bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Physical fitness and psycho-cognitive performance in the young and middle-aged workforce with primarily physical versus mental work demands
Authors: Prieske Olaf , Dalager Tina , Looks Vanessa , Golle Kathleen , Granacher Urs
Published: June 2019

Aim

The purpose of this study was to examine physical fitness and psycho-cognitive performance and their associations in young and middle-aged workers with primarily physical versus mental work demands.

Subjects and methods

Healthy young and middle-aged workers (73 men, age = 33 ± 7 years; 75 women, age = 35 ± 9 years) were recruited from German small-to-medium-sized enterprises (< 250 employees) and classified into groups with primarily mental (MD) or physical demands (PD) at work. Participants were tested for cardiorespiratory fitness, trunk flexor/extensor muscular endurance, handgrip strength, balance, leg muscle power, perceived stress, cognitive performance, and work ability.

Results

Ninety-four workers were allocated to the MD (53% females) and 54 to the PD (46% females) groups. The MD group showed significantly better balance, trunk extensor muscular endurance, and cognitive performance (p < 0.035, 0.35 ≤ d ≤ 0.55) and less stress compared with the PD group (p < 0.023, d = 0.38). Group-specific Spearman rank correlation analysis (rS) revealed significant small-to-medium-sized correlations between physical fitness and cognitive performance (− 0.205 ≤ rS ≤ 0.434) in the MD and PD groups. Significant small-to-medium-sized correlations were found for physical fitness and stress/work ability (0.211 ≤ rS ≤ 0.301) in the MD group only. Further, associations of trunk extensor muscular endurance and work ability were significantly higher in the MD group (rS = 0.240) compared with the PD group (rS = − 0.141; z = 2.16, p = 0.031).

Conclusions

MD workers showed better physical fitness measures (balance, trunk extensor muscular endurance) and cognitive performance and lower levels of perceived stress compared with PD workers. Small-to-medium-sized associations between physical fitness and psycho-cognitive performance measures indicate that gains in physical fitness may at least partly contribute to psycho-cognitive performance and/or vice versa, particularly in MD workers.
Evaluation of new surfactants for enhanced oil recovery applications in high-temperature reservoirs
Authors: Zulkifli Nazliah Nazma , Mahmood Syed M. , Akbari Saeed , Manap Arif Azhan A. , Kechut Nor Idah , Elrais Khaled Abdalla
Published: June 2019

Surfactants have been successfully used for enhanced or improved oil recovery in reservoirs having mild conditions (low temperature, low salinity). Reservoirs having harsh conditions, however, offer unique challenges in that most surfactants precipitate and chemically degrade due to a combined effect of high temperature and hardness salinity. Industry’s efforts are continuing to develop or formulate surfactants for oil recovery applications to high temperature and salinity. The aim of this study was to evaluate several modified anionic surfactants/formulations that were claimed to be able to overcome the unfavorably high-salinity brine (sea water) and high temperature and to understand the impact of high temperature to surfactant adsorption. A series of experiments were conducted to characterize and quantify the effects of aging time in high temperature (106 °C) and seawater salinity (32,000 ppm with 1600 hardness) on surfactant performance. Results for both sulfate- and sulfonate-based surfactants were deemed not to be satisfactory. Sulfate-based surfactants encountered hydrolysis problem at high temperature, whereas sulfonate-based surfactants precipitated in the presence of divalent ions. This study then focused on alkyl ether carboxylate (AEC) as the main surfactant, and blends of AEC with alkyl polyglucoside (APG). To find the optimum conditions, phase behavior tests were performed with a fixed seawater salinity but with different blending ratios of surfactant and co-surfactant, as well as overall surfactant concentrations, similar to the salinity scan. Type III microemulsion was observed for both surfactant solutions of AEC and AEC–APG blend with IFT of 10−3 mN/m (millinewton/meter). Surfactant adsorption resulted in lower adsorption in the high-temperature region. The results of this project are urgently needed by the industry for future screening in order to find suitable surfactants for applying to reservoirs with harsh conditions. The study also intends to provide an understanding of adsorption relationship to high temperature, as a guideline in addressing surfactant losses due to adsorption at high-temperature field application.
Increase in time spent on social media is associated with modest increase in depression, conduct problems, and episodic heavy drinking
Authors: Brunborg Geir Scott , Burdzovic Andreas Jasmina
Published: June 2019

Introduction

Adolescent use of social media has been linked to a range of negative outcomes, but it is still unclear whether the associations are spurious. To address this issue, we examined if within‐individual change in time spent on social media was associated with within‐individual changes in depression, conduct problems, and episodic heavy drinking in a sample of adolescents using first‐differencing models (FD‐models).

Methods

A sample of 763 Norwegian adolescents (45.1% boys; mean age 15.22 years, standard deviation 1.44) completed two questionnaires 6‐months apart. The associations between changes in time spent on social media and symptoms of depression, conduct problems, and frequency of episodic heavy drinking were estimated using FD‐models, a statistical technique that effectively controls for all time‐invariant individual factors. We also accounted for three time‐variant putative confounders: frequency of sports practice, frequency of unsupervised leisure activities, and peer relationship problems.

Results

Increases in time spent on social media were associated with increases in symptoms of depression (b = 0.13 [95% CI: 0.01, 0.24], p = 0.038), increases in conduct problems (b = 0.07 [95% CI: 0.02, 0.10], p = 0.007), and increases in episodic heavy drinking (b = 0.10 [95% CI: 0.06, 0.15], p < 0.001), after adjusting for changes in the three hypothesized confounders. The effect‐sizes for these relationships were, however, quite modest.

Conclusion

Increased time spent on social media was modestly related to increases in depression, conduct problems, as well as frequency of episodic heavy drinking among adolescents.
Effects of pioglitazone on mnemonic hippocampal function: A blood oxygen level–dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging study in elderly adults
Authors: Knodt Annchen R. , Burke James R. , Welsh‐Bohmer Kathleen A. , Plassman Brenda L. , Burns Daniel K. , Brannan Stephen K. , Kukulka Michael , Wu Jingtao , Hariri Ahmad R.
Published: June 2019

Introduction

Mitochondrial dysfunction is implicated in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Accordingly, drugs that positively influence mitochondrial function are being evaluated in delay‐of‐onset clinical trials with at‐risk individuals. Such ongoing clinical research can be advanced by developing a better understanding of how these drugs affect intermediate brain phenotypes associated with both AD risk and pathophysiology.

Methods

Using a randomized, parallel‐group, placebo‐controlled design in 55 healthy elderly volunteers, we explored the effects of oral, low‐dose pioglitazone, a thiazolidinedione with promitochondrial effects, on hippocampal activity measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging during the encoding of novel face–name pairs.

Results

Compared with placebo, 0.6 mg of pioglitazone (but not 2.1 mg, 3.9 mg, or 6.0 mg) administered daily for 14 days was associated with significant increases in right hippocampal activation during encoding of novel face–name pairs at day 7 and day 14, relative to baseline.

Discussion

Our exploratory analyses suggest that low‐dose pioglitazone has measurable effects on mnemonic brain function associated with AD risk and pathophysiology.
The self-reported perceptions, readiness and psychological wellbeing of primary school students prior to transitioning to a secondary boarding school
Authors: Mander David J. , Lester Leanne
Published: June 2019

This research investigates the self-reported perceptions, readiness and psychological wellbeing of 15 male primary school students prior to transitioning to a secondary boarding school (S1) located away from home and family. A mixed-methods approach was used (i.e., online questionnaire and focus group), and findings indicate that while participants were apprehensive about expectations, study and encountering new technology at boarding school, all viewed the impending transition to S1 as a positive opportunity in their educational journey. Participants reported academic motivation and self-regulation above the norm; however, both questionnaire and focus group data indicated their academic self-perception was low. Levels of reported psychological distress were low, with symptoms associated with emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer problems, prosocial behaviour and overall total difficulties all found to be within the normal range. Indicators of life satisfaction and protective factors associated with resilience were similarly found to be within the normal range. Four major themes and eight subthemes emerged from the qualitative data, including: (1) enthusiasm (i.e., confidence, sadness); (2) opportunity (i.e., new experiences and choices, friendships); (3) anchor points (i.e., older siblings, orientation); and (4) expectations (i.e., study, technology). The findings of this study add to the literature encouraging staff in boarding schools to view transition through the lens of the early to mid-adolescence developmental period and the emergence of co-occurring innate psychological needs – in particular, the desire for competence, autonomy and relatedness. Strengths and limitations of this study are presented.
Numerical solutions of compressible convection with an infinite Prandtl number: comparison of the anelastic and anelastic liquid models with the exact equations
Authors: Curbelo Jezabel , Duarte Lucia , Alboussière Thierry , Dubuffet Fabien , Labrosse Stéphane , Ricard Yanick
Published: June 2019

We developed a numerical method for the set of equations governing fully compressible convection in the limit of infinite Prandtl numbers. Reduced models have also been analysed, such as the anelastic approximation and the anelastic liquid approximation. The tests of our numerical schemes against self-consistent criteria have shown that our numerical simulations are consistent from the point of view of energy dissipation, heat transfer and entropy budget. The equation of state of an ideal gas has been considered in this work. Specific effects arising because of the compressibility of the fluid are studied, like the scaling of viscous dissipation and the scaling of the heat flux contribution due to the mechanical power exerted by viscous forces. We analysed the solutions obtained with each model (fully compressible model, anelastic and anelastic liquid approximations) in a wide range of dimensionless parameters and determined the errors induced by each approximation with respect to the fully compressible solutions. Based on a rationale on the development of the thermal boundary layers, we can explain reasonably well the differences between the fully compressible and anelastic models, in terms of both the heat transfer and viscous dissipation dependence on compressibility. This could be mostly an effect of density variations on thermal diffusivity. Based on the different forms of entropy balance between exact and anelastic models, we find that a necessary condition for convergence of the anelastic results to the exact solutions is that the product $\unicode[STIX]{x1D716}q$ must be small compared to unity, where $\unicode[STIX]{x1D716}$ is the ratio of the superadiabatic temperature difference to the adiabatic difference, and $q$ is the ratio of the superadiabatic heat flux to the heat flux conducted along the adiabat. The same condition seems also to be associated with a convergence of the computed heat fluxes. Concerning the anelastic liquid approximation, we confirm previous estimates by Anufriev et al. (Phys. Earth Planet. Inter., vol. 152, 2005, pp. 163–190) and find that its results become generally close to those of the fully compressible model when $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}T{\mathcal{D}}$ is small compared to unity, where $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}$ is the isobaric thermal expansion coefficient, $T$ is the temperature (here $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}T=1$ for an ideal gas) and ${\mathcal{D}}$ is the dissipation number.
Delimiting the concept of personal data after the GDPR
Authors: Wong Benjamin
Published: June 2019

This paper explains how the concept of personal data should be delimited. Certainty on this matter is crucial, as it determines the material scope of the data protection obligations. The primary boundary delimiting the scope of personal data is the requirement that personal data ‘relate to’ an individual. The courts of the UK and the EU have sought to delineate this boundary, but there are serious difficulties in the present approaches that have emerged thus far. Two possible ways forward are suggested, taking into account the implications of the direct application of the GDPR in the UK.
Toeplitz operators on Bergman spaces of polygonal domains
Authors: Mannersalo Paula
Published: June 2019

We study the boundedness of Toeplitz operators with locally integrable symbols on Bergman spaces Ap(Ω), 1 < p < ∞, where Ω ⊂ ℂ is a bounded simply connected domain with polygonal boundary. We give sufficient conditions for the boundedness of generalized Toeplitz operators in terms of ‘averages’ of symbol over certain Cartesian squares. We use the Whitney decomposition of Ω in the proof. We also give examples of bounded Toeplitz operators on Ap(Ω) in the case where polygon Ω has such a large corner that the Bergman projection is unbounded.
Responding to the First Era of Globalization: Canadian Trade Policy, 1870–1913
Authors: Alexander Patrick D. , Keay Ian
Published: June 2019

In this article we document Canada’s trade policy response to late nineteenth and early twentieth century globalization by linking newly digitized annual productspecific data on the value of Canadian imports and duties paid from 1870–1913, to establishment-specific production and location information drawn from the manuscripts of the 1871 industrial census. We find evidence of a highly selective move towards protectionism following the adoption of the National Policy in 1879. Changes in the Canadian tariff schedule narrowly targeted manufactured import products that had close substitutes produced by relatively large, urban, politically influential domestic manufacturers.
Challenges of the heterogeneous nutrition response: interpreting the group mean
Authors: Drew Janice E.
Published: June 2019

Extensive research demonstrates unequivocally that nutrition plays a fundamental role in maintaining health and preventing disease. In parallel nutrition research provides evidence that the risks and benefits of diet and lifestyle choices do not affect people equally, as people are inherently variable in their responses to nutrition and associated interventions to maintain health and prevent disease. To simplify the inherent complexity of human subjects and their nutrition, with the aim of managing expectations for dietary guidance required to ensure healthy populations and individuals, nutrition researchers often seek to group individuals based on commonly used criteria. This strategy relies on demonstrating meaningful conclusions based on comparison of group mean responses of assigned groups. Such studies are often confounded by the heterogeneous nutrition response. Commonly used criteria applied in grouping study populations and individuals to identify mechanisms and determinants of responses to nutrition often contribute to the problem of interpreting the results of group comparisons. Challenges of interpreting the group mean using diverse populations will be discussed with respect to studies in human subjects, in vivo and in vitro model systems. Future advances in nutrition research to tackle inter-individual variation require a coordinated approach from funders, learned societies, nutrition scientists, publishers and reviewers of the scientific literature. This will be essential to develop and implement improved study design, data recording, analysis and reporting to facilitate more insightful interpretation of the group mean with respect to population diversity and the heterogeneous nutrition response.
A meta-analysis of heart rate variability in major depression
Authors: Koch Celine , Wilhelm Marcel , Salzmann Stefan , Rief Winfried , Euteneuer Frank
Published: June 2019

Background

Major depression (MD) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Reduced heart rate variability (HRV) has been observed in MD. Given the predictive value of HRV for cardiovascular health, reduced HRV might be one physiological factor that mediates this association.

Methods

The purpose of this study was to provide up-to-date random-effects meta-analyses of studies which compare resting-state measures of HRV between unmedicated adults with MD and controls. Database search considered English and German literature to July 2018.

Results

A total of 21 studies including 2250 patients and 1982 controls were extracted. Significant differences between patients and controls were found for (i) frequency domains such as HF-HRV [Hedges' g = −0.318; 95% CI (−0.388 to −0.247)], LF-HRV (Hedges' g = −0.195; 95% CI (−0.332 to −0.059)], LF/HF-HRV (Hedges' g = 0.195; 95% CI (0.086–0.303)] and VLF-HRV (Hedges' g = −0.096; 95% CI (−0.179 to −0.013)), and for (ii) time-domains such as IBI (Hedges' g = −0.163; 95% CI (−0.304 to −0.022)], RMSSD (Hedges' g = −0.462; 95% CI (−0.612 to −0.312)] and SDNN (Hedges' g = −0.266; 95% CI (−0.431 to −0.100)].

Conclusions

Our findings demonstrate that all HRV-measures were lower in MD than in healthy controls and thus strengthens evidence for lower HRV as a potential cardiovascular risk factor in these patients.
A Basic Income Trilemma: Affordability, Adequacy, and the Advantages of Radically Simplified Welfare
Authors: MARTINELLI LUKE
Published: June 2019

As basic income (BI) has ascended the policy agenda, so proposals have come under increasing scrutiny for their affordability and adequacy for meeting need. One common objection to BI has been that it is impossible to design a scheme that simultaneously conforms to these two criteria. In this article, I develop a conceptual framework for analysing the trade-offs that afflict BI policy design. I suggest that while the idea of a policy dilemma between affordability and adequacy does indeed afflict ‘full’ BI schemes, it is possible to design an affordable and adequate ‘partial’ BI scheme. However, this comes at the cost of (at least partly) forfeiting some key advantages that motivate interest in BI in the first place, since these only arise as a consequence of the elimination of means testing and related conditionality from the welfare system. Thus, BI proponents face a three-way trade-off in policy design between affordability, adequacy, and securing the full advantages of BI as a radical simplification of existing welfare policy. The trilemma is illustrated with reference to original microsimulation evidence for the UK, which demonstrates that at most two of the three criteria can be achieved in a single scheme.
Identifying Crucial Equipment and Skills Needed to Evacuate Critically Ill Infants During Disasters: Using Nursing Expertise to Guide Training Targets
Authors: Gray Megan M. , Thomas Anita A. , Burns Brian , Umoren Rachel A.
Published: June 2019

Introduction:

Unexpected disasters, such as earthquakes or fires, require preparation to address knowledge gaps that may negatively affect vulnerable patients. Training programs can promote natural disaster readiness to respond and evacuate patients safely, but also require evidence-based information to guide learning objectives.

Problem:

There is limited evidence on what skills and bedside equipment are most important to include in disaster training and evacuation programs for critically ill infants.

Methods:

An expert panel was used to create a 13-item mastery checklist of skills for bedside registered nurses (RNs) required to successfully evacuate a critically ill infant. Expert nurses were surveyed, and the Angoff method was used to determine which of the mastery checklist skills a newly graduated nurse (ie, the “minimally competent” nurse) should be able to do. Participants then rated the importance of 26 commonly available pieces of bedside equipment for use in evacuating a hemodynamically unstable, intubated infant during a disaster.

Results:

Twenty-three emergency department (ED) and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) charge RNs responded to the survey with a mean of 19 (SD = 9) years of experience and 30% reporting personal experience with evacuating patients. The skills list scores showed an emphasis on the newly graduated nurse having more complete mastery of skills surrounding thermoregulation, documentation, infection control, respiratory support, and monitoring. Skills for communication, decision making, and anticipating future needs were assessed as less likely for a new nurse to have mastered. On a scale of one (not important) to seven (critically important), the perceived necessity of equipment ranged from a low of 1.6 (breast pump) to a high of 6.9 (face mask). The individual intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.55 showed moderate reliability between raters and the average team ICC of 0.97 showed excellent agreement as a group.

Conclusion:

Experts rated the ability to manage physiological issues, such as thermoregulation and respiratory support, as skills that every nurse should master. Disaster preparedness activities for nurses in training may benefit from checklists of essential equipment and skills to ensure all nurses can independently manage patients’ physiologic needs when they enter the workforce. Advanced nursing training should include education on decision making, communication during emergencies, and anticipation of future issues to ensure that charge and resource nurses can support bedside nurses during evacuation events.
Church and State in Ukraine after the Euromaidan: President Poroshenko's Discourse on Religion, 2014–2018
Authors: Shestopalets Denys
Published: June 2019

This article explores the discursive aspect of the church–state relationship in Ukraine after the Euromaidan protests and the outburst of the Russian–Ukrainian crisis in February 2014. In particular, it analyzes the evolution of the core elements in the discourse on religion by President Petro Poroshenko in the period 2014–2018. It also traces the sources of his ideological representation of the church as a key attribute of Ukrainian political order and national identity, along with the army and the state language. This study demonstrates that, in addition to their intensive practical efforts intended to facilitate the emergence of a united autocephalous Orthodox Church, the Ukrainian state authorities strove to establish and promote an ideological paradigm which features a close binding of religion and nationalism.
Late Cretaceous Transtension in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau: Evidence From Postcollisional A‐Type Granite and Syenite in the Changdu Area, China
Authors: Wang Xin‐Song , Williams‐Jones A. E. , Bi Xian‐Wu , Hu Rui‐Zhong , Xiao Jia‐Fei , Huang Ming‐Liang
Published: June 2019

The Late Cretaceous is an important geological time interval for the Tibetan Plateau because it corresponds to the period when the tectonic regime changed from Lhasa‐Qiangtang collision to Indo‐Asian assembly. However, the nature of and controls on the change in tectonic regime are poorly constrained. In this paper, we report results of a study of two intrusions in the Changdu area of the Eastern Tibetan Plateau. Zircon U‐Pb dating shows that both intrusions formed at ca. 77.6–74.3 Ma. The Bangda intrusion has A‐type granite affinity and a peraluminous character, whereas the Ruduo intrusion is a metaluminous syenite. Both intrusions have very similar trace element compositions, slightly enriched zircon εHf(t) values (−9.3 and −1.7), and EM‐2‐like Sr‐Nd‐Pb isotope ratios. These features of the two intrusions indicate that their magmas were derived from partial melting of an alkali‐rich basaltic lower crust and a small proportion of mantle melt. The occurrence of alkaline intrusions is consistent with Late Cretaceous extension in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau. Based on the results of this study and previous data, we propose an intraplate extensional tectonic model, in which there was NS‐NNW‐directed Late Cretaceous transtension in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau following the Lhasa‐Qiangtang collision. This extension is interpreted to have been triggered by the Bangong‐Nujiang slab break‐off at around 110 Ma and driven by the far‐field subduction of the Neo‐Tethys oceanic crust.
Wave Attenuation by Spartina Saltmarshes in the Chesapeake Bay Under Storm Surge Conditions
Authors: Garzon Juan L. , Maza M. , Ferreira C. M. , Lara J. L. , Losada I. J.
Published: June 2019

This study investigates the capacity of a Spartina alterniflora meadow to attenuate waves during storm events based on field observations in the Chesapeake Bay. These observations reveal that environmental conditions including the ratio between water depth and plant height (hr), the ratio between wave height (HS) and water depth, and current directions impact the wave height decay. Further, we present empirical representations of the bulk drag coefficient (Cd) as a function of the Keulegan‐Carpenter (KC) and Reynolds (Re) numbers, and the hr ratio. When applying the distinction between current directions, this representation exhibits better agreement when using the Re (ρ2 = 54%) and hr (ρ2 = 77%) than with the KC (ρ2 = 39%). Furthermore, we show that the representation of Cd can be improved by using a hr‐based modified Re and KC formulation, yielding correlations of 76% (modified Re) and 78% (modified KC). The proposed expressions are validated during another storm and predicted HS computed within the marsh results in a root‐mean‐square error of 0.014 m, overestimating the largest HS (0.22 m) by 18%. Finally, these expressions are applied to several hypothetical sea conditions. Under similar vegetation characteristics, HS of 1.55 and 0.8 m (close to a 10,000‐ and 100‐year recurrence interval storm) are attenuated by 50% and 70%, respectively, at 250 m from the marsh edge. This study provides evidence that validates the saltmarsh wave attenuation capacity during storms, quantifies this attenuation, and supports the transferability of the existing formulas in the literature across similar coastal marshes.
Oblique Thrust of the Maidan Fault and Late Quaternary Tectonic Deformation in the Southwestern Tian Shan, Northwestern China
Authors: Wu Chuanyong , Zheng Wenjun , Zhang Peizhen , Zhang Zhuqi , Jia Qichao , Yu Jingxing , Zhang Huiping , Yao Yuan , Liu Jianming , Han Guihong , Chen Jie
Published: June 2019

The Maidan fault, which is an east‐northeast trending fault in the southwestern Tian Shan, is a sinistral reverse fault that extends more than 400 km in length and constitutes the boundary between the southwestern Tian Shan and the Tarim Basin. Here we quantify its late Quaternary activity based on the interpretations of high‐resolution remote sensing images and detailed field investigations. In the Aheqi valley, an ~150‐km‐long active fault can be divided into northeastern and southwestern segments based on variations in its strike and geometry. Based on the analysis of its offset geomorphological features and the dating of Quaternary sediments, we estimate the late Quaternary shortening rate across the fault to be 1.19 ± 0.25 mm/year, the sinistral strike‐slip rate to be 1.56 ± 0.64 mm/year, and the oblique thrust rate to be 1.96 ± 0.69 mm/year. Active tectonics, GPS crustal deformation data, and seismic activity indicate that the deformation in the southwestern Tian Shan is characterized by out‐of‐sequence thrust faulting and folding. Late Quaternary deformation has been partitioned into low‐angle thrust faulting along the Kalpin Tagh foreland fold and thrust system and sinistral reverse faulting along the high‐angle range‐front Maidan fault. The sinistral Maidan fault acts as a nucleation point for slip partitioning system, which can be viewed as positive flower structure with its surrounding thrust faults.
Restoring a Natural Fire Regime Alters the Water Balance of a Sierra Nevada Catchment
Authors: Boisramé Gabrielle F. S. , Thompson Sally E. , Tague Christina (Naomi) , Stephens Scott L.
Published: June 2019

Fire suppression in western U.S. mountains has caused dense forests with high water demands to grow. Restoring natural wildfire regimes to these forests could affect hydrology by changing vegetation composition and structure, but the specific effects on water balance are unknown. Mountain watersheds supply water to much of the western United States, so understanding the relationship between fire regime and water yield is essential to inform management. We used a distributed hydrological model to quantify hydrologic response to a restored fire regime in the Illilouette Creek Basin (ICB) within Yosemite National Park, California. Over the past 45 years, as successive fires reduced the ICB's forest cover approximately 25%, model results show that annual streamflow, subsurface water storage, and peak snowpack increased relative to a fire‐suppressed control, while evapotranspiration and climatic water deficit decreased. A second model experiment compared the water balance in the ICB under two vegetation cover scenarios: 2012 vegetation, representing a frequent‐fire landscape, and 1969 vegetation, representing fire suppression. These two model landscapes were run with observed weather data from 1972 to 2017 in order to capture natural variations in precipitation and temperature. This experiment showed that wet years experienced greater fire‐related reductions in evapotranspiration and increases in streamflow, while reductions in climatic water deficit were greater in dry years. Spring snowmelt runoff was higher under burned conditions, while summer baseflow was relatively unaffected. Restoring wildfire to the fire‐suppressed ICB likely increased downstream water availability, shifted streamflows slightly earlier, and reduced water stress to forests.
What Is Controlling Our Control Rules? Opening the Black Box of Multireservoir Operating Policies Using Time‐Varying Sensitivity Analysis
Authors: Quinn J. D. , Reed P. M. , Giuliani M. , Castelletti A.
Published: June 2019

Multireservoir systems are designed to serve multiple conflicting demands over varying time scales that may be out of phase with the system's hydroclimatic inputs. Adaptive, nonlinear reservoir control policies are often best suited to serve these needs. However, nonlinear operating policies are hard to interpret, so water managers tend to favor simple, static rules that may not effectively manage conflicts between the system's multisectoral demands. In this study, we introduce an analytical framework for opening the black box of optimized nonlinear operating policies, decomposing their time‐varying information sensitivities to show how their adaptive and coordinated release prescriptions better manage hydrologic variability. Interestingly, these information sensitivities vary significantly across policies depending on how they negotiate tradeoffs between conflicting objectives. We illustrate this analysis in the Red River basin of Vietnam, where four major reservoirs serve to protect the capital of Hanoi from flooding while also providing the surrounding region with electric power and meeting multisectoral water demands for the agricultural and urban economies. Utilizing Evolutionary Multi‐Objective Direct Policy Search, we are able to design policies that, using the same information as sequential if/then/else‐based operating guidelines developed by the government, outperform these traditional rules with respect to every objective. Policy diagnostics using time‐varying sensitivity analysis illustrate how the Evolutionary Multi‐Objective Direct Policy Search operations better adapt and coordinate information use to reduce food‐energy‐water conflicts in the basin. These findings accentuate the benefits of transitioning to dynamic operating policies in order to manage evolving hydroclimatic variability and socioeconomic demands in multipurpose reservoir networks.
The Magnetosphere‐Ionosphere Electron Precipitation Dynamics and Their Geospace Consequences During the 17 March 2013 Storm
Authors: Khazanov George V. , Chen Margaret W. , Lemon Colby L. , Sibeck David G.
Published: June 2019

During geomagnetic storms and substorms, the magnetosphere and ionosphere are strongly coupled by precipitating magnetospheric electrons from the Earth's plasma sheet and driven by both magnetospheric and ionospheric processes. Magnetospheric wave activity initiates electron precipitation, and the ionosphere and upper atmosphere further facilitate this process by enhancing the value of precipitated energy fluxes via connection of two magnetically conjugate regions and multiple atmospheric reflections. This paper focuses on the resulting electron energy fluxes and affiliated height‐integrated Pedersen and Hall conductances in the auroral regions produced by multiple atmospheric reflections during the 17 March 2013 geomagnetic storm and their effects on the inner magnetospheric electric field and ring current. Our study is based on the magnetically and electrically self‐consistent Rice Convection Model‐Equilibrium of the inner magnetosphere with SuperThermal Electron Transport modified electron energy fluxes that take into account the electron energy interplay between the two magnetically conjugate ionospheres. SuperThermal Electron Transport‐modified energy flux in the Rice Convection Model‐Equilibrium leads to a significant difference in the global conductance pattern, ionospheric electric field formation, Birkeland current structure, ring current energization and its energy content, subauroral polarization drifts intensifications and their spatial locations, interchange instability redistribution, and overall energy interplay on the global scale.
Evidence of Characteristic Earthquakes on Thrust Faults From Paleo‐Rupture Behavior Along the Longmenshan Fault System
Authors: Ran Yongkang , Xu Xiwei , Wang Hu , Chen Wenshan , Chen Lichun , Liang Mingjian , Yang Huili , Li Yanbao , Liu Huaguo
Published: June 2019

The rupture behavior of large‐scale thrust faults has become an increasingly important topic in active tectonic and seismic studies. This is especially true for the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (Mw 7.9), which occurred along the Longmenshan thrust fault (LMS) in China. While this earthquake has been the subject of many studies to date, paleoseismic studies along the LMS are still lacking. In this study, results from trenching at the town of Bailu, as well as radiocarbon and Optical‐Stimulated Luminescence dating, are used to constrain the timing of the penultimate and earlier events, respectively: 3.3 ± 0.6 to 4.4 ± 0.6 ka and 4.8 ± 0.6 to 5.8 ± 0.8 ka. Further, coseismic displacement produced by the two events is similar to that produced by the 2008 event. The results suggest that fault segments along the Yingxiu‐Beichuan and Jiangyou‐Guanxian faults likely ruptured coseismically with similar offsets and that the northern segment of the LMS possesses independent rupture behavior. The magnitude of the penultimate seismic event was likely lower than that of the 2008 event, which indicates a characteristic slip‐rupture pattern along the LMS.
Reconstruction of Mid‐Cenozoic Extension in the Rincon Mountains Area, Southeastern Arizona, USA, and Geodynamic Implications
Authors: Spencer Jon E. , Richard Stephen M. , Lingrey Steven H. , Johnson Bradford J. , Johnson Roy A. , Gehrels George E.
Published: June 2019

The Rincon Mountains metamorphic core complex, located east of Tucson, Arizona, consists of an arched footwall of foliated crystalline rocks bounded above by the generally outward dipping, Oligocene‐Miocene San Pedro extensional detachment fault. The southwest trending axes of corrugations in the detachment fault, and in footwall foliation and lithologic layering, parallel mylonitic lineation, and inferred top‐southwest displacement on the fault. An upper plate fault block within a synformal fault groove on the west side of the Rincon Mountains contains a thrust fault that is interpreted as displaced 34‐38 km westward from an original position adjacent to a similar thrust in the footwall of the San Pedro detachment fault. Much of the footwall of the detachment fault in the eastern Rincon Mountains consists of metasedimentary tectonites derived largely from Paleozoic carbonates that were buried beneath Proterozoic crystalline rocks forming the hanging wall of the Laramide Wildhorse Mountain thrust. These tectonites were later exhumed by displacement on the San Pedro detachment fault. Structural reconstruction supports the interpretation that the carbonate tectonites localized extensional faulting along the San Pedro detachment fault at crustal depths where carbonates would be weak and deform by crystal plasticity while quartzo‐feldspathic rocks would be strong and brittle. This weak zone is located adjacent to the greatest width of exposed extension‐parallel mylonitic fabrics in southeastern Arizona and may have been associated with the earliest initiation of extension in the region. Domains of low‐strength carbonates may be an underappreciated influence on extensional tectonics in cratonic southwestern North America.
Extracellular vesicles from human urine-derived stem cells prevent osteoporosis by transferring CTHRC1 and OPG
Authors: Chen Chun-Yuan , Rao Shan-Shan , Tan Yi-Juan , Luo Ming-Jie , Hu Xiong-Ke , Yin Hao , Huang Jie , Hu Yin , Luo Zhong-Wei , Liu Zheng-Zhao , Wang Zhen-Xing , Cao Jia , Liu Yi-Wei , Li Hong-Ming , Chen Yang , Du Wei , Liu Jiang-Hua , Zhang Yan , Chen Tuan-Hui , Liu Hao-Ming , Wu Ben , Yue Tao , Wang Yi-Yi , Xia Kun , Lei Peng-Fei , Tang Si-Yuan , Xie Hui
Published: June 2019

Osteoporosis is a debilitating bone disease affecting millions of people. Here, we used human urine-derived stem cells (USCs), which were noninvasively harvested from unlimited and easily available urine, as a “factory” to obtain extracellular vesicles (USC-EVs) and demonstrated that the systemic injection of USC-EVs effectively alleviates bone loss and maintains bone strength in osteoporotic mice by enhancing osteoblastic bone formation and suppressing osteoclastic bone resorption. More importantly, the anti-osteoporotic properties of USC-EVs are not notably disrupted by the age, gender, or health condition (with or without osteoporosis) of the USC donor. Mechanistic studies determined that collagen triple-helix repeat containing 1 (CTHRC1) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) proteins are enriched in USC-EVs and required for USC-EV-induced pro-osteogenic and anti-osteoclastic effects. Our results suggest that autologous USC-EVs represent a promising novel therapeutic agent for osteoporosis by promoting osteogenesis and inhibiting osteoclastogenesis by transferring CTHRC1 and OPG.
The interaction between SPARC and GRP78 interferes with ER stress signaling and potentiates apoptosis via PERK/eIF2α and IRE1α/XBP-1 in colorectal cancer
Authors: Chern Yi-Jye , Wong John C. T. , Cheng Grace S. W. , Yu Angel , Yin Yaling , Schaeffer David F. , Kennecke Hagen F. , Morin Gregg , Tai Isabella T.
Published: June 2019

Therapy-refractory disease is one of the main contributors of treatment failure in cancer. In colorectal cancer (CRC), SPARC can function as a sensitizer to conventional chemotherapy by enhancing apoptosis by interfering with the activity of Bcl-2. Here, we examine a novel mechanism by which SPARC further potentiates apoptosis via its modulation of the unfolded protein response (UPR). Using mass spectrometry to identify SPARC-associated proteins, GRP78 was identified as a protein partner for SPARC in CRC. In vitro studies conducted to assess the signaling events resulting from this interaction, included induction of ER stress with tunicamycin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and irinotecan (CPT-11). We found that the interaction between GRP78 and SPARC increased during exposure to 5-FU, CPT-11, and tunicamycin, resulting in an attenuation of GRP78’s inhibition of apoptosis. In addition, we also show that SPARC can sensitize CRC cells to PERK/eIF2α and IRE1α/XBP-1 UPR signaling by interfering with ER stress following binding to GRP78, which leads to ER stress-associated cell death in CRC cells. In line with these findings, a lower expression of GRP78 relative to SPARC in CRC is associated with a lower IC50for 5-FU in either sensitive or therapy-refractory CRC cells. Interestingly, this observation correlates with tissue microarray analysis of 143 human CRC, where low GRP78 to SPARC expression level was prognostic of higher survival rate (P = 0.01) in individuals with CRC. This study demonstrates that modulation of UPR signaling by SPARC promotes ER stress-associated death and potentiates apoptosis. This may be an effective strategy that can be combined with current treatment options to improve therapeutic efficacy in CRC.
Homo- and heterodehydrocoupling of phosphines mediated by alkali metal catalysts
Authors: Wu Lipeng , Annibale Vincent T. , Jiao Haijun , Brookfield Adam , Collison David , Manners Ian
Published: June 2019

Catalytic chemistry that involves the activation and transformation of main group substrates is relatively undeveloped and current examples are generally mediated by expensive transition metal species. Herein, we describe the use of inexpensive and readily availabletBuOK as a catalyst for P–P and P–E (E = O, S, or N) bond formation. Catalytic quantities oftBuOK in the presence of imine, azobenzene hydrogen acceptors, or a stoichiometric amount oftBuOK with hydrazobenzene, allow efficient homodehydrocoupling of phosphines under mild conditions (e.g. 25 °C and < 5 min). Further studies demonstrate that the hydrogen acceptors play an intimate mechanistic role. We also show that ourtBuOK catalysed methodology is general for the heterodehydrocoupling of phosphines with alcohols, thiols and amines to generate a range of potentially useful products containing P–O, P–S, or P–N bonds.
Inhibition of CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complex assembly by anti-CRISPR AcrIIC2
Authors: Thavalingam Annoj , Cheng Zhi , Garcia Bianca , Huang Xue , Shah Megha , Sun Wei , Wang Min , Harrington Lucas , Hwang Sungwon , Hidalgo-Reyes Yurima , Sontheimer Erik J. , Doudna Jennifer , Davidson Alan R. , Moraes Trevor F. , Wang Yanli , Maxwell Karen L.
Published: June 2019

CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune systems function to protect bacteria from invasion by foreign genetic elements. The CRISPR-Cas9 system has been widely adopted as a powerful genome-editing tool, and phage-encoded inhibitors, known as anti-CRISPRs, offer a means of regulating its activity. Here, we report the crystal structures of anti-CRISPR protein AcrIIC2Nme alone and in complex with Nme1Cas9. We demonstrate that AcrIIC2Nme inhibits Cas9 through interactions with the positively charged bridge helix, thereby preventing sgRNA loading. In vivo phage plaque assays and in vitro DNA cleavage assays show that AcrIIC2Nme mediates its activity through a large electronegative surface. This work shows that anti-CRISPR activity can be mediated through the inhibition of Cas9 complex assembly.
Targeting a therapeutic LIF transgene to muscle via the immune system ameliorates muscular dystrophy
Authors: Welc Steven S. , Flores Ivan , Wehling-Henricks Michelle , Ramos Julian , Wang Ying , Bertoni Carmen , Tidball James G.
Published: June 2019

Many potentially therapeutic molecules have been identified for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy. However, targeting those molecules only to sites of active pathology is an obstacle to their clinical use. Because dystrophic muscles become extensively inflamed, we tested whether expressing a therapeutic transgene in leukocyte progenitors that invade muscle would provide selective, timely delivery to diseased muscle. We designed a transgene in which leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is under control of a leukocyte-specific promoter and transplanted transgenic cells into dystrophic mice. Transplantation diminishes pathology, reduces Th2 cytokines in muscle and biases macrophages away from a CD163+/CD206+ phenotype that promotes fibrosis. Transgenic cells also abrogate TGFβ signaling, reduce fibro/adipogenic progenitor cells and reduce fibrogenesis of muscle cells. These findings indicate that leukocytes expressing a LIF transgene reduce fibrosis by suppressing type 2 immunity and highlight a novel application by which immune cells can be genetically modified as potential therapeutics to treat muscle disease.
Insights into real-time chemical processes in a calcium sensor protein-directed dynamic library
Authors: Canal-Martín Andrea , Sastre Javier , Sánchez-Barrena María José , Canales Angeles , Baldominos Sara , Pascual Naiara , Martínez-González Loreto , Molero Dolores , Fernández-Valle Mª Encarnación , Sáez Elena , Blanco-Gabella Patricia , Gómez-Rubio Elena , Martín-Santamaría Sonsoles , Sáiz Almudena , Mansilla Alicia , Cañada F. Javier , Jiménez-Barbero Jesús , Martínez Ana , Pérez-Fernández Ruth
Published: June 2019

Dynamic combinatorial chemistry (DCC) has proven its potential in drug discovery speeding the identification of modulators of biological targets. However, the exchange chemistries typically take place under specific reaction conditions, with limited tools capable of operating under physiological parameters. Here we report a catalyzed protein-directed DCC working at low temperatures that allows the calcium sensor NCS-1 to find the best ligands in situ. Ultrafast NMR identifies the reaction intermediates of the acylhydrazone exchange, tracing the molecular assemblies and getting a real-time insight into the essence of DCC processes at physiological pH. Additionally, NMR, X-ray crystallography and computational methods are employed to elucidate structural and mechanistic aspects of the molecular recognition event. The DCC approach leads us to the identification of a compound stabilizing the NCS-1/Ric8a complex and whose therapeutic potential is proven in a Drosophila model of disease with synaptic alterations.
Common and distinct transcriptional signatures of mammalian embryonic lethality
Authors: Collins John E. , White Richard J. , Staudt Nicole , Sealy Ian M. , Packham Ian , Wali Neha , Tudor Catherine , Mazzeo Cecilia , Green Angela , Siragher Emma , Ryder Edward , White Jacqueline K. , Papatheodoru Irene , Tang Amy , Füllgrabe Anja , Billis Konstantinos , Geyer Stefan H. , Weninger Wolfgang J. , Galli Antonella , Hemberger Myriam , Stemple Derek L. , Robertson Elizabeth , Smith James C. , Mohun Timothy , Adams David J. , Busch-Nentwich Elisabeth M.
Published: June 2019

The Deciphering the Mechanisms of Developmental Disorders programme has analysed the morphological and molecular phenotypes of embryonic and perinatal lethal mouse mutant lines in order to investigate the causes of embryonic lethality. Here we show that individual whole-embryo RNA-seq of 73 mouse mutant lines (>1000 transcriptomes) identifies transcriptional events underlying embryonic lethality and associates previously uncharacterised genes with specific pathways and tissues. For example, our data suggest that Hmgxb3 is involved in DNA-damage repair and cell-cycle regulation. Further, we separate embryonic delay signatures from mutant line-specific transcriptional changes by developing a baseline mRNA expression catalogue of wild-type mice during early embryogenesis (4–36 somites). Analysis of transcription outside coding sequence identifies deregulation of repetitive elements in Morc2a mutants and a gene involved in gene-specific splicing. Collectively, this work provides a large scale resource to further our understanding of early embryonic developmental disorders.