bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Investigating the Mechanical Behaviour of Unbound Granular Material (UGM) for Road Pavement Construction Applications: A Western Victoria Case Study
Authors: Kafle Bidur , Baghbani Abolfazl , Pempeit Reece , Shrestha Krishna
Published: April 2024

The behaviour of unbound granular materials (UGMs) used in road construction is crucial in determining the longevity and performance of road pavement. Geotechnical analysis can assist engineers in selecting suitable materials and designing road pavements that meet industry standards. This paper presents the results of laboratory geotechnical tests conducted on unbound granular materials (UGMs) collected from three sites (Roses Gap, Rules East, and Polkemmet Road) in Horsham, Victoria, Australia. UGMs were investigated for their mechanical behaviour and suitability as subgrade materials for road pavements. The study utilised laboratory geotechnical tests, including particle size distribution (PSD), Atterberg limits, compaction (Proctor) test, unconfined compressive strength (UCS), California Bearing Ratio (CBR), and repeated load triaxial (RLT) tests, to evaluate the physical and mechanical properties of the UGM samples. The study indicates that UGM samples collected from different locations displayed variations in their geotechnical properties, such as particle size distribution, water absorption, and CBR strength. Roses Gap samples showed weak cohesion properties, and significant vertical displacements after repeated triaxial tests. However, among the samples in this site, samples with higher clay content (RG21) demonstrated the most promise in triaxial tests. Similarly, the Rules East samples were found to be suitable for low-traffic subgrades due to their satisfactory CBR and RLT testing results, albeit with little cohesion from clay content. Out of three locations, Polkemmet samples were identified as potential subgrade applications, with PR12 being the top recommendation overall. It satisfied PSD, CBR, and RLT test conditions due to acceptable particle size in the largest range, highest CBR strength value, and lowest permanent displacement. The study's findings provide useful information for the design of road pavements using these materials and the characterisation of rural materials around the Horsham region for future use in various other contexts.
Trend detection and depletion effects evidence in time series of groundwater levels in the southern sector of the left bank of the Tagus-Sado Basin (Portugal, Iberian Peninsula)
Authors: Ferreira Branco Mariana , Barbosa Sofia Verónica , Matos João Xavier
Published: April 2024

In the last 20 years in Portugal, water resources have been affected to the point that water storage has decreased by 20% since 2000. Creating strategies to manage water resources requires a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing water storage and their effects over time. This study is focused on the evolution of Groundwater Deep Levels (GDL) by applying a two-phase trend analysis methodology to examine the dynamic changes in GDL within a series of monitoring wells located in the Central and Southern sectors of the Left Bank of the Tagus-Sado Cenozoic age Basin, situated in Portugal In the initial phase of trend analysis, Factorial Analysis of Mixed Data (FAMD) was employed and posteriorly the Hierarchical Classification Analysis (HCA). These techniques enabled us to identify distinct GDL trend profiles and generate interpretative maps illustrating their spatial distribution. In the second phase, the non-parametric Mann–Kendall Analysis (MKA) and Innovative Trend Analysis (ITA) were applied, allowing for a quantified confirmation of the different trend profiles previously detected. These techniques allowed the identification of positive and negative hydrodynamic trends in distinct sections of the Basin. In the SE sector they are characterized by a significative increase of GDL associated with overexploitation and in the Central sector with a decrease of GDL. Nevertheless, significant depletion effects can result from natural factors such as prolonged droughts, and in certain regions, changes in geological and hydrothermal dynamics, such as Alpine-age faults, graben, and horst structures, may account for these alterations.
A bijection for tuples of commuting permutations and a log-concavity conjecture
Authors: Abdesselam Abdelmalek , Brunialti Pedro , Doan Tristan , Velie Philip
Published: April 2024

Let$$A(\ell ,n,k)$$A(ℓ,n,k)denote the number of$$\ell $$ℓ-tuples of commuting permutations ofnelements whose permutation action results in exactlykorbits or connected components. We provide a new proof of an explicit formula for$$A(\ell ,n,k)$$A(ℓ,n,k)which is essentially due to Bryan and Fulman, in their work on orbifold higher equivariant Euler characteristics. Our proof is self-contained, elementary, and relies on the construction of an explicit bijection, in order to perform the$$\ell +1\rightarrow \ell $$ℓ+1→ℓreduction. We also investigate a conjecture by the first author, regarding the log-concavity of$$A(\ell ,n,k)$$A(ℓ,n,k)with respect tok. The conjecture generalizes a previous one by Heim and Neuhauser related to the Nekrasov-Okounkov formula.
Epistemic integration and social segregation of AI in neuroscience
Authors: Fontaine Sylvain , Gargiulo Floriana , Dubois Michel , Tubaro Paola
Published: April 2024

In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) shows a spectacular ability of insertion inside a variety of disciplines which use it for scientific advancements and which sometimes improve it for their conceptual and methodological needs. According to the transverse science framework originally conceived by Shinn and Joerges, AI can be seen as an instrument which is progressively acquiring a universal character through its diffusion across science. In this paper we address empirically one aspect of this diffusion, namely the penetration of AI into a specific field of research. Taking neuroscience as a case study, we conduct a scientometric analysis of the development of AI in this field. We especially study the temporal egocentric citation network around the articles included in this literature, their represented journals and their authors linked together by a temporal collaboration network. We find that AI is driving the constitution of a particular disciplinary ecosystem in neuroscience which is distinct from other subfields, and which is gathering atypical scientific profiles who are coming from neuroscience or outside it. Moreover we observe that this AI community in neuroscience is socially confined in a specific subspace of the neuroscience collaboration network, which also publishes in a small set of dedicated journals that are mostly active in AI research. According to these results, the diffusion of AI in a discipline such as neuroscience didn’t really challenge its disciplinary orientations but rather induced the constitution of a dedicated socio-cognitive environment inside this field.
Detection of Serrated Adenoma in NBI Based on Multi-Scale Sub-Pixel Convolution
Authors: Xu Jiading , Tao Shuheng , Ma Chiye
Published: April 2024

Colorectal cancer ranks third in global malignancy incidence, and serrated adenoma is a precursor to colon cancer. However, current studies primarily focus on polyp detection, neglecting the crucial discrimination of polyp nature, hindering effective cancer prevention. This study established a static image dataset for serrated adenoma (SA) and developed a deep learning SA detection model. The proposed MSSDet (Multi-Scale Sub-pixel Detection) innovatively modifies each layer of the original feature pyramid’s structure to retain high-resolution polyp features. Additionally, feature fusion and optimization modules were incorporated to enhance multi-scale information utilization, leveraging the narrow-band imaging endoscope’s ability to provide clearer colonoscopy capillary and texture images. This paper utilized 639 cases of colonic NBI endoscopic images to construct the model, achieving a mean average precision (mAP) of 86.3% for SA in the test set. The SA detection rate via this approach has significantly surpassed conventional object detection methods.
Pre-rotation Only at Inference-Stage: A Way to Rotation Invariance of Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Fan Yue , Zhang Peng , Han Jingqi , Liu Dandan , Tang Jinsong , Zhang Guoping
Published: April 2024

The popular convolutional neural networks (CNN) require data augmentation to achieve rotation invariance. We propose an alternative mechanism, Pre-Rotation Only at Inference stage (PROAI), to make CNN rotation invariant. The overall idea is to learn how the human brain observe images. At the training stage, PROAI trains a CNN with a small number using images only at one orientation. At the inference stage, PROAI introduces a pre-rotation operation to rotate each test image into its all-possible orientations and calculate classification scores using the trained CNN with a small number of parameters. The maximum of these classification scores is able to simultaneously estimate both the category and the orientation of each test image. The specific benefits of PROAI have been experimented on rotated image recognition tasks. The results shows that PROAI improves both the classification and orientation estimation performance while greatly reduced the numbers of parameters and the training time. Codes and datasets are publicly available at https://github.com/automlresearch/FRPRF.
The homotopy decomposition of the suspension of a non-simply-connected five-manifold
Authors: Li Pengcheng , Zhu Zhongjian
Published: April 2024

In this paper we determine the homotopy types of the reduced suspension space of certain connected orientable closed smooth

$five$

-manifolds. As applications, we compute the reduced

$K$

-groups of

$M$

and show that the suspension map between the third cohomotopy set

$\pi ^3(M)$

and the fourth cohomotopy set

$\pi ^4(\Sigma M)$

is a bijection.
Listening to Egyptian and Uyghur Soundscapes: A Review in Letters between Cambridge and Istanbul
Authors: HABASH DUNYA , LAHHAM FATIMA
Published: April 2024

This book review was written in the form of a letter correspondence, allowing us to explore a more dialogic approach to review writing. During the seven-month period of working on the review, we also met and discussed some of the ideas shared below. In writing these letters, we embraced the main theme of the books by being mindful of the soundscapes that surrounded us, and that have inevitably formed part of our final review.
Maximal subgroups of a family of iterated monodromy groups
Authors: Rajeev Karthika , Thillaisundaram Anitha
Published: April 2024

The Basilica group is a well-known 2-generated weakly branch, but not branch, group acting on the binary rooted tree. Recently, a more general form of the Basilica group has been investigated by Petschick and Rajeev, which is an
$s$
-generated weakly branch, but not branch, group that acts on the
$m$
-adic tree, for
$s,m\ge 2$
. A larger family of groups, which contains these generalised Basilica groups, is the family of iterated monodromy groups. With the new developments by Francoeur, the study of the existence of maximal subgroups of infinite index has been extended from branch groups to weakly branch groups. Here we show that a subfamily of iterated monodromy groups, which more closely resemble the generalised Basilica groups, have maximal subgroups only of finite index.
The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor sertraline alters learning from aversive reinforcements in patients with depression: evidence from a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Malamud Jolanda , Lewis Gemma , Moutoussis Michael , Duffy Larisa , Bone Jessica , Srinivasan Ramya , Lewis Glyn , Huys Quentin J. M.
Published: April 2024

Background

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are first-line pharmacological treatments for depression and anxiety. However, little is known about how pharmacological action is related to cognitive and affective processes. Here, we examine whether specific reinforcement learning processes mediate the treatment effects of SSRIs.

Methods

The PANDA trial was a multicentre, double-blind, randomized clinical trial in UK primary care comparing the SSRI sertraline with placebo for depression and anxiety. Participants (N = 655) performed an affective Go/NoGo task three times during the trial and computational models were used to infer reinforcement learning processes.

Results

There was poor task performance: only 54% of the task runs were informative, with more informative task runs in the placebo than in the active group. There was no evidence for the preregistered hypothesis that Pavlovian inhibition was affected by sertraline. Exploratory analyses revealed that in the sertraline group, early increases in Pavlovian inhibition were associated with improvements in depression after 12 weeks. Furthermore, sertraline increased how fast participants learned from losses and faster learning from losses was associated with more severe generalized anxiety symptoms.

Conclusions

The study findings indicate a relationship between aversive reinforcement learning mechanisms and aspects of depression, anxiety, and SSRI treatment, but these relationships did not align with the initial hypotheses. Poor task performance limits the interpretability and likely generalizability of the findings, and highlights the critical importance of developing acceptable and reliable tasks for use in clinical studies.

Funding

This article presents research supported by NIHR Program Grants for Applied Research (RP-PG-0610-10048), the NIHR BRC, and UCL, with additional support from IMPRS COMP2PSYCH (JM, QH) and a Wellcome Trust grant (QH).
ENCOMPASSING TESTS FOR NONPARAMETRIC REGRESSIONS
Authors: Lapenta Elia , Lavergne Pascal
Published: April 2024

We set up a formal framework to characterize encompassing of nonparametric models through the$L^2$distance. We contrast it to previous literature on the comparison of nonparametric regression models. We then develop testing procedures for the encompassing hypothesis that are fully nonparametric. Our test statistics depend on kernel regression, raising the issue of bandwidth’s choice. We investigate two alternative approaches to obtain a “small bias property” for our test statistics. We show the validity of a wild bootstrap method. We empirically study the use of a data-driven bandwidth and illustrate the attractive features of our tests for small and moderate samples.
An approximation algorithm for the -prize-collecting multicut problem in trees with submodular penalties
Authors: Liu Xiaofei , Li Weidong
Published: April 2024

Let
$T=(V,E)$
be a tree in which each edge is assigned a cost; let
$\mathcal{P}$
be a set of source–sink pairs of vertices in V in which each source–sink pair produces a profit. Given a lower bound K for the profit, the K-prize-collecting multicut problem in trees with submodular penalties is to determine a partial multicut
$M\subseteq E$
such that the total profit of the disconnected pairs after removing M from T is at least K, and the total cost of edges in M plus the penalty of the set of still-connected pairs is minimized, where the penalty is determined by a nondecreasing submodular function. Based on the primal-dual scheme, we present a combinatorial polynomial-time algorithm by carefully increasing the penalty. In the theoretical analysis, we prove that the approximation factor of the proposed algorithm is
$(\frac{8}{3}+\frac{4}{3}\kappa+\varepsilon)$
, where
$\kappa$
is the total curvature of the submodular function and
$\varepsilon$
is any fixed positive number. Experiments reveal that the objective value of the solutions generated by the proposed algorithm is less than 130% compared with that of the optimal value in most cases.
DETECTING MOISTURE IN BAUXITE USING MICROWAVES
Authors: PAEA LATA I. , PAEA SIONE , MCGUINNESS MARK J.
Published: April 2024

Mathematical modelling of microwaves travelling through bauxite ore provides a way to compute moisture content in the free space transmission method given data on signal attenuation, phase shift and variable bauxite depth. We extend a recently developed four-layer model that uses coupled ordinary differential wave equations for the electric field together with continuity boundary conditions at interfaces between ore, air and antenna to find a solution that incorporates multiple internal reflections in ore and air. The model provides good fits to data, depending on ore permittivity and conductivity.

Our extensions are to use effective medium models to obtain electromagnetic properties of the ore mixture from moisture content and to incorporate the damping effects of scattering from the ore surface. Our model leads to a formula for the received signal showing how signal strengths SS and phase shifts depend on the moisture content of the bauxite ore, through the effects of moisture on permittivity and conductivity. We show that SS may be noninvertible, indicating that attenuation data alone cannot be used to infer moisture content. Combining with phase data typically corrects the noninvertibility. Reducing the operating frequency dramatically improves the usefulness of signal strength data for inferring moisture content.
ON THE DISTINCTION OF IWAHORI-SPHERICAL DISCRETE SERIES REPRESENTATIONS
Authors: Broussous Paul
Published: April 2024

Let
$E/F$
be a quadratic unramified extension of non-archimedean local fields and
$\mathbb H$
a simply connected semisimple algebraic group defined and split over F. We establish general results (multiplicities, test vectors) on
${\mathbb H} (F)$
-distinguished Iwahori-spherical representations of
${\mathbb H} (E)$
. For discrete series Iwahori-spherical representations of
${\mathbb H} (E)$
, we prove a numerical criterion of
${\mathbb H} (F)$
-distinction. As an application, we classify the
${\mathbb H} (F)$
-distinguished discrete series representations of
${\mathbb H} (E)$
corresponding to degree
$1$
characters of the Iwahori-Hecke algebra.
Richard Strauss Online
Authors: Larkin David
Published: April 2024

In an era when historical statues can be toppled and reputations smashed, critical editions remain one of the more durable monuments to the significance of a composer. Initiated by the nineteenth-century Bach-Gesellschaft and Händel-Gesellschaft editions, the practice of trying to produce a ‘correct’ text of the complete musical works of a single composer reached its apogee in the decades after World War II, leading to marquee projects like the Neue Bach-Ausgabe (1954–2007) and the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe (1955–91). So pervasive was edition-making in this era that it led Joseph Kerman to complain ‘there is something wrong with a discipline that spends (or spent) so much more of its time establishing texts than thinking about the texts thus established’. But despite such criticisms and amid the proliferation of alternative forms of musicological research in the last 40 years or so, the making of critical editions has continued, with new projects taking in figures such as Janáček (1978–), Verdi (1983–), Donizetti (1989–) and Bartók (2016–), among many others. Even if it may be nowhere near as dominant a part of musicological endeavour as it once was, edition-making has survived, a tacit refutation of the challenges that the canon has met with.
Of date palms and dialogue: Enhancing the protection of the natural environment under international humanitarian law and Islamic law
Authors: Al-Dawoody Ahmed , Thynne Kelisiana
Published: April 2024

Conflict-related environmental damage remains a huge challenge. This article provides a brief overview of international humanitarian law (IHL) rules that protect the natural environment in armed conflict and notes some convergences with the rules developed by classical Islamic jurists (those who lived from the seventh century up to the last quarter of the nineteenth century) affording protection to the natural environment. Today, a significant number of International Committee of the Red Cross operations take place in Muslim-majority countries, and some Muslim interlocutors, in particular Islamic non-State armed groups, use Islamic law as their normative framework. For better respect for IHL in relevant Muslim-majority States or territories, considering an Islamic legal approach to the protection of the natural environment alongside IHL would allow the parties to conflicts in such countries to better understand their obligations and should enhance the protection of the natural environment in armed conflict.
Large Amplitude Whistler Waves in Earth's Plasmasphere and Plasmaspheric Plumes
Authors: Shen Xiao‐Chen , Li Wen , Ma Qianli , Qin Murong , Capannolo Luisa , Hanzelka Miroslav , Huang Sheng , Chu Xiangning
Published: April 2024

Whistler mode waves in the plasmasphere and plumes drive significant losses of energetic electrons from the Earth's radiation belts into the upper atmosphere. In this study, we conducted a survey of amplitude‐dependent whistler wave properties and analyzed their associated background plasma conditions and electron fluxes in the plasmasphere and plumes. Our findings indicate that extremely large amplitude (>400 pT) whistler waves (a) tend to occur at L > 4 over the midnight‐dawn‐noon sectors and have small wave normal angles; (b) are more likely to occur during active geomagnetic conditions associated with higher fluxes of anisotropic electrons at 10 s keV energies; and (c) tend to occur at higher latitudes up to 20° with increasing amplitude. These results suggest that extremely large amplitude whistler waves in the plasmasphere and plumes could be generated locally by injected electrons during substorms and further amplified when propagating to higher latitudes.
Comment on “Momentum and Energy Predict the Backwater Rise Generated by a Large Wood Jam” by Follett, E., Schalko, I. and Nepf, H.
Authors: Poppema Daan W. , Wüthrich Davide
Published: April 2024

Follett et al. (2020a, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020gl089346) developed an analytical model to predict backwater rise by log jams, using the size and packing density of logs and the jam length, as well as river slope and bed roughness. We show that the model formulas can be rewritten using the Froude number instead of river slope and roughness, thus improving their applicability in engineering practice. The equation terms and results of Follett et al. (2020a, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020gl089346) are found to be similar to those of the empirically derived formula by Schalko et al. (2018, https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)hy.1943‐7900.0001501). However, some differences are identified, calling for further study. Most notably, these distinctions pertain to the effect of accumulation porosity, with additional minor differences in the exponent of the Froude number. Lastly, model implications for some broader applications are explored, showing a methodology to calculate the representative log size for log mixtures, and the expected effect of log orientation on backwater rise.
Enhanced Aerosol Mass in the Tropical Tropopause Layer Linked to Ozone Abundance
Authors: Liu Shang , Thornberry Troy D. , Yu Pengfei , Woods Sarah , Rosenlof Karen H. , Gao Ru‐Shan
Published: April 2024

Aerosol particles play a critical role in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) through cloud formation and heterogeneous chemistry, influencing the radiative and chemical balance of the stratosphere. However, aerosol measurements in the TTL are sparse, resulting in poor knowledge of aerosol abundance and distribution in this important region. Here, we present in situ aircraft measurements over the western tropical Pacific, revealing a persistent and altitude‐dependent enhancement of aerosol mass in the TTL compared to the convectively influenced troposphere below. Notably, our data demonstrate a striking positive correlation between aerosol mass and ozone. Model simulations suggest that organic materials constitute a substantial fraction of the total aerosol mass within the TTL. We further derived an empirical parameterization of TTL aerosol mass as a function of ozone based on their linear relationship. This framework holds potential for estimating the TTL aerosol abundance but requires further validation and refinement through future measurements.
Investigating the Interaction Between Transboundary Haze and Planetary Boundary Layer in Singapore
Authors: Huang T. , Fang T. , Feng L. , Leong C. Y. , Yim S. H. L.
Published: April 2024

Transboundary air pollution is one of the critical environmental problems in Southeast Asia; nevertheless the interaction between transboundary haze and local planetary boundary layer (PBL) remains unclear due to a lack of sufficient observations and sophisticated simulations. This study applied LiDAR observations and model simulations to comprehensively evaluate the interaction between transboundary haze and local PBL during a recent transboundary haze episode in Singapore in October 2023. Results show that upper‐level southeasterly wind, especially the nocturnal low‐level jet, created favorable conditions for aerosol transport when fire hotspot numbers increased in Indonesia. The rapid diurnal increase in PBL height facilitated the entrainment of upper‐level haze into the PBL, interacting with ground‐level aerosols through turbulent mixing. Model simulations further show the significant contributions of fire emissions to the transboundary haze episode in maritime Southeast Asia. The impacts extended toward the southern region of Peninsular Malaysia, driven by the persistent prevailing southeasterly wind.
Carbonate U‐Pb Ages Constrain Paleocene Motion Along the Altyn Tagh Fault in Response to the India‐Asia Collision
Authors: Yi Kexin , Cheng Feng , Jolivet Marc , Li Jiaming , Guo Zhaojie
Published: April 2024

The kinematics and deformation pattern along the Altyn Tagh fault (ATF), one of the largest strike‐slip faults on Earth is of great significance for understanding the growth of the Tibetan Plateau. However, the initial rupture along the ATF remains debated given the limited constraints on the depositional age of associated Cenozoic syntectonic strata. Here we investigated the syntectonic Cenozoic strata in the Xorkol Basin, associated with the strike‐slip faulting along the ATF. New uranium‐lead analyses of the carbonate deposits in the Paleogene strata yield dates of 58.9 ± 1.29 Ma, representing the initial rupture of the ATF. This first documented radioisotopic age coincides with the ca. 60 Ma onset timing of India‐Asia collision, highlighting its far‐field effect at the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. We infer that the deformation of the entire Tibetan Plateau started synchronously with the India‐Asia collision.
Apparent Aging and Rejuvenation of Terrestrial Organic Carbon Along the River‐Estuary‐Coastal Ocean Continuum
Authors: Yu Meng , Eglinton Timothy I. , Hou Pengfei , Haghipour Negar , Zhang Hailong , Wang Zicheng , Zhao Meixun
Published: April 2024

The fates of terrestrial organic carbon (OCterr) during fluvial transport from land to ocean are still not well constrained. This study systematically examines the evolution and dynamics of OCterr along the river‐estuary‐coastal ocean continuum in three fluvial systems discharging to the Chinese marginal seas. The 14C‐depleted characteristics of bulk OC and molecular components of riverine suspended sediments and marine sediments suggest that the Chinese marginal seas are a significant sink of pre‐aged OCterr. Our study reveals significant apparent aging of OCterr within estuaries, likely due to degradation of (younger) labile components, and apparent rejuvenation of OCterr in shelf systems, likely reflecting inputs of younger OCterr from proximal sources along the sediment dispersal pathway. The aging and rejuvenation of OCterr along the river‐ocean continuum confounds the use of plant wax lipid 14C to constrain lateral transport times, and sheds light on more complex OCterr dynamics in marginal seas.
Role of Crack Interaction on Shear Localization in Porous Granular Rocks Deformed in the Brittle and Ductile Fields
Authors: Kanaya Taka , Hirth Greg
Published: April 2024

Crack interactions leading to shear localization were quantified using microstructural analysis for brittle faults and high‐temperature ductile faults formed during experiments on quartz sandstone. In both faulting regimes, the nucleation of macroscopic faults results from the interactions of microfractures at two length scales in ensemble. Brittle faults nucleate when the longest mesoscale shear fractures and transgranular tensile cracks critically interact. In contrast, ductile faults nucleate when the longest mesoscale shear fractures and multi‐grain scale intergranular shear cracks critically interact. For both faulting regimes, we conclude the interaction and coalescence of the longest mesoscale shear fractures is the fundamental process responsible for fault nucleation. Hence, mesoscale shear fractures, which accommodate the majority of axial strain prior to shear localization in both faulting regimes, also serve as the nucleus of macroscopic faults. Locally, the growth of the mesoscale shear fractures is promoted by the interaction and coalescence of the multi‐grain scale cracks in both faulting regimes. We hypothesize that attainment of a critical microstructure for shear localization (i.e., local clustering of the longest microfractures) requires a characteristic amount of plastic axial strain, which depends on deformation conditions. In brittle faulting, distributed microfracturing is confined within limited regions of the rock volume, which expedites crack clustering and fault nucleation at low characteristic strains. In ductile faulting, distributed microfracturing occurs more uniformly throughout the rock volume, delaying shear localization to high characteristic strains. Accurate prediction of shear localization requires models that describe crack interactions of the largest flaws that account for crack clustering.
The Subsurface Structure of the Kīlauea Caldera Before Its 2018 Collapse Inferred From Ground Magnetic, SP, and Temperatures Anomalies
Authors: Gailler Lydie , Bouligand Claire , Kauahikaua Jim , Lénat Jean‐François , Cluzel Nicolas
Published: April 2024

The 2018 crisis of Kīlauea volcano stands as a major event in its evolution with a large down‐rift effusive eruption that drained a shallow magma reservoir at the summit. The characterization of such active magmatic systems and associated hazardous events remains a necessity and a challenge. The summit area is hydrothermally active and strongly altered as indicated by geological mapping. A unique data set of geophysical measurements was collected around Halemaʻumaʻu crater before its collapse. Magnetic data are interpreted here in combination with geological information, temperature anomalies at the surface, self‐potential measurements, and a model of electrical conductivity. 3D forward modeling shows that the main magnetic dipole‐like anomaly observed around the crater is not only caused by the crater topography but suggests the presence of an important volume of weakly magnetic material beneath the crater, which may be caused by higher temperature and/or hydrothermal alteration. 3D inversion of the data allows us to explore the first order geometry of the magnetic structures. We complement this inversion with 2D forward modeling in order to refine the geometry of major structures. This study shows the presence of major geological structures in the 2018 collapsed area that may have been associated with mechanical weaknesses and could have played a role in the geometry of the collapse. Therefore, mapping magnetic anomalies and monitoring their temporal evolution are of great interest for constraining the nature and mechanical properties of the underlying formations and their temporal evolution in order to help predict future behavior.
Mineralogical Characterization of the Lunar South Polar Region: 1. The Artemis Exploration Zone
Authors: Moriarty D. P. , Petro N. E.
Published: April 2024

The lunar south pole is a region of focused scientific and exploration interest, with several crewed and robotic missions to this region planned within the next decade. Understanding the mineralogy of the region is essential to inform landing site characterization and selection and provides the key context for interpreting samples and in situ observations. At high latitudes, extreme illumination conditions (high phase angles) can negatively impact the data quality of orbital instruments. This is especially true for passive near‐infrared spectrometers such as the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) and the Kaguya Spectral Profiler, which measure the spectral properties of the surface using reflected sunlight. Using Moon Mineralogy Mapper data, we observed that the south polar region is associated with a detectable mafic signature consistent with the presence of pyroxenes. The strongest mafic signatures are associated with the South Pole—Aitken Basin, suggesting that impact melt and basin ejecta from the lower crust and upper mantle are present within this region. This observation is validated in several ways: (a) comparisons between M3 data acquired during different mission phases, (b) comparisons between multiple spectral parameters sensitive to the presence of mafic minerals, (c) comparisons between the north and south lunar polar regions, and (d) comparisons with publicly available Kaguya polar mineralogy maps and Lunar Prospector elemental abundances. We also investigate the nature of an anomalous high‐albedo region within 2–3° of the south pole observed in Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter reflectance data exhibiting a spatially conflicting apparent FeO abundance pattern between several data sets.
Autocalibration of the E3SM Version 2 Atmosphere Model Using a PCA‐Based Surrogate for Spatial Fields
Authors: Yarger Drew , Wagman Benjamin Moore , Chowdhary Kenny , Shand Lyndsay
Published: April 2024

Global Climate Model tuning (calibration) is a tedious and time‐consuming process, with high‐dimensional input and output fields. Experts typically tune by iteratively running climate simulations with hand‐picked values of tuning parameters. Many, in both the statistical and climate literature, have proposed alternative calibration methods, but most are impractical or difficult to implement. We present a practical, robust, and rigorous calibration approach on the atmosphere‐only model of the Department of Energy's Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) version 2. Our approach can be summarized into two main parts: (a) the training of a surrogate that predicts E3SM output in a fraction of the time compared to running E3SM, and (b) gradient‐based parameter optimization. To train the surrogate, we generate a set of designed ensemble runs that span our input parameter space and use polynomial chaos expansions on a reduced output space to fit the E3SM output. We use this surrogate in an optimization scheme to identify values of the input parameters for which our model best matches gridded spatial fields of climate observations. To validate our choice of parameters, we run E3SMv2 with the optimal parameter values and compare prediction results to expertly‐tuned simulations across 45 different output fields. This flexible, robust, and automated approach is straightforward to implement, and we demonstrate that the resulting model output matches present day climate observations as well or better than the corresponding output from expert tuned parameter values, while considering high‐dimensional output and operating in a fraction of the time.
Effect of pH on Spontaneous Imbibition in Calcareous Rocks
Authors: Pratama Muhammad Andiva , Khan Hasan Javed
Published: April 2024

Reactive transport in porous media exhibits multifaceted interactions that are dependent on the matrix and fluid properties, and which ultimately alter these properties. A set of calcareous rock samples with unique mineralogy and varying petrophysical properties are selected for this study. A capillary rise experiment is performed in each sample, first with deionized water and then with a dilute, pH 2, HCl solution. Pre‐ and post‐acid petrophysical properties such as porosity, permeability, pore size distribution, and contact angle are measured for each sample along with the capillary rise profile. The latter is tracked by applying image analysis on video recording. The rock mineralogy significantly affects the acidic fluid intrusion into the rock samples. Calcite dissolution is the main reaction that results in the opening of the pore space. This is more prominent in all the carbonate samples where a higher proportion of calcite minerals is present. A higher capillary rise is consistently observed compared to the neutral fluid along with an increase in porosity and the mean pore size. The contact angle also undergoes changes making the carbonate matrix from oil‐wet to neutral‐wet. Coupling capillary interactions with fluid reactivity is often neglected in fluid transport phenomena. This study offers new insights into the relative importance of reactivity at the timescale of spontaneous imbibition. This is important in understanding dissolution and precipitation processes during capillary flow.
Synoptic Moisture Intrusion Provided Heavy Isotope Precipitations in Inland Antarctica During the Last Glacial Maximum
Authors: Kino K. , Cauquoin A. , Okazaki A. , Oki T. , Yoshimura K.
Published: April 2024

Stable water isotopes in inland Antarctic ice cores are powerful paleoclimate proxies; however, their relationship with dynamical atmospheric circulations remains controversial. Using a water isotope climate model (MIROC5‐iso), we assessed the influence of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ∼21,000 years ago) sea surface temperatures (SST) and sea ice (SIC) on Antarctic precipitation isotopes (δ18Op) through atmospheric circulation. The results revealed that the synoptic circulation mostly maintained southward moisture transport, reaching inland Antarctica. The steepened meridional SST gradient in the mid‐latitudes increased δ18Op in inland Antarctica with the enhanced baroclinic instability and synoptic moisture transport. In contrast, expanded SIC distribution decreased δ18Op over Antarctica by enhanced preferential removal of heavy isotopes during vapor transport due to the increased transport distance and enhanced surface cooling. These findings propose to use Antarctic ice cores to describe the southern hemisphere atmospheric circulation, represented by the westerly jets, during the LGM and other past climates.
Reply to Comment by Poppema and Wüthrich on “Momentum and Energy Predict the Backwater Rise Generated by a Large Wood Jam”
Authors: Follett Elizabeth , Schalko Isabella , Nepf Heidi
Published: April 2024

Follett et al. (2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020gl089346) demonstrated that a large wood jam can be modeled as a porous obstruction with momentum loss proportional to the number, size, and packing density of the logs and jam length. Poppema and Wüthrich (2024, https://doi.org/10.1029/2023gl106348) incorporated uniform flow Froude number, broadening the scope of our work. Here, we demonstrate that Froude number can be directly introduced to equations in the main body of Follett et al. (2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020gl089346), without requiring uniform flow. Based on this, we show that a managed increase in upstream depth is possible for conditions below a critical discharge, in which equilibrium upstream depth over uniformly distributed jams can be adjusted with inter‐jam spacing. This design could retain water in low flow conditions, allowing jams to act independently above critical discharge. Finally, we suggest that log orientation can be included in our model by varying both drag coefficient and frontal area perpendicular to the flow.
Organic and Inorganic Carbon Sinks Reduce Long‐Term Deep Carbon Emissions in the Continental Collision Margin of the Southern Tibetan Plateau: Implications for Cenozoic Climate Cooling
Authors: Wang Yingchun , Quan Sanyu , Tang Xin , Hosono Takahiro , Hao Yinlei , Tian Jiao , Pang Zhonghe
Published: April 2024

This paper aims to update our understanding of the carbon cycle in the Himalayas, the most intense collisional orogeny globally, by providing new insight into its impact on Cenozoic climate cooling through the use of isotopic variations in both organic and inorganic carbon and an isotopic mass balance model. Our results from 20 selected hot springs show that the relative contributions of dissolved carbon from the mantle, metamorphic decarbonization, aqueous dissolution, and soil organic matter are approximately 2%, 82%, 6%, and 10%, respectively. Approximately 87% ± 5% of CO2 generated in the deep crust precipitates as calcite, while approximately 5.5% ± 1% of this carbon is converted to biomass through microbial chemosynthesis at depths less than 2 km. Our random forests approach yielded a metamorphic carbon flux from the entire Himalayan orogenic belt of approximately 2.7 ∼ 4.5 × 1012 mol/yr. The minor CO2 released into the atmosphere (2.5 ∼ 4.2 × 1011 mol/yr) is comparable to the carbon consumption driven by Himalayan weathering. This paper provides new insights into deep carbon cycling, notably that approximately 93% of deeply sourced carbon is trapped in the shallow crust, rendering orogenic processes carbon neutral and possibly acting as one of the major triggers of long‐term climate cooling in the Cenozoic.
Exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells in diabetes and diabetic complications
Authors: Jiao Yu-Rui , Chen Kai-Xuan , Tang Xiang , Tang Yu-Long , Yang Hai-Lin , Yin Yu-Long , Li Chang-Jun
Published: April 2024

Diabetes, a group of metabolic disorders, constitutes an important global health problem. Diabetes and its complications place a heavy financial strain on both patients and the global healthcare establishment. The lack of effective treatments contributes to this pessimistic situation and negative outlook. Exosomes released from mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have emerged as the most likely new breakthrough and advancement in treating of diabetes and diabetes‐associated complication due to its capacity of intercellular communication, modulating the local microenvironment, and regulating cellular processes. In the present review, we briefly outlined the properties of MSCs-derived exosomes, provided a thorough summary of their biological functions and potential uses in diabetes and its related complications.
The relationship between the network of non-coding RNAs-molecular targets and N6-methyladenosine modification in tumors of urinary system
Authors: Li Ruiming , Zhu Chunming , Wang Yuan , Wang Xia , Wang Yibing , Wang Jiahe , Wang Kefeng
Published: April 2024

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation, a prevalent eukaryotic post-transcriptional modification, is involved in multiple biological functions, including mediating variable splicing, RNA maturation, transcription, and nuclear export, and also is vital for regulating RNA translation, stability, and cytoplasmic degradation. For example, m6A methylation can regulate pre-miRNA expression by affecting both splicing and maturation. Non-coding RNA (ncRNA), which includes microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs), does not encode proteins but has powerful impacts on transcription and translation. Conversely, ncRNAs may impact m6A methylation by affecting the expression of m6A regulators, including miRNAs targeting mRNA of m6A regulators, or lncRNAs, and circRNAs, acting as scaffolds to regulate transcription of m6A regulatory factors. Dysregulation of m6A methylation is common in urinary tumors, and the regulatory role of ncRNAs is also important for these malignancies. This article provides a systematic review of the role and mechanisms of action of m6A methylation and ncRNAs in urinary tumors.
Survival and rapid resuscitation permit limited productivity in desert microbial communities
Authors: Imminger Stefanie , Meier Dimitri V. , Schintlmeister Arno , Legin Anton , Schnecker Jörg , Richter Andreas , Gillor Osnat , Eichorst Stephanie A. , Woebken Dagmar
Published: April 2024

Microbial activity in drylands tends to be confined to rare and short periods of rain. Rapid growth should be key to the maintenance of ecosystem processes in such narrow activity windows, if desiccation and rehydration cause widespread cell death due to osmotic stress. Here, simulating rain with 2H2O followed by single-cell NanoSIMS, we show that biocrust microbial communities in the Negev Desert are characterized by limited productivity, with median replication times of 6 to 19 days and restricted number of days allowing growth. Genome-resolved metatranscriptomics reveals that nearly all microbial populations resuscitate within minutes after simulated rain, independent of taxonomy, and invest their activity into repair and energy generation. Together, our data reveal a community that makes optimal use of short activity phases by fast and universal resuscitation enabling the maintenance of key ecosystem functions. We conclude that desert biocrust communities are highly adapted to surviving rapid changes in soil moisture and solute concentrations, resulting in high persistence that balances limited productivity.
A cfDNA methylation-based tissue-of-origin classifier for cancers of unknown primary
Authors: Conway Alicia-Marie , Pearce Simon P. , Clipson Alexandra , Hill Steven M. , Chemi Francesca , Slane-Tan Dan , Ferdous Saba , Hossain A. S. Md Mukarram , Kamieniecka Katarzyna , White Daniel J. , Mitchell Claire , Kerr Alastair , Krebs Matthew G. , Brady Gerard , Dive Caroline , Cook Natalie , Rothwell Dominic G.
Published: April 2024

Cancers of Unknown Primary (CUP) remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge due to biological heterogeneity and poor responses to standard chemotherapy. Predicting tissue-of-origin (TOO) molecularly could help refine this diagnosis, with tissue acquisition barriers mitigated via liquid biopsies. However, TOO liquid biopsies are unexplored in CUP cohorts. Here we describe CUPiD, a machine learning classifier for accurate TOO predictions across 29 tumour classes using circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) methylation patterns. We tested CUPiD on 143 cfDNA samples from patients with 13 cancer types alongside 27 non-cancer controls, with overall sensitivity of 84.6% and TOO accuracy of 96.8%. In an additional cohort of 41 patients with CUP CUPiD predictions were made in 32/41 (78.0%) cases, with 88.5% of the predictions clinically consistent with a subsequent or suspected primary tumour diagnosis, when available (23/26 patients). Combining CUPiD with cfDNA mutation data demonstrated potential diagnosis re-classification and/or treatment change in this hard-to-treat cancer group.
Engineering a synthetic gene circuit for high-performance inducible expression in mammalian systems
Authors: De Carluccio Giuliano , Fusco Virginia , di Bernardo Diego
Published: April 2024

Inducible gene expression systems can be used to control the expression of a gene of interest by means of a small-molecule. One of the most common designs involves engineering a small-molecule responsive transcription factor (TF) and its cognate promoter, which often results in a compromise between minimal uninduced background expression (leakiness) and maximal induced expression. Here, we focus on an alternative strategy using quantitative synthetic biology to mitigate leakiness while maintaining high expression, without modifying neither the TF nor the promoter. Through mathematical modelling and experimental validations, we design the CASwitch, a mammalian synthetic gene circuit based on combining two well-known network motifs: the Coherent Feed-Forward Loop (CFFL) and the Mutual Inhibition (MI). The CASwitch combines the CRISPR-Cas endoribonuclease CasRx with the state-of-the-art Tet-On3G inducible gene system to achieve high performances. To demonstrate the potentialities of the CASwitch, we apply it to three different scenarios: enhancing a whole-cell biosensor, controlling expression of a toxic gene and inducible production of Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) vectors.