1550–1631). A defender of the interests of the university against Jesuit teachings, and one of the philosophers who was most frequently scrutinized by the Inquisition, he was an important actor in Venetian cultural politics during the years of European religious conflict that culminated in the Thirty Years War. In those years, he was officially titled ‘protector’ of the multi-confessional German Nation of Artists, one of the largest groups of foreign students at the University of Padua, and had to act as mediator in cases of conflict. His efforts to keep teaching free from religious concerns is reflected by his commitment to pursue philosophical and cosmological inquiries without engaging in revealed theology. In particular, his strict adherence to Aristotelian cosmology proved to be at odds with central Christian dogmas as it relinquished, among other concepts, the ideas of Creation and divine Providence. I argue that this position of Cremonini's fostered a tolerant and universalistic attitude in line with a secular programme that could enable cross-confessional coexistence in a cosmopolitan institution like Padua.
A NOVEL APPROACH TO PREDICTIVE ACCURACY TESTING IN NESTED ENVIRONMENTS
Authors: Pitarakis Jean-Yves
Published: May 2023

We introduce a new approach for comparing the predictive accuracy of two nested models that bypasses the difficulties caused by the degeneracy of the asymptotic variance of forecast error loss differentials used in the construction of commonly used predictive comparison statistics. Our approach continues to rely on the out of sample mean squared error loss differentials between the two competing models, leads to nuisance parameter-free Gaussian asymptotics, and is shown to remain valid under flexible assumptions that can accommodate heteroskedasticity and the presence of mixed predictors (e.g., stationary and local to unit root). A local power analysis also establishes their ability to detect departures from the null in both stationary and persistent settings. Simulations calibrated to common economic and financial applications indicate that our methods have strong power with good size control across commonly encountered sample sizes.
A unique Silandos medallion of Faustina II from Blaundos in Lydia
Authors: Tatar Ömer
Published: May 2023

During the 2019 archaeological excavation season in Blaundos, a Roman-period bronze medallion was found within a wall of a Byzantine-period structure on the main street. It is a medallion struck by the Lydian city of Silandos, bearing the bust of Faustina II on the obverse and Marcus Aurelius clasping hands with Lucius Verus on the reverse. A literature search revealed that it is a rare and unpublished specimen. NeitherRPC, the largest database of Roman Provincial Coinage, nor auction databases record any example of it. The iconography, combining the portrait of the empress with a depiction of the co-emperors of the period, does not point to any specific event or incident. The reverse die was, however, used for another medallion struck later by Silandos. This paper aims to introduce, interpret, and discuss this unique Lydian medallion from the 2nd c. CE.
LETTER TO THE EDITORS: SOLVING VINCENT CARRET’S PUZZLE: A REBUTTAL OF CARRET’S FALLACIES AND ERRORS
Authors: Ginoux Jean-Marc , Jovanovic Franck
Published: May 2023

In his article published in JHET in 2022, Vincent Carret (2022a) criticizes our work. In footnote 19, pages 630–631, he claims that our result “is based on a mistaken interpretation of the paragraph at the bottom of p. 191 of Frisch (1933).” He then states that we “take to mean that the coefficient of each cycle in the general sum of solutions is arbitrary, while … these coefficients [depended] on initial conditions and the parameters of the system.” The present rejoinder aims at rebutting Carret’s allegation of mistaken interpretation in our work. We demonstrate that his statements are based on a misunderstanding of Frisch’s econometric model and approach. Then, we show that Carret’s results are not supported by the demonstration he claims to have made, and that he misrepresents our arguments.
Recommending tasks based on search queries and missions
Authors: Garigliotti Darío , Balog Krisztian , Hose Katja , Bjerva Johannes
Published: May 2023

Web search is an experience that naturally lends itself to recommendations, including query suggestions and related entities. In this article, we propose to recommend specific tasks to users, based on their search queries, such as planning a holiday trip or organizing a party. Specifically, we introduce the problem of query-based task recommendation and develop methods that combine well-established term-based ranking techniques with continuous semantic representations, including sentence representations from several transformer-based models. Using a purpose-built test collection, we find that our method is able to significantly outperform a strong text-based baseline. Further, we extend our approach to using a set of queries that all share the same underlying task, referred to as search mission, as input. The study is rounded off with a detailed feature and query analysis.
Stock market alphas help predict macroeconomic innovations
Authors: Hung Mao-Wei , Yeh Andy Jia-Yuh
Published: May 2023

We extract dynamic conditional factor premiums from the Fama-French factor model and find that most anomalies disappear after one accounts for time variation in these premiums. Vector autoregression evidence shows that mutual causation between dynamic conditional alphas and macroeconomic surprises serves as a core qualifying condition for fundamental factor selection. This economic insight is an incremental step toward drawing a distinction between rational risk and behavioral mispricing models. To the extent that dynamic conditional alphas can reveal the marginal investor’s fundamental news and expectations about the cross-section of average asset returns, our economic insight helps enrich macroeconomic asset return prediction.
From Neolithic Revolution to industrialization
Authors: Chu Angus C. , Xu Rongxin
Published: May 2023

This study develops a Malthusian model for the evolution of human society from hunting-gathering to agriculture and from agriculture to industrial production. Human society evolves across these stages as the population grows. However, under endogenous population growth, the population may stop growing at any stage. If it fails to reach the first threshold, the population remains as hunter-gatherers. If it reaches the first threshold, an agricultural society emerges. Then, if the population fails to reach the industrial threshold, it remains in an agricultural Malthusian trap without experiencing industrialization. Interestingly, high agricultural productivity triggers not only the Neolithic Revolution but also the subsequent industrialization. Using cross-country data to test this result, we employ an index of prehistoric biogeographic conditions that affect agricultural productivity as an instrument for the timing of transitions to agriculture and find that an earlier transition to agriculture has a positive effect on industrialization in the modern era.
How do you Behave as a Psychometrician? Research Conduct in the Context of Psychometric Research
Authors: Flores-Kanter Pablo Ezequiel , Mosquera Mariano
Published: May 2023

The identification of fraudulent and questionable research conduct is not something new. However, in the last 12 years the aim has been to identify specific problems and concrete solutions applicable to each area of knowledge. For example, previous work has focused on questionable and responsible research conducts associated with clinical assessment, measurement practices in psychology and related sciences; or applicable to specific areas of study, such as suicidology. One area of study that merits further study of questionable and responsible research behaviors is psychometrics. Focusing on psychometric research is important and necessary, as without adequate evidence of construct validity the overall validity of the research is at least debatable. Our interest here is to (a) identifying questionable research conduct specifically linked to psychometric studies; and (b) promoting greater awareness and widespread application of responsible research conduct in psychometrics research. We believe that the identification and recognition of these conducts is important and will help us to improve our daily work as psychometricians.
Metacognitive Judgment Skills and the Metacognitive Component of Self-Regulated Learning
Authors: Dörrenbächer-Ulrich Laura , Perels Franziska
Published: May 2023

Abstract: Metacognitive judgments as part of metacognitive monitoring can be measured using different methods and show individual differences. Moreover, metacognitive judgments are highly related to the metacognitive component of self-regulated learning (SRL-MC). Nevertheless, it is unclear how metacognitive judgments are related to different ways of measuring SRL-MC. Adopting a person-oriented, multimethod approach, we measured three metacognitive judgment forms in a sample of 99 college students. Latent profile analyses resulted in four groups with differing profiles of these metacognitive judgment measures. Linking the profiles to performance, we could contextualize them within the unskilled- and unaware-effect and extend previous research on this effect. Regarding their relationship to SRL-MC, we found no differences for questionnaire values, microanalysis results, and strategy knowledge scores. These results are discussed with regard to the conceptual overlap of metacognitive judgments and SRL-MC.
Financial Stress, Unemployment, and Suicide – A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Roelfs David J. , Shor Eran
Published: May 2023

Abstract: Background: Socioeconomic factors such as financial stress and unemployment are known predictors of suicide. However, no large-scale meta-analyses exist. Aims: Determine the suicide risk following unemployment or financial stress. Method: Literature searched through July 31, 2021. Robust meta-analysis and metaregression of the risk of suicide following financial stress (23 studies) or unemployment (43 studies), from 20 nations. Subgroup meta-analyses by sex, age, year, country, and methodology. Results: The suicide risk following financial stress or unemployment was not significantly elevated among those with diagnosed mental illness. In the general population, we found significantly elevated suicide risks for financial stress (RR: 1.742; 95% CI: 1.339, −2.266) and unemployment (RR: 1.874; CI: 1.501, −2.341). However, neither was significant among studies controlling for physical/mental health (perhaps partially due to lower statistical power). We observed no significant differences by sex, age, or by GDP. We observed a higher suicide risk following unemployment in more recent years. Limitations: Publication bias was evident. We could not examine some individual-level characteristics, most notably the severity/duration of unemployment/financial stress. Heterogeneity was high for some meta-analyses. Studies from non-OECD countries are under-represented. Conclusion: After accounting for physical/mental health, financial stress and unemployment weakly associated with suicide, and the associations may be nonsignificant.
The South Atlantic Circulation Between 34.5°S, 24°S and Above the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge From an Inverse Box Model
Authors: Arumí‐Planas Cristina , Pérez‐Hernández María Dolores , Pelegrí Josep L. , Vélez‐Belchí Pedro , Emelianov Mikhail , Caínzos Verónica , Cana Luis , Firing Yvonne L. , García‐Weil Luis , Santana‐Toscano Daniel , Hernández‐Guerra Alonso
Published: May 2023

The South Atlantic Ocean plays a key role in the heat exchange of the climate system, as it hosts the returning flow of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). To gain insights on this role, using data from three hydrographic cruises conducted in the South Atlantic Subtropical gyre at 34.5°S, 24°S, and 10°W, we identify water masses and compute absolute geostrophic circulation using inverse modeling. In the upper layers, the currents describe the South Atlantic anticyclonic gyre with the northwest flowing Benguela Current (26.3 ± 2.0 Sv at 34.5°S, and 21.2 ± 1.8 Sv at 24°S) flowing above the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge (MAR) between 22.4°S and 28.4°S (−19.2 ± 1.4 Sv), and the southward flowing Brazil Current (−16.5 ± 1.3 Sv at 34.5°S, and −7.3 ± 0.9 Sv at 24°S); the deep layers feature the southward transports of Deep Western Boundary Current (−13.9 ± 3.0 Sv at 34.5°S, and −8.7 ± 3.8 Sv at 24°S) and Deep Eastern Boundary Current (−15.1 ± 3.5 Sv at 34.5°S, and −16.3 ± 4.7 Sv at 24°S), with the interbasin west‐to‐east flow close to 24°S (7.5 ± 4.4 Sv); the abyssal waters present northward mass transports through the Argentina Basin (5.6 ± 1.1 Sv at 34.5°S, and 5.8 ± 1.5 Sv at 24°S) and Cape Basin (8.6 ± 3.5 Sv at 34.5°S–3.0 ± 0.8 Sv at 24°S) before returning southward (−2.2 ± 0.7 Sv at 24°S to −7.9 ± 3.6 Sv at 34.5°S), without any interbasin exchange across the MAR. In addition, we compute the upper AMOC strength (14.8 ± 1.0 and 17.5 ± 0.9 Sv), the equatorward heat transport (0.30 ± 0.05 and 0.80 ± 0.05 PW), and the freshwater flux (0.18 ± 0.02 and −0.07 ± 0.02 Sv) at 34.5°S and 24°S, respectively.
Changes in Atmospheric Gaseous Elemental Mercury Concentrations and Isotopic Compositions at Mt. Changbai During 2015–2021 and Mt. Ailao During 2017–2021 in China
Authors: Wu Xian , Fu Xuewu , Zhang Hui , Tang Kaihui , Wang Xun , Zhang Hui , Deng Qianwen , Zhang Leiming , Liu Kaiyun , Wu Qingru , Wang Shuxiao , Feng Xinbin
Published: May 2023

China is the largest contributor to the global total anthropogenic mercury (Hg) emissions. However, the trend in anthropogenic Hg emissions in recent years in China has not been effectively evaluated due to the lack of long‐term atmospheric Hg observations. This study documents the changes in atmospheric gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) concentrations and isotopic compositions at Mt. Changbai (MCB) in northeastern China during 2015–2021 and Mt. Ailao (MAL) in southwestern China during 2017–2021, and explores the potential factors controlling these changes. GEM concentrations showed continuous declines from 2015 to 2021 (−2.1 ± 0.6% yr−1) at MCB and from 2017 to 2021 (−4.0 ± 1.4% yr−1) at MAL. Accompanied with these GEM declines are positive shifts in δ202Hg (medians: from 0.42 to 0.46‰ at MCB and from 0.17 to 0.57‰ at MAL), and negative shifts in Δ199Hg (medians: from −0.17‰ to −0.21‰ at MCB and from −0.10‰ to −0.17‰ at MAL) and Δ200Hg values (medians: from −0.07‰ to −0.08‰ at MCB and from −0.03‰ to −0.05‰ at MAL) (at significant levels for Δ199Hg at MCB and δ202Hg and Δ199Hg at MAL). These changes were mainly caused by the decreases in regional anthropogenic emissions in the study areas. Based on a ternary mixing model with Δ199Hg and Δ200Hg as input, we estimate decline rates of 5.8 ± 2.8 and 4.8 ± 3.0% yr−1 for the regional anthropogenic GEM emissions in northeastern and southwestern China, respectively.
Investigating the Effect of Aerosol Uncertainty on Convective Precipitation Forecasting in South China's Coastal Area
Authors: Wang Yueya , Zhang Zijing , Chow Wing Sze , Wang Zhe , Yu Jian Zhen , Chi‐Hung Fung Jimmy , Shi Xiaoming
Published: May 2023

Previous studies on convective precipitation forecasting in South China have focused on the effects of multiscale dynamics and microphysics parameterizations. However, limited investigation has been conducted on how uncertainty in aerosol data might cause errors in quantitative precipitation forecast for South China's coastal convection. In this case study, we evaluated the impact of aerosol uncertainties on South China's severe coastal convection using convection‐permitting simulations. We estimated the variability range of aerosol concentrations with observations for the pre‐summer months. The simulation results suggest that the rainfall pattern and intensity change notably when aerosol concentrations are varied. Decreasing the concentration of water‐friendly (WF) aerosols intensifies precipitation through reduced cloud water number concentration and increased droplet size. Increasing the concentration of ice‐friendly (IF) aerosols results in up to 40% increase in vertical velocity and latent heat compared to minimal IF aerosol condition, by enhancing the heterogeneous process and dynamically intensifying convection. Consequently, the simulation with minimal WF and maximal IF aerosol concentrations shows prolonged intense precipitation over the entire life cycle of convection. However, when both WF and IF aerosols are set to minimal concentrations, the simulation produces the maximum peak rainfall rate, which is about 50% stronger than the simulation with the climatological mean concentration, due to an enhanced homogeneous process that results in a higher ice concentration and more efficient ice‐phase precipitation growth. Meanwhile, variation in aerosol concentration affects convection initiation (CI), with a lower concentration of WF aerosol inducing earlier CI onset. Decreasing hygroscopicity leads to higher precipitation.
A general methodology to measure the light-to-heat conversion efficiency of solid materials
Authors: Gu Kai , Zhong Haizheng
Published: May 2023

Light-to-heat conversion has been intensively investigated due to the potential applications including photothermal therapy and solar energy harvesting. As a fundamental property of materials, accurate measurement of light-to-heat conversion efficiency (LHCE) is of vital importance in developing advanced materials for photothermal applications. Herein, we report a photothermal and electrothermal equivalence (PEE) method to measure the LHCE of solid materials by simulating the laser heating process with electric heating process. The temperature evolution of samples during electric heating process was firstly measured, enabling us to derive the heat dissipation coefficient by performing a linear fitting at thermal equilibrium. The LHCE of samples can be calculated under laser heating with the consideration of heat dissipation coefficient. We further discussed the effectiveness of assumptions by combining the theoretical analysis and experimental measurements, supporting the obtained small error within 5% and excellent reproducibility. This method is versatile to measure the LHCE of inorganic nanocrystals, carbon-based materials and organic materials, indicating the applicability of a variety of materials.
Early neurodevelopmental outcomes of extreme preterm infants exposed to paracetamol: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Zhong Bella , Tan Kenneth , Razak Abdul , Sackett Vathana , Machipisa Catherine , Zhou Lindsay , Samiee-Zafarghandy Samira , Sehgal Arvind , Hunt Rod W. , Pharande Pramod , Malhotra Atul
Published: May 2023

Background

Paracetamol is commonly used for analgesia and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) treatment in preterm infants. We aimed to evaluate early neurodevelopmental outcomes of extreme preterm infants exposed to paracetamol during their neonatal admission.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study included surviving infants born at <29 weeks gestation, or with a birth weight of <1000 grams. Neurodevelopmental outcomes studied were early cerebral palsy (CP) or high risk of CP diagnosis, Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE) score and Prechtl General Movement Assessment (GMA) at 3–4 months corrected age.

Results

Two hundred and forty-two infants were included, of which 123 were exposed to paracetamol. After adjusting for birth weight, sex and chronic lung disease, there were no significant associations between paracetamol exposure and early CP or high risk of CP diagnosis (aOR 1.46, 95% CI 0.61, 3.5), abnormal or absent GMA (aOR 0.82, 95% CI 0.37, 1.79) or HINE score (adjusted β −0.19, 95% CI −2.39, 2.01). Subgroup analysis stratifying paracetamol exposure into <180 mg/kg or ≥180 mg/kg cumulative dose found that neither had significant effects on outcomes.

Conclusions

In this cohort of extreme preterm infants, no significant association was found between exposure to paracetamol during the neonatal admission and adverse early neurodevelopment.

Impact

Paracetamol is commonly used in the neonatal period for analgesia and patent ductus arteriosus treatment in preterm infants, although prenatal paracetamol use has been associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Exposure to paracetamol during the neonatal admission was not associated with adverse early neurodevelopment at 3–4 months corrected age in this cohort of extreme preterm infants.

The findings from this observational study is consistent with the small body of literature supporting the lack of association between neonatal paracetamol exposure and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants.
Relationship between BCL2 mutations and follicular lymphoma outcome in the chemoimmunotherapy era
Authors: Correia Cristina , Maurer Matthew J. , McDonough Samantha J. , Schneider Paula A. , Ross Paige E. , Novak Anne J. , Feldman Andrew L. , Cerhan James R. , Slager Susan L. , Witzig Thomas E. , Eckloff Bruce W. , Li Hu , Nowakowski Grzegorz S. , Kaufmann Scott H.
Published: May 2023

How to identify follicular lymphoma (FL) patients with low disease burden but high risk for early progression is unclear. Building on a prior study demonstrating the early transformation of FLs with high variant allele frequency (VAF) BCL2 mutations at activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AICDA) sites, we examined 11 AICDA mutational targets, including BCL2, BCL6, PAX5, PIM1, RHOH, SOCS, and MYC, in 199 newly diagnosed grade 1 and 2 FLs. BCL2 mutations with VAF ≥20% occurred in 52% of cases. Among 97 FL patients who did not initially receive rituximab-containing therapy, nonsynonymous BCL2 mutations at VAF ≥20% were associated with increased transformation risk (HR 3.01, 95% CI 1.04–8.78, p = 0.043) and a trend toward shorter event-free survival (EFS, median 20 months with mutations versus 54 months without, p = 0.052). Other sequenced genes were less frequently mutated and did not increase the prognostic value of the panel. Across the entire population, nonsynonymous BCL2 mutations at VAF ≥20% were associated with decreased EFS (HR 1.55, 95% CI 1.02–2.35, p = 0.043 after correction for FLIPI and treatment) and decreased overall survival after median 14-year follow-up (HR 1.82, 95% CI 1.05–3.17, p = 0.034). Thus, high VAF nonsynonymous BCL2 mutations remain prognostic even in the chemoimmunotherapy era.
Brillouin zone folding driven bound states in the continuum
Authors: Wang Wenhao , Srivastava Yogesh Kumar , Tan Thomas CaiWei , Wang Zhiming , Singh Ranjan
Published: May 2023

Non-radiative bound states in the continuum (BICs) allow construction of resonant cavities with confined electromagnetic energy and high-quality (Q) factors. However, the sharp decay of the Q factor in the momentum space limits their usefulness for device applications. Here we demonstrate an approach to achieve sustainable ultrahigh Q factors by engineering Brillouin zone folding-induced BICs (BZF-BICs). All the guided modes are folded into the light cone through periodic perturbation that leads to the emergence of BZF-BICs possessing ultrahigh Q factors throughout the large, tunable momentum space. Unlike conventional BICs, BZF-BICs show perturbation-dependent dramatic enhancement of the Q factor in the entire momentum space and are robust against structural disorders. Our work provides a unique design path for BZF-BIC-based silicon metasurface cavities with extreme robustness against disorder while sustaining ultrahigh Q factors, offering potential applications in terahertz devices, nonlinear optics, quantum computing, and photonic integrated circuits.
Singularity response reveals entrainment properties in mammalian circadian clock
Authors: Masuda Kosaku , Kon Naohiro , Iizuka Kosuke , Fukada Yoshitaka , Sakurai Takeshi , Hirano Arisa
Published: May 2023

Entrainment is characterized by phase response curves (PRCs), which provide a summary of responses to perturbations at each circadian phase. The synchronization of mammalian circadian clocks is accomplished through the receipt of a variety of inputs from both internal and external time cues. A comprehensive comparison of PRCs for various stimuli in each tissue is required. Herein, we demonstrate that PRCs in mammalian cells can be characterized using a recently developed estimation method based on singularity response (SR), which represents the response of desynchronized cellular clocks. We confirmed that PRCs can be reconstructed using single SR measurements and quantified response properties for various stimuli in several cell lines. SR analysis reveals that the phase and amplitude after resetting are distinguishable among stimuli. SRs in tissue slice cultures reveal tissue-specific entrainment properties. These results demonstrate that SRs can be employed to unveil entrainment mechanisms with diverse stimuli in multiscale mammalian clocks.
The in-tissue molecular architecture of β-amyloid pathology in the mammalian brain
Authors: Leistner Conny , Wilkinson Martin , Burgess Ailidh , Lovatt Megan , Goodbody Stanley , Xu Yong , Deuchars Susan , Radford Sheena E. , Ranson Neil A. , Frank René A. W.
Published: May 2023

Amyloid plaques composed of Aβ fibrils are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the molecular architecture of amyloid plaques in the context of fresh mammalian brain tissue is unknown. Here, using cryogenic correlated light and electron tomography we report the in situ molecular architecture of Aβ fibrils in the AppNL-G-F familial AD mouse model containing the Arctic mutation and an atomic model of ex vivo purified Arctic Aβ fibrils. We show that in-tissue Aβ fibrils are arranged in a lattice or parallel bundles, and are interdigitated by subcellular compartments, extracellular vesicles, extracellular droplets and extracellular multilamellar bodies. The Arctic Aβ fibril differs significantly from an earlier AppNL-F fibril structure, indicating a striking effect of the Arctic mutation. These structural data also revealed an ensemble of additional fibrillar species, including thin protofilament-like rods and branched fibrils. Together, these results provide a structural model for the dense network architecture that characterises β-amyloid plaque pathology.