bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phytoremediation of metal-contaminated bottom sediments by the common ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L.) in Poland
Authors: Śliwa-Cebula Marta , Koniarz Tomasz , Szara-Bąk Magdalena , Baran Agnieszka , Miszalski Zbigniew , Kaszycki Paweł
Published: December 2022

Purpose

The aim of the study was to propose a phytoremediation-based approach toward the proper utilization of post-industrial, metal-contaminated bottom sediments. The common ice plant, Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. (Aizoaceae), an abiotic-stress tolerant, C3/CAM intermediate halophyte, was tested for growth in substrates containing bottom sediments and for biological removal of metal pollutants. In variant tests, the sediments were admixed with non-toxic components to reduce the ecotoxicity hazards and improve growth conditions.

Materials and methods

Bottom sediment samples were collected from Lake Chechło in the industrial area of Poland. They were amended with universal soil and other materials (sand, lime, plant ash) and then used as growth substrates. After 30-day growth the plant biomass and rhizospheric microbiota population were assessed. The elemental content was determined in the substrate as well as in plant organs with inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Bioaccumulation factors (BAFs, indicating phytoextraction processes) and root-to-shoot translocation factors (TFs) were calculated for all the metals to trace their behavior upon phytoremediation. Ecotoxicity assessments were performed by using a set of biotests (Phytotoxkit, Ostracodtoxkit F, and Microtox).

Results

M. crystallinum proved its ability to grow under harsh conditions of toxic and poor-quality substrates, while allowing for proliferation of rhizosphere bacteria. The plant growth was accompanied by the accumulation of Na and several other metals which were partially removed from the bottom sediment-containing soils. Depending on the experimental variant, the maximum removal achieved upon the 30-day test was: for Cd, 18.1%, Cu, 47.6%, Cr, 32.7%, Pb, 36.6%, and Zn, 24.1%. M. crystallinum hyperaccumulated Zn and accumulated (either in roots or shoots) Cd, Cu, Cr, and Ni. The maximum BAF values (> 1.0,) were obtained for the following metals: Cd, Cr, Ni, Cu (roots) and Cd, Cr, Ni, Zn (shoots). The highest values of TF (> 1), confirming high phytoremediation potential, were calculated for Na (33.33), Cd (1.47), Cu (1.77), Cr (7.85), and Zn (4.02). Bottom sediments revealed class III toxicity (acute), which was decreased by admixing with other materials. Surprisingly, the treatment with M. crystallinum led to an increase of toxicity levels, possibly by mobilizing potentially toxic elements during plant growth and microbial population development. However, mixing the sediments with universal soil and lime enabled us to maintain class I (no acute toxicity).

Conclusion

The common ice plant reveals strong application potential for use in reclamation of soils or revitalization of industrially degraded areas containing bottom sediments.
Biomethane production kinetics during the anaerobic co-digestion of Sargassum spp. and food waste using batch and fed-batch systems in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Authors: Castro Yessica A. , Rodríguez Alvin , Rivera Emin
Published: December 2022

Collecting Sargassum spp. biomass and using it for the generation of renewable energy is a sustainable approach to mitigate the costs associated to this weed management. The biomethanation of this algal biomass with other organic waste to produce biogas promotes the integrated sustainable management of these materials while generating gaseous fuel for the tourism industry. The purpose of this work is to determine the percentage Sargassum spp. biomass during the anaerobic co-digestion of this brown algae with food waste that results in the best biogas composition, methane yield, production kinetics, and digestate. The biomethanation was conducted in 1200 L fed-batch and bench scale batch biodigestors and the kinetic parameters were estimated using the modified Gompertz model. The methane yield of Sargassum spp. and food waste combinations in 0.58 OLR at fed batch and 15 g/L organic load at batch were comparable. The methane yield produced in the 100% Sargassum spp. fed-batch anaerobic biodigester was 101.3 ± 23.6 N. L CH4/kg, but up to 615.5 ± 78.4 N. L CH4/kg in the 45% Sargassum spp. / 55% food waste biodigestor. The anaerobic co-digestion of Sargassum spp. and food waste in the batch system showed methane production rates as high as 14.6 ± 0.3 N.L CH4/kg.day. Higher H2S were detected in the biogas of the biodigesters fed with larger percentages of the Sargassum spp. with more than 5000 ppm during mono-digestion. Our results suggest that 55% Sargassum spp. and 45% food waste are the most promising feed combination under the studied conditions for the anaerobic co-digestion of these feedstock at larger scale.
The Forecasting Power of the ifo Business Survey
Authors: Lehmann Robert
Published: December 2022

The ifo Institute is Germany’s largest business survey provider, with the ifo Business Climate Germany as one of the most important leading indicators for gross domestic product. However, the ifo Business Survey is not solely limited to the Business Climate and also delivers a multitude of further indicators to forecast several important economic variables. This paper gives a literature overview over existing studies that deal with the forecasting power of various ifo indicators both for gross domestic product and further economic variables such as exports. Overall, the various indicators from the ifo Business Survey can be seen as leading indicators for a multitude of variables representing the German economy, making them a powerful tool both for an in-depth business cycle diagnosis and for applied forecasting work.
A Fatal Case of Meningitis Complicating Chronic Otitis Media and Base of Skull Osteomyelitis due to Carbapenemase (OXA-48)-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae
Authors: Baharoon Waleed , Shamou Jinan , Layqah Laila
Published: December 2022

Osteomyelitis of the base of the skull is a rare but life-threatening disease. Although Klebsiella pneumoniae is not a pathogen that is frequently associated with this infection, the clinical course can rapidly progress to meningitis. Here, we describe a case of chronic otitis media, secondary to OXA-48K. pneumoniae, which was complicated by osteomyelitis of the base of the skull and fatal meningitis.
Explaining Management Phenomena
Authors: Tsang Eric W. K.
Published: December 2022

One key objective of management research is to explain business phenomena. Yet understanding the nature of explanation is essentially a topic in philosophy. This is the first book that bridges the gap between a technical, philosophical treatment of the topic and the more practical needs of management scholars, as well as others across the social sciences. It explores how management phenomena can be explained from a philosophical perspective, and renders sophisticated philosophical arguments understandable by readers without specialized training. Covering virtually all the major aspects of the nature of explanation, this work will enhance empirical and theoretical research, as well as approaches combining the two. With many examples from management literature and business news, this study helps scholars in those fields to improve their research outcomes.
Improbable Diplomats
Authors: Millwood Pete
Published: December 2022

In 1971, Americans made two historic visits to China that would transform relations between the two countries. One was by US official Henry Kissinger; the other, earlier, visit was by the US table tennis team. Historians have mulled over the transcripts of Kissinger's negotiations with Chinese leaders. However, they have overlooked how, alongside these diplomatic talks, a rich program of travel and exchange had begun with ping-pong diplomacy. Improbable Diplomats reveals how a diverse cast of Chinese and Americans – athletes and physicists, performing artists and seismologists – played a critical, but to date overlooked, role in remaking US-China relations. Based on new sources from more than a dozen archives in China and the United States, Pete Millwood argues that the significance of cultural and scientific exchanges went beyond reacquainting the Chinese and American people after two decades of minimal contact; exchanges also powerfully influenced Sino-American diplomatic relations and helped transform post-Mao China.
Native Speakers, Interrupted
Authors: Montrul Silvina
Published: December 2022

A heritage language is the term given to a language spoken at home by bilingual children of immigrant parents. Written by a leading figure in the field, this pioneering, in-depth study brings together three heritage languages – Hindu, Spanish and Romanian - spoken in the United States. It demonstrates how heritage speakers drive morphosyntactic change when certain environmental characteristics are met, and considers the relationship between social and cognitive factors and timing in language acquisition, bilingualism, and language change. It also discusses the implications of the findings for the language education of heritage speakers in the USA and considers how the heritage language can be maintained in the English-speaking school system. Advancing our understanding of heritage language development and change, this book is essential reading for students and researchers of linguistics and multilingualism, immigration, education studies and language policy, as well as educators and policy makers.
Investigation on frequency influence on the transverse pulsed jet in a supersonic crossflow
Authors: Xu Z.-Z. , Zhou Y.-M. , Wu J.-P. , Huang W.
Published: December 2022

The pulsed jet is a novel and effective active mixing enhancement approach. For the transverse pulsed jet in the supersonic crossflow, the frequency influence is investigated using the three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations coupled with the SST k-ω turbulence model. The averaged flow field properties of the pulsed jet are better than those of the steady jet when considering mixing efficiency and jet penetration depth, especially for the case with the pulsed frequency being 50kHz. The flow field structures of the pulsed jet are connected with the time, with periodic wave structures generating in the flow field and moving downstream. The size of the wave structures and its distance are related to the frequency, namely the size and flow distance are relatively small at 50kHz, and it takes some time for the pulsed jet to establish its influence in the full flow field. At low frequencies, the flow field produces large fluctuations, and this may be detrimental to the stable operation of the engine.
Foodborne illnesses and product liability in the U.S.
Authors: Bahalou Horeh Marziyeh , Elbakidze Levan , Sant'Anna Ana Claudia
Published: December 2022

A regulatory liability-based approach to reducing foodborne illnesses is widely used in the U.S. But how effective is it? We exploit regulatory regime variation across states and over time to examine the relationship between product liability laws and reported foodborne illnesses. We find a positive and statistically significant relationship between strict liability with punitive damages and the number of reported foodborne illnesses. We find, however, no statistically significant relationship between strict liability with punitive damages and the number of foodborne illness-related hospitalizations and deaths.
“We Test”: An Imagined Regulatory Future
Authors: Sunstein Cass R.
Published: December 2022

There can be a serious tension between the commitment to cost-benefit analysis and a realistic appreciation of the limits of official knowledge. Without significant efforts to reduce those limits, that analysis might be inadequately informed. Whenever regulators face significant informational deficits, or what is sometimes called “the knowledge problem,” it is important to explore tools that take advantage of what the private sector knows; market-friendly tools, such as economic incentives, have important advantages on that count. An advanced regulatory system should also try to reduce the knowledge problem through three routes: (i) creative use of notice-and-comment rulemaking; (ii) retrospective analysis of regulations and their costs and benefits; and (iii) advance testing, as a way of informing ex ante analysis. For the future, the most promising approach is (iii).
Kazantzakis and America
Authors: Kostantaras Dean
Published: December 2022

This article traces Kazantzakis’ attitudes towards America in works from the pre- and post-war periods. In doing so, it reveals his growing interest in visiting the country or even settling there for an extended period. The pretexts for such a journey were diverse and variously described by the writer as a means to ‘renew his vision’, to find a secure place to work, and to launch endeavours intended to ‘save’ Greece from afar. Though Kazantzakis’ antipathy to ‘Americanization’ remained, he was more prepared over time to tolerate these defects, while becoming increasingly sensible to the pull of other demands and attractions.
Influence of Lived Experiences on Public Responses to Future Diseases via (De)Sensitization of Concern
Authors: Pritchard Alexander J. , Silk Matthew J. , Fefferman Nina H.
Published: December 2022

Objectives:

Public responses to a future novel disease might be influenced by a subset of individuals who are either sensitized or desensitized to concern-generating processes through their lived experiences during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Such influences may be critical for shaping public health messaging during the next emerging threat.

Methods:

This study explored the potential outcomes of the influence of lived experiences by using a dynamic multiplex network model to simulate a COVID-19 outbreak in a population of 2000 individuals, connected by means of disease and communication layers. Then a new disease was introduced, and a subset of individuals (50% or 100% of hospitalized during the COVID-19 outbreak) was assumed to be either sensitized or desensitized to concern-generating processes relative to the general population, which alters their adoption of non-pharmaceutical interventions (social distancing).

Results:

Altered perceptions and behaviors from lived experiences with COVID-19 did not necessarily result in a strong mitigating effect for the novel outbreak. When public disease response is already strong or sensitization is assumed to be a robust effect, then a sensitized subset may enhance public mitigation of an outbreak through social distancing.

Conclusions:

In preparing for future outbreaks, assuming an experienced and disease-aware public may compromise effective design of effective public health messaging and mitigative action.
Vortex force map for incompressible multi-body flows with application to wing–flap configurations
Authors: Wang Yinan , Zhao Xiaowei , Graham Michael , Li Juan
Published: December 2022

The vortex force map method for incompressible viscous flows with multiple bodies is derived in this work. The method breaks the fluid force into inertial, vortex-pressure, viscous-pressure and skin-friction components, and it could be used to analyse the fluid dynamic forces on individual bodies in a multi-body assembly. For the first time, we provide a graphical representation of the vortex-pressure force – the vortex force map – for individual bodies in a multi-body assembly. We have shown that the vortex force map in a multi-body set-up differs from single-bodied counterparts from modifications to their hypothetical potential through a nonlinear cross-coupling, and that the inertial and viscous-pressure contributions contain influences from other bodies explicitly. We then demonstrate the multi-body vortex force decomposition method with a wing–flap starting flow problem using computational fluid dynamics data, identifying the positive and negative force-generating critical regions or directions. It is found that the dominant force is the vortex-pressure force, and the force variation against time is closely related to the evolution of the vortex structures. Furthermore, we showed that the existence of another body significantly alters the force contribution roles of vortices in the flow.
An analytical study of the MHD clamshell instability on a sphere
Authors: Wang Chen , Gilbert Andrew D. , Mason Joanne
Published: December 2022

This paper studies the instability of two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic systems on a sphere using analytical methods. The underlying flow consists of a zonal differential rotation and a toroidal magnetic field is present. Semicircle rules that prescribe the possible domain of the wave velocity in the complex plane for general flow and field profiles are derived. The paper then sets out an analytical study of the ‘clamshell instability’, which features field lines on the two hemispheres tilting in opposite directions (Cally, Sol. Phys., vol. 199, 2001, pp. 231–249). An asymptotic solution for the instability problem is derived for the limit of weak shear of the zonal flow, via the method of matched asymptotic expansions. It is shown that when the zonal flow is solid body rotation, there exists a neutral mode that tilts the magnetic field lines, referred to as the ‘tilting mode’. A weak shear of the zonal flow excites the critical layer of the tilting mode, which reverses the tilting direction to form the clamshell pattern and induces the instability. The asymptotic solution provides insights into properties of the instability for a range of flow and field profiles. A remarkable feature is that the magnetic field affects the instability only through its local behaviour in the critical layer.
Competing risks and shock models governed by a generalized bivariate Poisson process
Authors: Di Crescenzo Antonio , Meoli Alessandra
Published: December 2022

We propose a stochastic model for the failure times of items subject to two external random shocks occurring as events in an underlying bivariate counting process. This is a special formulation of the competing risks model, which is of interest in reliability theory and survival analysis. Specifically, we assume that a system, or an item, fails when the sum of the two types of shock reaches a critical random threshold. In detail, the two kinds of shock occur according to a bivariate space-fractional Poisson process, which is a two-dimensional vector of independent homogeneous Poisson processes time-changed by an independent stable subordinator. Various results are given, such as analytic hazard rates, failure densities, the probability that the failure occurs due to a specific type of shock, and the survival function. Some special cases and ageing notions related to the NBU characterization are also considered. In this way we generalize certain results in the literature, which can be recovered when the underlying process reduces to the homogeneous Poisson process.
Microfoundations of Threat and Security Perceptions in Ethnically Diverse States: Lessons from Russia’s “Near Abroad”
Authors: Pupcenoks Juris , Rostoks Toms , Mieriņa Inta
Published: December 2022

What factors influence the formation of threat perception among the masses? Can the public perceive that external threats exist yet also feel safe? This article investigates both how threat perceptions form, as well as what factors influence security perceptions, in ethnically diverse countries and societies. While drawing on data from two nationally representative surveys, this article inquires to what extent the views of the government and society align regarding whether Russia represents a security threat to Latvia. We find that the determinants of threat and security perceptions differ. Above all else, the views of our respondents are shaped by their ethnic identities and regional effects. Consumption of different forms of media also influence threat perception. Perceived asymmetry of power is an additional important variable shaping security perception. Importantly, there is a correlation between seeing Russia as a security threat and Russophobia or fear of Russians living in Latvia. Overall, this article demonstrates that threat perceptions differ between Russian-speakers and Latvians, shows that it is important to differentiate between perceptions of threat and security, and identifies key explanatory variables influencing development of these perceptions in ethnically diverse societies.
Haemodynamic and clinical variables after surgical systemic to pulmonary artery shunt placement versus arterial ductal stenting
Authors: Sheth Saloni P. , Loomba Rohit S.
Published: December 2022

Background:

Transcatheter stenting of the arterial duct is an alternative to surgical systemic to pulmonary artery shunt in neonates with parallel circulation. The current study compares haemodynamic and laboratory values in these patients for the first 48 hours after either intervention.

Methods:

Neonates with ductal dependent pulmonary blood flow who underwent surgical shunt placement or catheter-based arterial ductal stent placement between January 2013 and January 2022 were identified. Haemodynamic variables included heart rate, blood pressure, near infrared spectroscopy, central venous pressure, vasoactive inotropic score, and arterial saturation. Laboratory variables collected included blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, and serum lactate. Variables were collected at baseline, upon post-procedural admission, 6 hours after admission, 12 hours after admission, and 48 hours after admission. Secondary outcomes included post-procedural mechanical ventilation duration, post-procedural hospital length of stay, need for reintervention, need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, cardiac arrest, and inpatient mortality.

Results:

Of the 52 patients included, 38 (73%) underwent shunt placement while 14 (27%) underwent a stent placement. Heart rates, renal oxygen extraction ratio, and cerebral oxygen extraction ratio were significantly lower in the stent group (p = <0.01, 0.01, and < 0.01, respectively).

Haemoglobin and vasoactive inotropic scores were significantly lower in the stent group (p = <0.01, <0.01, respectively). The stent group had increased risk for cardiac arrest (p = 0.04).

Conclusion:

Patients who undergo arterial ductal stent placement have lower heart rates, haemoglobin, renal oxygen extraction ratio, cerebral oxygen extraction ratio, and vasoactive inotropic score in the first 48 hours post-procedure compared to patients with shunt placement.
Crossing Lines: Stylistic gradients in Chinese electroacoustic music
Authors: Battier Marc
Published: December 2022

In this article, I discuss the case of Chinese electroacoustic music with a focus on contemporary music, Asian instruments and mixed music. I pay particular attention to mixed music, without however limiting myself to it, also dealing with contemporary Western-style instrumental music. Several authors have discussed the question of the relationship between contemporary creation and certain stylistic factors of Asian cultures. They questioned what might constitute identifiable traits unique to Asia that could be observed in contemporary creations and they sought to determine whether systems of relationships can be established. Some, such as Chou Wen-Chung (周文中 Zhou Wenzhong), emphasised syncretism, thus establishing a link with the works of anthropology and cultural studies. In his 1971 article, ‘Asian Concepts and Twentieth-Century Western Composers’, Chou cites many examples that tend to emphasise notions of integration and syncretism across various stylistic gradients found in many composers, mostly Western. More recently, musicologist Yayoi Uno Everett described distinct categories in these relationships, on the part of both Asian and Western composers. This article attempts to find which cultural gradients can be observed in the electroacoustic music production of Chinese composers. For instance, the specific case of mixed music creates an unprecedented situation of contact between instrument and sound material in the context of renewed intercultural relations.
Compositional Techniques and Sound Spatialisation in Shanghai-Based Electronic Music since 2000
Authors: Qian Zhou
Published: December 2022

To create a bridge between young students and senior scholars, the Shanghai Conservatory invited musicians who studied abroad to teach at the Conservatory beginning in the early 2000s. The result was the return to Shanghai of prominent composers. This article examines the impact of this project on electronic music composition and teaching and suggests how these developments relate to the broader historical context of Chinese electronic music. Through an analysis of representative works, it surveys compositional techniques and approaches to sound diffusion and spatialisation among composers associated with the Shanghai Conservatory. It demonstrates how these techniques, which reflect the international training of these composers, are used to express a range of subjects from abstract and philosophical concepts to concrete aspects of nature and human action.
The Winding Road of a Hydrogeologist
Authors: Zheng Chunmiao
Published: December 2022

This manuscript is based on a personal reflection entitled “A Fellow Speaks: The Winding Road of a Hydrogeologist,” which was featured in the AGU Hydrology Section's newsletter, after I was elected an AGU fellow in the 2019 class. The manuscript describes, in chronological order, the trajectory of my career development from a “narrowly focused” hydrogeologist to a broadly defined hydrologic scientist. My personal career evolution coincides with the emergence of groundwater as a critically important field of science with great societal impact, as water scarcity, environmental pollution, and ecological deterioration became increasingly dire since the 1960s. The manuscript then concludes with some personal perspectives on the multidisciplinary future of groundwater science and its fundamental role in sustaining clean water supplies for people and the ecosystem in a changing world.
Higher Nighttime Rates of CaCO3 Dissolution in the Nature Reserve Reef, Eilat, Israel in 2015–2016 Compared to 2000–2002
Authors: Moav‐Barzel O. , Erez J. , Lazar B. , Silverman J.
Published: December 2022

The current study (2015–2016) evaluated changes in the net community calcification (NCC) and maximum nighttime CaCO3 dissolution (Dmax) in the Nature Reserve Reef (NRR), northern Gulf of Eilat (GOE), and northern Red Sea, compared to measurements made at the same site during 2000–2002. The NCC and Dmax were calculated as a function of the reef‐water residence time, the difference between the open‐sea total alkalinity (TA) and its reef‐water daily average (for NCC), and its nighttime maximum (for Dmax). The average NCC was 50 ± 13 and 68 ± 22 mmol C m−2 day−1 in 2000–2002 and 2015–2016, respectively. This change is consistent with the live coral cover increase in the NRR during this period, following the final removal of fish cages from the northern GOE in 2008. In contrast, wintertime Dmax values in 2015–2016 were five times higher on average compared to 2000–2002. We hypothesize that these higher rates could be the result of increased boring organism activity and sedimentary organic content, which developed throughout the fish farming period and are maintained by the naturally occurring seasonal eutrophication in the northern GOE. Where, in general, Dmax was higher during the winters, when nighttime reef water aragonite saturation (Ωarag) was lower, while open water chlorophyll a and nitrate were higher, compared to summertime. Thus, it is possible that the combination of seasonal eutrophication and ocean acidification (OA) in the GOE and possibly other coral reef sites around the world, may shift coral reefs to net dissolution even sooner than previously predicted from OA alone.
Duskside Sub‐Auroral Polarization Streams (SAPS) and Dawnside Subauroral Flows During the Magnetically Quiet 24 November and Moderately Active 25–27 November 2008
Authors: Horvath Ildiko , Lovell Brian C.
Published: December 2022

This study investigates the coupled solar wind‐magnetosphere‐ionosphere (SW‐M‐I) system during the magnetically quiet (Kp < 3) 24 November and moderately active (Kp ≤ 4‐) 25–27 November 2008. Its main characteristics specified include the (a) antisunward propagating solar‐wind Alfven waves, (b) oscillating Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) leading to undershielding at southward IMF and to overshielding and a three‐cell (dusk, dawn, reverse) polar convection pattern at northward IMF, (c) Kelvin‐Helmholtz (K‐H) waves on the magnetopause, and (d) subauroral plasma flows on the duskside and dawnside. These include the westward Sub‐Auroral Polarization Streams (SAPS) streaming sunward along the dusk cell and the eastward subauroral flows streaming sunward along the dawn cell and antisunward along the dawnside reverse cell. These subauroral flows were driven by the combination of their underlying polarization electric (E) field and unshielded penetration E field (PEF) or shielding E field. While the subauroral flows became mostly enhanced by the combined polarization and PEFs, the duskside SAPS flows were suppressed by the shielding E field and structured by the K‐H waves. From these findings we conclude that (i) the above‐describe conditions (a–d) promoted the development of duskside and dawnside subauroral polarization E fields, (ii) the resultant duskside SAPS and dawnside subauroral flows followed the convection streams evidencing a close association with the polar convection pattern, and (iii) the SAPS flows became structured by the K‐H waves.
Quantifying Flash Droughts Over China From 1980 to 2017
Authors: Fu Kaiqi , Wang Kaicun
Published: December 2022

Drought can develop rapidly over a short period, the so‐called “flash drought”. The widely used standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), with traditional time scales longer than 1 month, cannot easily capture flash drought signals. Here, the SPEI with a 5‐day (pentad) time scale was proposed to investigate flash droughts in China from 1980 to 2017. New criteria for flash droughts based on the high‐resolution index were also developed. Flash droughts were stronger and longer in western and northern China. The intensity and duration of mild, moderate, and severe flash droughts increased during the study period, while severe flash droughts showed the largest increase. The high‐resolution SPEI permits us to examine the process of a drought event, that is, how a mild flash drought develops into a severe flash drought. The contribution of precipitation deficit to the duration of mild flash droughts was 50%. As the intensity of flash droughts increased, the contribution of high temperature and increased net radiation to flash drought duration increased from 50% (mild flash droughts) to 74% (severe flash droughts). When flash droughts occurred, Northwestern China and Southwestern China were dominated by unusually weak water vapor transport, while Northeastern China, Northern China, Southern China ,and Middle‐Lower Yangtze were mainly dominated by abnormal downward motion. The downward motion was generally accompanied by clear sky conditions with fewer clouds, higher air temperature, and higher surface solar radiation, which accelerated and amplified flash droughts triggered by initial precipitation deficits.
Relationship Between Synoptic Weather Pattern and Surface Particulate Matter (PM) Concentration During Winter and Spring Seasons Over South Korea
Authors: Lee Dasom , Kim Hyun Cheol , Jeong Jee‐Hoon , Kim Baek‐Min , Lee DaeGyun , Choi Jin‐Young , Song Min Young , Yoon Jin‐Ho
Published: December 2022

Regional air quality over East Asia, including South Korea, has recently become a center of public attention because of a few episodes of very high particulate matter (PM) concentrations. Predicting PM variation with lead time of a few hours up to days is one of the key areas that the governments are working on because it can benefit from an early warning system to short‐term mitigation effort. In this study, the influence of synoptic weather conditions on regional air quality was investigated with the occurrence frequencies of PM episodes as a function of various synoptic weather patterns during winter and spring. During winter, dry moderate (DM) types occur frequently alongside high PM cases (24 hr mean PM10 concentration >). The composite weather map showed a weak northwesterly wind field as a potential cause. On the contrary, it is interesting to note that dry polar types can be associated with low PM cases (24 hr mean PM10 concentration <) as well as high PM depending on near‐surface wind speed. Furthermore, DM and dry tropical types were found to be highly correlated with high (higher) PM concentrations during spring season, likely because of the enhanced static stability in the lower troposphere. It should be noted that PM concentration depends on the lower atmospheric stability. The close relationship between synoptic weather patterns and PM concentration suggests that synoptic weather can play an important role in regional air quality.
Thrust Faults Bound an Elevated Mantle Plug Beneath Several Lunar Basins
Authors: Collins Matthew S. , Byrne Paul K. , Klimczak Christian , Mazarico Erwan
Published: December 2022

The lunar maria are large expanses of basalt that infill antecedent impact basins and show evidence for postemplacement deformation. Landforms within many of these basins suggest a period of compressive tectonics, although their formation mechanism has yet to be established. Previous work for Mare Crisium demonstrated that basin‐circumferential wrinkle ridges, which typically demarcate the inner edge of an annulus of elevated terrain, are the result of deep‐seated thrust faults that preferentially form along the boundary of an elevated superisostatic portion of mantle and a thick, subisostatic collar of crustal material. Here, we show that a similar fault architecture exists for several other mascon‐bearing basins, including Maria Serenitatis, Nectaris, Moscoviense, and, to a lesser degree, Humorum and Imbrium. These deeply penetrating basin‐circumferential thrust faults, as for Mare Crisium, form a (partial) outward‐dipping ring‐fault system that bounds the elevated mantle plug beneath each basin as a geometric consequence of mascon evolution. If this geometric arrangement is unique to the Moon, then some characteristic(s) of lunar mascon evolution enables the formation of such mascon‐bounding faults. Despite the ubiquitous nature of mascon‐bound thrust ring faults at several lunar basins, whether such structures exist at mascon basins on other terrestrial worlds remains an open question.
Panel testing for the molecular genetic diagnosis of congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism – a clinical perspective
Authors: Al Sayed Yasmin , Howard Sasha R.
Published: December 2022

Congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) is a rare endocrine disorder that results in reproductive hormone deficiency and reduced potential for fertility in adult life. Discoveries of the genetic aetiology of CHH have advanced dramatically in the past 30 years, with currently over 40 genes recognised to cause or contribute to the development of this condition. The genetic complexity of CHH is further increased by the observation of di- and oligogenic, as well as classic monogenic, inheritance and incomplete penetrance. Very recently in the UK, a panel of 14 genes has been curated for the genetic diagnosis of CHH within the NHS Genomic Medicine Service programme. The aim of this review is to appraise the advantages and potential pitfalls of the use of a CHH panel in clinical endocrine diagnostics, and to consider the future avenues for developing this panel including the potential of whole exome or whole genome sequencing data analysis in this condition.
Fidelity bounds for device-independent advantage distillation
Authors: Hahn Thomas A. , Tan Ernest Y.-Z.
Published: December 2022

It is known that advantage distillation (that is, information reconciliation using two-way communication) improves noise tolerances for quantum key distribution (QKD) setups. Two-way communication is hence also of interest in the device-independent case, where noise tolerance bounds for one-way error correction are currently too low to be experimentally feasible. Existing security proofs for the device-independent repetition-code protocol (the most prominent form of advantage distillation) rely on fidelity-related security conditions, but previous bounds on the fidelity were not tight. We improve on those results by developing an algorithm that returns arbitrarily tight lower bounds on the fidelity. Our results give insight on how strong the fidelity-related security conditions are, and could also be used to compute some lower bounds on one-way protocol keyrates. Finally, we conjecture a necessary security condition for the protocol studied in this work, that naturally complements the existing sufficient conditions.
Historical red-lining is associated with fossil fuel power plant siting and present-day inequalities in air pollutant emissions
Authors: Cushing Lara J. , Li Shiwen , Steiger Benjamin B. , Casey Joan A.
Published: December 2022

Stationary sources of air pollution are disproportionately located in communities of colour, but the causes for this disparity are unclear. Here we assess whether racialized appraisals of investment risk (‘red-lining’) undertaken by the US federal Home Owners’ Loan Corporation in the 1930s influenced the subsequent siting of fossil fuel power plants. Across 8,871 neighbourhoods in 196 US urban areas, we observed a stepwise correlation between risk grade, number of power plants and cumulative quantity of power plant emissions upwind and within 5 km. Controlling for pre-existing power plants, neighbourhoods deemed ‘hazardous’ (D grade, ‘red-lined’) had a higher likelihood of a fossil fuel power plant being sited between 1940 and 1969 (72%), 1970 and 1999 (20%) and 2000 and 2019 (31%), and higher average present-day emissions of nitrous oxides (82%), sulfur dioxide (38%) and fine particulate matter (63%) compared with ‘declining’ (C-graded) neighbourhoods. Our results suggest racism in the housing market contributed to inequalities in present-day power plant emissions burdens.
High-performing organic electronics using terpene green solvents from renewable feedstocks
Authors: Corzo Daniel , Rosas-Villalva Diego , C Amruth , Tostado-Blázquez Guillermo , Alexandre Emily Bezerra , Hernandez Luis Huerta , Han Jianhua , Xu Han , Babics Maxime , De Wolf Stefaan , Baran Derya
Published: December 2022

Accelerating the shift towards renewable materials and sustainable processes for printed organic electronic devices is crucial for a green circular economy. Currently, the fabrication of organic devices with competitive performances is linked to toxic petrochemical-based solvents with considerable carbon emissions. Here we show that terpene solvents obtained from renewable feedstocks can replace non-renewable environmentally hazardous solvent counterparts in the production of highly efficient organic photovoltaics (OPVs) light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and field-effect transistors (OFETs) with on-par performances. Using a Hansen solubility ink formulation framework, we identify various terpene solvent systems and investigate effective film formation and drying mechanisms required for optimal charge transport. This approach is universal for state-of-the-art materials in OPVs, OLEDs and OFETs. We created an interactive library for green solvent selections and made it publicly available through the OMEGALab website. As potential carbon-negative solvents, terpenes open a unique and universal approach towards efficient, large-area and stable organic electronic devices.
Maximum-likelihood model fitting for quantitative analysis of SMLM data
Authors: Wu Yu-Le , Hoess Philipp , Tschanz Aline , Matti Ulf , Mund Markus , Ries Jonas
Published: December 2022

Quantitative data analysis is important for any single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) workflow to extract biological insights from the coordinates of the single fluorophores. However, current approaches are restricted to simple geometries or require identical structures. Here, we present LocMoFit (Localization Model Fit), an open-source framework to fit an arbitrary model to localization coordinates. It extracts meaningful parameters from individual structures and can select the most suitable model. In addition to analyzing complex, heterogeneous and dynamic structures for in situ structural biology, we demonstrate how LocMoFit can assemble multi-protein distribution maps of six nuclear pore components, calculate single-particle averages without any assumption about geometry or symmetry, and perform a time-resolved reconstruction of the highly dynamic endocytic process from static snapshots. We provide extensive simulation and visualization routines to validate the robustness of LocMoFit and tutorials to enable any user to increase the information content they can extract from their SMLM data.
The psychological and political correlates of conspiracy theory beliefs
Authors: Uscinski Joseph , Enders Adam , Diekman Amanda , Funchion John , Klofstad Casey , Kuebler Sandra , Murthi Manohar , Premaratne Kamal , Seelig Michelle , Verdear Daniel , Wuchty Stefan
Published: December 2022

Understanding the individual-level characteristics associated with conspiracy theory beliefs is vital to addressing and combatting those beliefs. While researchers have identified numerous psychological and political characteristics associated with conspiracy theory beliefs, the generalizability of those findings is uncertain because they are typically drawn from studies of only a few conspiracy theories. Here, we employ a national survey of 2021 U.S. adults that asks about 15 psychological and political characteristics as well as beliefs in 39 different conspiracy theories. Across 585 relationships examined within both bivariate (correlations) and multivariate (regression) frameworks, we find that psychological traits (e.g., dark triad) and non-partisan/ideological political worldviews (e.g., populism, support for violence) are most strongly related to individual conspiracy theory beliefs, regardless of the belief under consideration, while other previously identified correlates (e.g., partisanship, ideological extremity) are inconsistently related. We also find that the correlates of specific conspiracy theory beliefs mirror those of conspiracy thinking (the predisposition), indicating that this predisposition operates like an ‘average’ of individual conspiracy theory beliefs. Overall, our findings detail the psychological and political traits of the individuals most drawn to conspiracy theories and have important implications for scholars and practitioners seeking to prevent or reduce the impact of conspiracy theories.
Induction of type II collagen expression in M2 macrophages derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Authors: Wang Fu-Hui , Hsieh Chia-Ying , Shen Ching-I. , Chuang Chang-Han , Chung Yu-Hsuan , Kuo Chi-Chung , Lee Kuan-Der , Lin Chih-Lung , Su Hong-Lin
Published: December 2022

The human type II collagen (Col II), specifically expressed in chondrocytes, is a crucial component of the adult hyaline cartilage. We examine the potential of artificial induction of Col II in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) as a novel Col II provider. Human PBMNCs were purified and were treated with high doses of macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF), granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), or granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) and examined the Col II expression at indicated days. Quantitative Col II expression was validated by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), immunocytochemistry, and flow cytometry. We demonstrate that monocytes in PBMNCs can be artificially induced to express both Col II proteins and M2 macrophage markers by the high concentration of colony-stimulating factors, especially M-CSF and GM-CSF. The Col II proteins were detected on the cell membrane and in the cytoplasm by flow cytometry and immunocytostaining. Combination with IL-4 provided a synergistic effect with M-CSF/GM-CSF to trigger Col II expression in M2 macrophages. These CD206 and Col II double-expressing cells, named modified macrophages, share M2 macrophages' anti-inflammatory potency. We demonstrated that the modified macrophages could significantly attenuate the inflammatory progress of Complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritis and collagen-induced arthritis in rodents. Here, we provide the first evidence that a modified macrophage population could ectopically express Col II and control the progress of arthritis in animals.
Frames of reference in small-scale spatial tasks in wild bumblebees
Authors: Martin-Ordas Gema
Published: December 2022

Spatial cognitive abilities are fundamental to foraging animal species. In particular, being able to encode the location of an object in relation to another object (i.e., spatial relationships) is critical for successful foraging. Whether egocentric (i.e., viewer-dependent) or allocentric (i.e., dependent on external environment or cues) representations underlie these behaviours is still a highly debated question in vertebrates and invertebrates. Previous research shows that bees encode spatial information largely using egocentric information. However, no research has investigated this question in the context of relational similarity. To test this, a spatial matching task previously used with humans and great apes was adapted for use with wild-caught bumblebees. In a series of experiments, bees first experienced a rewarded object and then had to spontaneously (Experiment 1) find or learn (Experiments 2 and 3) to find a second one, based on the location of first one. The results showed that bumblebees predominantly exhibited an allocentric strategy in the three experiments. These findings suggest that egocentric representations alone might not be evolutionary ancestral and clearly indicate similarities between vertebrates and invertebrates when encoding spatial information.
Beta rhythmicity in human motor cortex reflects neural population coupling that modulates subsequent finger coordination stability
Authors: Iwama Seitaro , Yanagisawa Takufumi , Hirose Ryotaro , Ushiba Junichi
Published: December 2022

Human behavior is not performed completely as desired, but is influenced by the inherent rhythmicity of the brain. Here we show that anti-phase bimanual coordination stability is regulated by the dynamics of pre-movement neural oscillations in bi-hemispheric primary motor cortices (M1) and supplementary motor area (SMA). In experiment 1, pre-movement bi-hemispheric M1 phase synchrony in beta-band (M1-M1 phase synchrony) was online estimated from 129-channel scalp electroencephalograms. Anti-phase bimanual tapping preceded by lower M1-M1 phase synchrony exhibited significantly longer duration than tapping preceded by higher M1-M1 phase synchrony. Further, the inter-individual variability of duration was explained by the interaction of pre-movement activities within the motor network; lower M1-M1 phase synchrony and spectral power at SMA were associated with longer duration. The necessity of cortical interaction for anti-phase maintenance was revealed by sham-controlled repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over SMA in another experiment. Our results demonstrate that pre-movement cortical oscillatory coupling within the motor network unknowingly influences bimanual coordination performance in humans after consolidation, suggesting the feasibility of augmenting human motor ability by covertly monitoring preparatory neural dynamics.