bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated thrombosis in patients with bladder and kidney cancer: a study of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) thrombosis and cancer group
Authors: Sánchez Cánovas Manuel , Fernández Garay David , Adoamnei Evdochia , Guirao García Esperanza , López Robles Javier , Cacho Lavin Diego , Martínez de Castro Eva , Campos Balea Begoña , Garrido Fernández Alberto , Fernández Pérez Isaura , Ferrández Arias Asia , Suarez Noelia , Quintanar Verduguez Teresa , Lobo de Mena Miriam , Rodríguez Laura , Gutierrez David , Martín Fernández de Soiginie Ana Manuela , García Adrián Silvia , Ferrer Pérez Ana Isabel , Delgado Heredia María Jesús , Muñoz Lerma Amelia , Luque Raquel , Mazariegos Rubí Manuel , Rúperez Blanco Ana Belen , García Escobar Ignacio , Mendiola Jaime , Muñoz Martín Andrés Jesús
Published: April 2023

Purpose

Both venous and arterial thrombotic events (VTE/AT) can be associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). However, there is a paucity of information apropos patients in routine clinical practice.

Methods/patients

Retrospective, multicenter study promoted by the Thrombosis and Cancer Section of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM). Individuals with kidney or bladder cancer who initiated ICI between 01/01/2015 and 12/31/2020 were recruited. Minimum follow-up was 6 months (except in cases of demise). The primary objective was to calculate the incidence of ICI-associated VTE/AT and secondary objectives included to analyze their impact on survival and identify variables predictive of VTE/AT.

Results

210 patients with kidney cancer were enrolled. The incidence of VTE/AT during follow-up (median 13 months) was 5.7%. Median overall survival (OS) was relatively lower among subjects with VTE/AT (16 months, 95% CI 0.01–34.2 vs. 27 months, 95% CI 22.6–31.4; p = 0.43). Multivariate analysis failed to reveal predictive variables for developing VTE/ AT.

197 patients with bladder were enrolled. There was a 9.1% incidence rate of VTE/AT during follow-up (median 8 months). Median OS was somewhat higher in patients with VTE/AT (28 months, 95% CI 18.4–37.6 vs 25 months, 95% CI 20.7–29.3; p = 0.821). Serum albumin levels < 3.5 g/dl were predictive of VTE/ AT (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

There appears to be no association between developing VTE/AT and ICI use in patients with renal or bladder cancer. Serum albumin levels are a predictive factor in individuals with bladder cancer.
Advancing and demonstrating the Impact Indices method to screen the sensitivity of building energy use to occupant behaviour
Authors: Zambrano Juan Mahecha , Gaetani Isabella , Oberegger Ulrich Filippi , Salvalai Graziano
Published: April 2023

A critical gap between the occupant behaviour research field and the building engineering practice limits the integration of occupant-centric strategies into simulation-aided building design and operation. Closing this gap would contribute to the implementation of strategies that improve the occupants’ well-being while reducing the buildings’ environmental footprint. In this view, it is urgent to develop guidelines, standardised methods, and supporting tools that facilitate the integration of advanced occupant behaviour models into the simulation studies. One important step that needs to be fully integrated into the simulation workflow is the identification of influential and non-influential occupant behaviour aspects for a given simulation problem. Accordingly, this article advances and demonstrates the application of the Impact Indices method, a fast and efficient method for screening the potential impact of occupant behaviour on the heating and cooling demand. Specifically, the method now allows the calculation of Impact Indices quantifying the sensitivity of building energy use to occupancy, lighting use, plug-load appliances use, and blind operation at any spatial and temporal resolution. Hence, users can apply it in more detailed heating and cooling scenarios without losing information. Furthermore, they can identify which components in building design and operation require more sophisticated occupant behaviour models. An office building is used as a real case study to illustrate the application of the method and asses its performance against a one-factor-at-a-time sensitivity analysis. The Impact Indices method indicates that occupancy, lighting use and plug-load appliances have the greatest impact on the annual cooling demand of the studied office building; blind operation is influential only in the west and south façades of the building. Finally, potential applications of the method in building design and operation practice are discussed.
Correlation Between the SARA and A-T NEST Clinical Severity Scores in Adults with Ataxia-Telangiectasia
Authors: Major Toby , Tiet May Yung , Horvath Rita , Hensiek Anke E.
Published: April 2023

Ataxia-Telangiectasia
(A-T) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease associated with cerebellar ataxia and extrapyramidal features. A-T has a complex and diverse phenotype with varying rates of disease progression. The development of robust natural history studies and therapeutic trials relies on the accurate recording of phenotype using relevant and validated severity of illness indexes. We compared the commonly used Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) and the disease-specific A-T Neurological Examination Scale Toolkit (A-T NEST), in our adult A-T cohort. We found a strong correlation between A-T NEST and the established SARA score, validating the use of A-T NEST and SARA in capturing the natural history of A-T patients.
Big effort, little gain for users: lessons from the public transport system reform in Bogotá
Authors: Rodriguez-Valencia Alvaro , Rosas-Satizábal Daniel , Hidalgo Darío
Published: April 2023

Semi-regulated, privately-operated public transport (PT) systems are common in low and middle-income countries of the Global South. Several cities are now planning or implementing formalized schemes intended to improve quality of service, safety, security of PT services and to reduce negative externalities, with limited success. Bogotá, which embarked on a progressive citywide PT reform process starting in 2009, replicates the negative experience of other large cities introducing citywide transit reforms. The new formalized scheme was implemented gradually between 2012 and 2021. As a result two types of services coexisted in the city for nine years: semiformal and formalized services. This resembled a natural experiment that provided a unique situation to evaluate the restructuring reform in Bogotá from the user’s perspective. This study analyzes passenger satisfaction surveys for both systems by means of ordered Probit models and Importance-Performance Analysis. Despite the good intentions behind the formalization process, results show that users provide better ratings to the traditional semi-regulated services than the new formalized system, mainly because bus frequency and fares are worse and expected improvements in road safety, personal security and comfort have not been delivered. The reform in Bogotá allowed the city to have resilience during the pandemic, though; and provided a framework for inclusion of zero and low-emission buses. The analysis suggests some recommendations for the improvement of transit reform processes: putting the focus on service quality, as well as assigning sufficient funding and developing institutional capacities to undertake the required changes.
Raman spectroscopy for viral diagnostics
Authors: Lukose Jijo , Barik Ajaya Kumar , Mithun N  , Sanoop Pavithran M  , George Sajan D. , Murukeshan V. M. , Chidangil Santhosh
Published: April 2023

Raman spectroscopy offers the potential for fingerprinting biological molecules at ultra-low concentration and therefore has potential for the detection of viruses. Here we review various Raman techniques employed for the investigation of viruses. Different Raman techniques are discussed including conventional Raman spectroscopy, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, Raman tweezer, tip-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering can play an essential role in viral detection by multiplexing nanotechnology, microfluidics, and machine learning for ensuring spectral reproducibility and efficient workflow in sample processing and detection. The application of these techniques to diagnose the SARS-CoV-2 virus is also reviewed.

Graphical abstract
Generative image captioning in Urdu using deep learning
Authors: Afzal Muhammad Kashif , Shardlow Matthew , Tuarob Suppawong , Zaman Farooq , Sarwar Raheem , Ali Mohsen , Aljohani Naif Radi , Lytras Miltiades D. , Nawaz Raheel , Hassan Saeed-Ul
Published: April 2023

Urdu is morphologically rich language and lacks the resources available in English. While several studies on the image captioning task in English have been published, this is among the pioneer studies on Urdu generative image captioning. The study makes several key contributions: (i) it presents a new dataset for Urdu image captioning, and (ii) it presents different attention-based architectures for image captioning in the Urdu language. These attention mechanisms are new to the Urdu language, as those have never been used for the Urdu image captioning task (iii) Finally, it performs quantitative and qualitative analysis of the results by studying the impact of different model architectures on Urdu’s image caption generation task. The extensive experiments on the Urdu image caption generation task show encouraging results such as a BLEU-1 score of 72.5, BLEU-2 of 56.9, BLEU-3 of 42.8, and BLEU-4 of 31.6. Finally, we present data and code used in the study for future research via GitHub (https://github.com/saeedhas/Urdu_cap_gen).
Ultra-conserved RNA: a novel biological tool with diagnostic and therapeutic potential
Authors: Wang Tingye , Li Feng , Lu Zhanping
Published: April 2023

Ultra-conserved RNA (ucRNA) is a subset of long non-coding RNA, that is highly conserved among mice, rats and humans. UcRNA has attracted extensive attention in recent years for its potential biological significance in normal physiological function and diseases. However, due to the instability of RNA and the technical limitation, the function and mechanism of ucRNAs are largely unknown. Over the last two decades, researchers have made a lot of efforts to try to lift the veil of ucRNA in nervous, cardiovascular system and other systems as well as cancers. Since the concept of the glymphatic system is relatively new, we summarized here recent findings on the functions, regulation and the underlying mechanisms of ucRNAs in physiology and pathology. Meanwhile, pathology in some diseases is likely to contribute to abnormal expression of ucRNA in turn. We also discuss the technical challenges and bright prospects for future applications of ucRNAs in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
Land use/land cover change impact on streamflow using Arc-SWAT model, in case of Fetam watershed, Abbay Basin, Ethiopia
Authors: Mekonnen Yitbarek Andualem , Manderso Temesgen Mekuriaw
Published: April 2023

Changes in Land Use Land Cover (LULC) are currently one of the greatest pressing issues facing the watershed, its hydrological properties of soil, and water management in catchment areas. One of the most important elements impacting streamflow in watersheds is LULC change. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect and future predication of LULC change on streamflow of the Fetam watershed by using Cellular Automata (CA)-Markov in IDRISI software. To analyze the impact of land use/cover change on streamflow, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) calibration and validation model was used. LULC map was developed by using Cellular Automata (CA)-Markov in IDRISI software, and the coverage of LULCs was including parameters of cropland, vegetation, grassland, Built-up area/Urban and water body. The findings of this study showed that the major challenges of land use/cove changes were rapid population increase, farming, and industrial activity. During the study period (2000–2020), most portions of the water body, vegetation, and grassland were changed into cropland and constructed by building. Cropland and construction areas increased by 15% and 46.95%, respectively, whereas water bodies, vegetation, and grassland decreased by 62.7%, 70.02%, and 38.1%, respectively. According to the forecasted results for the period of 2030–2040, cropland and built-up areas are increased, while vegetation, grassland, and water bodies were decreased. The SWAT model's calibration and validation performance was evaluated using the streamflow of the most sensitive parameters. For the years 2000–2004, and 2005–2012, the models were calibrated and validated, and the results showed good agreement between observed and simulated streamflow, with NSE and R2 values of 0.88 and 0.72 and 0.9 and 0.85, respectively. The results of this study indicated that the seasonal streamflow was decreased from 2000 to 2010 and 2010–2020 years during the dry and rainy seasons. In general, the impacts of land use/cover change on streamflow are significant considerations for planning and implementing water resource projects. In order to address the risks, effective land-use planning and climate-resilient water management strategies will be improved.
A Dynamic Occupancy Model for Interacting Species with Two Spatial Scales
Authors: Kleiven Eivind Flittie , Barraquand Frédéric , Gimenez Olivier , Henden John-André , Ims Rolf Anker , Soininen Eeva Marjatta , Yoccoz Nigel Gilles
Published: April 2023

Occupancy models have been extended to account for either multiple spatial scales or species interactions in a dynamic setting. However, as interacting species (e.g., predators and prey) often operate at different spatial scales, including nested spatial structure might be especially relevant to models of interacting species. Here we bridge these two model frameworks by developing a multi-scale, two-species occupancy model. The model is dynamic, i.e. it estimates initial occupancy, colonization and extinction probabilities—including probabilities conditional to the other species’ presence. With a simulation study, we demonstrate that the model is able to estimate most parameters without marked bias under low, medium and high average occupancy probabilities, as well as low, medium and high detection probabilities, with only a small bias for some parameters in low-detection scenarios. We further evaluate the model’s ability to deal with sparse field data by applying it to a multi-scale camera trapping dataset on a mustelid-rodent predator–prey system. Most parameters are estimated with low uncertainty (i.e. narrow posterior distributions). More broadly, our model framework creates opportunities to explicitly account for the spatial structure found in many spatially nested study designs, and to study interacting species that have contrasting movement ranges with camera traps.Supplementary materials accompanying this paper appear online.
Efficient protection of the Baltic Sea needs a revision of phosphorus metric
Authors: Iho Antti , Valve Helena , Ekholm Petri , Uusitalo Risto , Lehtoranta Jouni , Soinne Helena , Salminen Jani
Published: April 2023

Eutrophication of the Baltic Sea is driven by phosphorus and nitrogen. While the anthropogenic point source loads of both nutrients have decreased markedly, further reductions are needed. This is true particularly for phosphorus, as highlighted by its stringent abatement targets in HELCOM’s Baltic Sea Action Plan. To meet the targets, more results need to be achieved in non-point source abatement, specifically from agricultural sources. The growing pressure for phosphorus abatement from agriculture may lead to environmentally and economically inefficient outcomes unless we account for the variability in how different forms of phosphorus respond to abatement measures, and how these forms contribute to eutrophication. The precautionary and efficiency improving way to advance policies is to either replace or supplement the Total Phosphorus metric with a metric more accurate in reflecting the biologically available phosphorus. This policy fix becomes more important as the relative share of agricultural emissions of total pollution increases.
Efficient item count techniques with one or two lists
Authors: Quatember Andreas
Published: April 2023

If the direct questioning on sensitive variables leads to non-ignorable item-nonresponse and untruthful answering, a considerably biased estimator might be the consequence. In such cases, indirect questioning designs, which protect the respondents’ privacy by masking the sensitive information, could pay off in terms of accuracy through an increased willingness to cooperate. To achieve this goal, such a design has to be simple in its implementation for the users and easy to understand for the respondents. In this article, it is shown for one of the indirect questioning designs, the item count technique, how the usage of specific oftentimes available prior information can substantially improve the estimation accuracy and at the same time reduce the respondents’ task. This can make the method a stronger and more serious competitor of the direct questioning on sensitive attributes, which is commonly used in empirical research.
Adoption, Adaptation or Exposure? Novel Digital Gambling Activities and Links with Gambling Problems
Authors: Hing Nerilee , Rockloff Matthew , Browne Matthew
Published: April 2023

Purpose of Review

Gambling problems are much more common amongst people who use novel gambling products, including skin gambling, esports betting and fantasy sports betting. The exposure and adaptation effects suggest that, like a novel pathogen, new products produce gambling problems until adaptation can counteract vulnerabilities. The purpose of this review is to posit, based on recent data, that an adoption effect provides a more parsimonious account for why novel gambling products are associated with problems.

Recent Findings

People who are more vulnerable to a gambling problem are more likely to adopt novel gambling forms, consistent with their tendency to gamble on many forms. The high prevalence of gambling problems cannot be accounted for by the exposure effect alone, unless one assumes, implausibly, that these novel forms are dramatically more toxic than established products. As newer products diffuse in their acceptance throughout the population, the proportion of people with a gambling problem who play such games goes down. The evolution of gambling products can be described by a product lifecycle model where gambling problems are common amongst early adopters, but proportionately decrease amongst users as a product grows in popularity, reaches maturity and finally stagnates and is replaced.

The adoption effect is important because it indicates the need for interventions when new gambling products are introduced. It cautions against assuming that interventions are working just because the prevalence of gambling problems declines.
Construction and analysis of multi-relationship bipartite network model
Authors: Lv Hehe , Zhang Bofeng , Li Tingting , Hu Shengxiang
Published: April 2023

Bipartite networks that characterize complex relationships among data arise in various domains. The existing bipartite network models are mainly based on a type of relationship between objects, and cannot effectively describe multiple relationships in the real world. In this paper, we propose a multi-relationship bipartite network (MBN) model, which can describe multiple relationships between two types of objects, and realizes simple weighted bipartite network reconstruction. Our model contains three major modules, namely multi-relationship bipartite network modeling (MBNM), multi-relationship aggregation module (MAM) and network reconstruction module (NRM). In MBNM, a multi-relationship bipartite network is proposed to describe multiple relationships between two types of objects. In the MAM, considering that different relationships have different information for the model, we introduce a novel relationship-level attention mechanism, and the aggregation of multiple relationships is carried out through the importance of each relationship. Based on the learning framework, the NRM can learn the potential representations of nodes after multi-relationship aggregation, and design a nonlinear fusion mechanism to reconstruct weighted bipartite network. We conducted extensive experiments on three real-world datasets and the results show that multi-relationship aggregation can effectively improve the performance of the model. In addition, experiments also show that our model can outperform existing competitive baseline method.
Data-driven XGBoost model for maximum stress prediction of additive manufactured lattice structures
Authors: Zhang Zhiwei , Zhang Yuyan , Wen Yintang , Ren Yaxue
Published: April 2023

Lattice structures created using additive manufacturing technology inevitably produce inherent defects that seriously affect their mechanical properties. Predicting and analysing the effect of defects on the maximum stress is very important for improving the lattice structure design and process. This study mainly used the finite element method to calculate the lattice structure constitutive equation. The increase in defect type and quantity leads to difficulty in modelling and reduces calculation accuracy. We established a data-driven extreme gradient enhancement (XGBoost) with hyperparameter optimization to predict the maximum stress of the lattice structure in additive manufacturing. We used four types of defect characteristics that affect the mechanical properties—the number of layers, thick-dominated struts (oversize), thin-dominated struts (undersizing), and bend-dominated struts (waviness)—as the input parameters of the model. The hyperparameters of the basic XGBoost model were optimised according to the diversity of the inherent defect characteristics of the lattice structure, while the parameters selected by experience were replaced using the Gaussian process method in Bayesian optimization to improve the model’s generalisation ability. The prediction datasets included the type and number of defects obtained via computer tomography and the calculation results of the finite element model with the corresponding defects implanted. The root mean square error and R-squared error of the maximum stress prediction were 17.40 and 0.82, respectively, indicating the effectiveness of the model proposed in this paper. Furthermore, we discussed the influence of the four types of defects on the maximum stress, among which the thick strut defect had the greatest influence.
Sleep quality and sleep deprivation: relationship with academic performance in university students during examination period
Authors: Suardiaz-Muro Maria , Ortega-Moreno Manuel , Morante-Ruiz Miguel , Monroy Manuel , Ruiz Miguel A. , Martín-Plasencia Pilar , Vela-Bueno Antonio
Published: April 2023

The beginning of the university brings together maturational, psychosocial and academic changes that make university students more prone to suffer from insufficient or poor quality sleep, which can negatively influence their academic performance. The period of taking exams is a key part of the academic year. However, there are few studies that analyze sleep during this period of time. Our aim is to study the association of sleep quality and sleep deprivation with academic performance during the examination period. A descriptive, cross-sectional and correlational study was carried out with the participation of 640 subjects in the first three years of five faculties belonging to the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. The instrument used consisted of a questionnaire that included sociodemographic and academic data, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale and information about the academic performance. During the examination period, a positive association was found between sleep quality and academic performance. University students slept less than desired, both on weekdays and weekends, and the sleep debt during the week was associated with a worse students’ perception of their academic performance. In total, 61.3% of the students believed that their performance would improve by getting more sleep. In addition, low drowsiness and napping were also found. In conclusion, during periods of greater academic demand, an insufficient sleep and poor quality is commonly observed, affecting negatively to their academic performance. Actually, about 2/3 of our subjects believed that their performance would improve by getting more sleep.
Probing the mechanism of action (MOA) of Solanum nigrum Linn against breast cancer using network pharmacology and molecular docking
Authors: Song Yingying , Sakharkar Meena Kishore , Yang Jian
Published: April 2023

Solanum nigrum Linn is a medicinal herb widely used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat ailments such as fever, inflammation and cancer. Although quite a few compounds have been isolated and characterized, its anticancer mechanism remains elusive. Thus, in this study, we used network pharmacology and molecular docking strategies to identify the major active ingredients in S. nigrum and reveal its putative mechanism against human breast cancer. Six compounds, quercetin, cholesterol, 3-epi-beta-sitosterol, diosgenin, medioresinol and solanocapsine, were identified to be the major active ingredients. Target identification and analysis showed that they regulate 80 breast cancer-related targets. Furthermore, network analysis showed that the six active ingredients regulate multiple pathways including ErbB signaling pathway and estrogen signaling pathway and genes AKT1(AKT serine/threonine kinase 1), ESR1(estrogen receptor 1), EGFR(epidermal growth factor receptor), SRC(proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src), AR(androgen receptor) and MMP9(matrix metalloproteinase 9) are crucial genes involved in the regulations. Molecular docking implied that quercetin could form good binding with AKT1, EGFR, SRC and MMP9. Our current study suggests that the anticancer function of S. nigrum is likely via synergistic/additive effects of multiple active ingredients’ regulations of different signaling pathways. Further studies are warranted to establish the standard for S. nuigrum to be used as a CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) in breast cancer treatment and dissect its potential interactions with chemotherapy drugs.
Bio-assembled MgO-coated tea waste biochar efficiently decontaminates phosphate from water and kitchen waste fermentation liquid
Authors: Feng Chuchu , Zhang Lan , Zhang Xiu , Li Jingyu , Li Yimeng , Peng Yaru , Luo Yuan , Li Ronghua , Gao Bin , Hamouda Mohamed A. , Smith Ken , Ali Esmat F. , Lee Sang Soo , Zhang Zengqiang , Rinklebe Jörg , Shaheen Sabry M.
Published: April 2023

Crystal morphology of metal oxides in engineered metal-biochar composites governs the removal of phosphorus (P) from aqueous solutions. Up to our best knowledge, preparation of bio-assembled MgO-coated biochar and its application for the removal of P from solutions and kitchen waste fermentation liquids have not yet been studied. Therefore, in this study, a needle-like MgO particle coated tea waste biochar composite (MTC) was prepared through a novel biological assembly and template elimination process. The produced MTC was used as an adsorbent for removing P from a synthetic solution and real kitchen waste fermentation liquid. The maximum P sorption capacities of the MTC, deduced from the Langmuir model, were 58.80 mg g−1 from the solution at pH 7 and 192.8 mg g−1 from the fermentation liquid at pH 9. The increase of ionic strength (0–0.1 mol L−1 NaNO3) reduced P removal efficiency from 98.53% to 93.01% in the synthetic solution but had no significant impact on P removal from the fermentation liquid. Precipitation of MgHPO4 and Mg(H2PO4)2 (76.5%), ligand exchange (18.0%), and electrostatic attraction (5.5%) were the potential mechanisms for P sorption from the synthetic solution, while struvite formation (57.6%) and ligand exchange (42.2%) governed the sorption of P from the kitchen waste fermentation liquid. Compared to previously reported MgO-biochar composites, MTC had a lower P sorption capacity in phosphate solution but a higher P sorption capacity in fermentation liquid. Therefore, the studied MTC could be used as an effective candidate for the removal of P from aqueous environments, and especially from the fermentation liquids. In the future, it will be necessary to systematically compare the performance of metal-biochar composites with different metal oxide crystal morphology for P removal from different types of wastewater.

Graphical Abstract
An Investigation of Time Series Models for Forecasting Mixed Migration Flows: Focusing in Germany
Authors: Mebelli Vasiliki , Drakaki Maria , Tzionas Panagiotis
Published: April 2023

Refugee and migrant (mixed migration) flows in the Mediterranean have been in the spotlight of both policy and research, especially since 2015. Mixed migration is a volatile international phenomenon with considerable and debatable impacts on society and economy. This paper investigates the performance of time series forecasting methods based on EUROSTAT datasets focusing on asylum seekers. Germany has been selected to reflect on the ability of the models to predict the future behavior of an extremely volatile migrant mobility. Exponential smoothing and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models have been used for the forecasting of asylum seekers. Monthly records of first-time asylum seekers have been used from January of 2008 up to September of 2020. The results demonstrate clearly that more research is needed on this field, taking into account the complexity of the characteristics of international migration, in order to assist decision-making in migration management.
Insights from an AIMBE Workshop: Diversifying Paths to Academic Leadership
Authors: Pruitt Beth L. , Chesler Naomi C. , Seltzer Rena , Eniola-Adefeso Omolola , Margulies Susan S. , Campo Maritza Salazar , Simon Scott I. , Grimm Michele J. , Mandell Sarah , Alleyne Andrew , West Jennifer L. , Desai Tejal A.
Published: April 2023

The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) hosted a virtual symposium titled “Diversifying Paths to Academic Leadership” on January 27 and 28, 2022. The symposium sought to educate the community on the opportunities for and impact of leadership by biomedical engineering faculty, to encourage and invite women faculty, especially women of color, to consider and prepare to pursue leadership roles, to educate faculty on the expectations and duties of these roles, and to highlight experiences and paths to leadership of women engineering leaders. Here we review the main outcomes of the symposium to provide perspective on (1) personal visioning and positioning for leadership, (2) negotiating for success in leadership positions, and (3) leadership strategies for success specific to women faculty and where applicable, faculty of color.
Issue Publics
Authors: Ryan Timothy J. , Ehlinger J Andrew
Published: April 2023

An often-forgotten passage of Philip Converse's classic essay on mass belief systems introduced the concept of an issue public – a segment of voters that has crystallized attitudes about a particular topic. Some people deeply care about particular topics, and they might be equipped to reach judgments on these topics. This simple idea could provide an important corrective to work that casts citizens' political competence in a negative light. But, previous attempts to evaluate the issue publics hypothesis have been unsatisfying. This Element proposes and tests a new measurement approach for identifying issue publics. The evidence gathered leads to the conclusion that issue publics exist, but are smaller and more particularistic than existing scholarship presumes them to be. As such, researchers underappreciate the significance of issue opinions in electoral politics.
High‐Resolution Magnetic‐Geochemical Mapping of the Serpentinized and Carbonated Atlin Ophiolite, British Columbia: Toward Establishing Magnetometry as a Monitoring Tool for In Situ Mineral Carbonation
Authors: Tominaga Masako , Beinlich Andreas , Lima Eduardo A. , Pruett Paiden , Vento Noah R. , Weiss Benjamin P.
Published: April 2023

We address in situ serpentinization and mineral carbonation processes in oceanic lithosphere using integrated field magnetic measurements, rock magnetic analyses, superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) microscopy, microtextural observations, and energy dispersive spectroscopy phase mapping. A representative suite of ultramafic rock samples were collected, within the Atlin ophiolite, along a 100‐m long transect across a continuous outcrop of mantle harzburgite with several alteration fronts: serpentinite, soapstone (magnesite + talc), and listvenite (magnesite + quartz). Strong correlations between changes in magnetic signal strengths and amount of alteration are shown with distinctive contrasts between serpentinite, transitional soapstone, and listvenite that are linked to the formation and breakdown of magnetite. While previous observations of the Linnajavri ultramafic complex indicated that the breakdown of magnetite occurred during listvenite formation from the precursor soapstone (Tominaga et al., 2017, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-01610-4), results from our study suggest that magnetite destabilization already occurred during the replacement of serpentinite by soapstone (i.e., at lower fluid CO2 concentrations). This difference is attributed to fracture‐controlled flow of sulfur‐bearing alteration fluid at Atlin, causing reductive magnetite dissolution in thin soapstone zones separating serpentinite from sulfide‐mineralized listvenite. We argue that magnetite growth or breakdown in soapstone provides insight into the mode of fluid flow and the composition, which control the scale and extent of carbonation. This conclusion enables us to use magnetometry as a viable tool for monitoring the reaction progress from serpentinite to carbonate‐bearing assemblages in space and time with a caution that the three‐dimensionality of magnetic sources impacts the scalability of measurements.
Sea‐Level Fall Driving Enhanced Hydrothermal and Tectonic Activities: Evidence From a Sediment Core Near the Tectonic‐Controlled Tianxiu Vent Field, Carlsberg Ridge
Authors: Li Mou , Han Xiqiu , Qiu Zhongyan , Fan Weijia , Wang Yejian , Li Honglin , Chen Hanlin , Hu Hang
Published: April 2023

Hydrothermal activity on mid‐ocean ridges plays an important role in shaping marine chemistry, yet the variability of hydrothermal venting and its forcing mechanism remain elusive. Here, we analyzed a sediment core obtained near the tectonic‐controlled Tianxiu vent field, Carlsberg Ridge, to reconstruct the hydrothermal venting history. The core documented two significant hydrothermal events (H1 and H2) in the past 30 ka. H1 occurred at 24.1–24.5 ka during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), while H2 occurred at 10.5–11.6 ka during the deglacial period. Compared to H2, H1 was relatively weak, and it occurred concurrently with a tectonic event. We suggest that H2 was caused by the increased melt production associated with the decompression melting of the upper mantle during sea‐level fall, which is consistent with previously published records, whereas H1 was likely triggered by an intense tectonic event associated with depressurization during the LGM, which was previously unrecognized.
A High‐Order Accurate Summation‐By‐Parts Finite Difference Method for Fully‐Dynamic Earthquake Sequence Simulations Within Sedimentary Basins
Authors: Harvey Tobias W. , Erickson Brittany A. , Kozdon Jeremy E.
Published: April 2023

We present an efficient numerical method for earthquake sequences in 2D antiplane shear that incorporates wave propagation. A vertical strike‐slip fault governed by rate‐and‐state friction is embedded in a heterogeneous elastic half‐space discretized using a high‐order accurate Summation‐by‐Parts finite difference method. Adaptive time‐stepping is applied during the interseismic periods; during coseismic rupture we apply a non‐stiff method, enabling a variety of explicit time stepping methods. We consider a shallow sedimentary basin and explore sensitivity to spatial resolution and the switching criteria used to transition between solvers. For sufficient grid resolution and switching thresholds, simulations results remain robust over long time scales. We explore the effects of full dynamics and basin depth and stiffness, making comparisons with quasi‐dynamic counterparts. Fully‐dynamic ruptures generate higher stresses, faster slip rates and rupture speeds, producing seismic scattering in the bulk. Because single‐event dynamic simulations penetrate further into sediments compared to the quasi‐dynamic simulations, we hypothesize that the incorporation of inertial effects would produce sequences of only surface‐rupturing events. However, we find that subbasin ruptures can still emerge with elastodynamics, for sufficiently compliant basins. We also find that full dynamics can increase the frequency of surface‐rupturing events, depending on basin depth and stiffness. These results suggest that an earthquake's potential to penetrate into shallow sediments should be viewed through the lens of the earthquake sequence, as it depends on basin properties and wave‐mediated effects, but also on self‐consistent initial conditions obtained from seismogenic cycling.
Satellite‐Observed Interannual Variations in Sea Surface Chlorophyll‐a Concentration in the Yellow Sea Over the Past Two Decades
Authors: Zhai Fangguo , Liu Zizhou , Gu Yanzhen , He Shuangyan , Hao Qiang , Li Peiliang
Published: April 2023

Ocean chlorophyll‐a concentration is a reliable indicator of phytoplankton biomass that plays an important role in controlling the marine ecosystem. Here, we investigated the interannual variations in sea surface chlorophyll‐a concentration (SSC) in the Yellow Sea and underlying mechanisms with 22 yr (1998–2019) of satellite ocean color observations. Results indicated that SSC showed a positive trend (0.039 mg m−3 yr−1 on average) during 1998–2010 and a negative trend (−0.058 mg m−3 yr−1 on average) during 2011–2019. Similar SSC trends occurred in the four seasons. These trends had larger magnitudes in inshore waters than in offshore waters. SSC variations were primarily driven by rainfall and anthropogenic nutrient emissions with a possibly secondary contribution from sea surface temperature (SST). During 1998–2010, increased rainfall and anthropogenic nutrient emissions largely enhanced the terrestrial nutrient inputs into the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea. Coincidentally, decreased SST might have led to a weakened stratification in summer, favoring upward turbulent diffusion of deeper waters rich in nutrients and chlorophyll‐a. These processes resulted in significant increases of surface nutrient concentrations and SSC. During 2011–2019, the opposite processes occurred to generate decreased SSC. The current study highlights the change of SSC trends in the Yellow Sea in the first two decades of the 21st century and physical processes at work, enriching our understanding of ocean chlorophyll‐a dynamics in the global shelf seas.
On the Influence of ENSO on Sudden Stratospheric Warmings
Authors: Palmeiro F. M. , García‐Serrano J. , Ruggieri P. , Batté L. , Gualdi S.
Published: April 2023

Using the extended ERA5 reanalysis and three state‐of‐the‐art models, this study explores how El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) can influence the total frequency, seasonal cycle and preconditioning of sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs). Reanalysis data shows that in the last seven decades, winters with SSWs were more common than winters without, regardless El Niño (EN) or La Niña (LN) occurrence or the ENSO/SSW definitions. In agreement with previous studies, our models tend to simulate a linear ENSO‐SSW relationship, with more SSWs for EN, around mid‐winter (January–February) as in reanalysis, and less for LN when compared to neutral conditions. Independently of ENSO, the main tropospheric precursor of SSWs appears to be an anomalous wave‐like pattern over Eurasia, but it is dominated by wavenumber 1 (WN1) for EN and shows an enhanced wavenumber 2 (WN2) for LN. The differences in this Eurasian wave pattern, which is largely internally generated, emerge from the distinct configuration of the background, stationary wave pattern induced by ENSO in the North Pacific, favoring a stronger WN1 (WN2) component during EN (LN). Our results suggest that the ENSO‐forced signal relies on modulating the seasonal‐mean polar vortex strength, becoming weaker and more displaced (stronger and more stable) for EN (LN), while ENSO‐unforced wave activity represents the ultimate trigger of SSWs. This supports the view that ENSO and SSWs are distinct sources of variability of the winter atmospheric circulation operating at different time‐scales and may reconcile previous findings in this context.
A Merger‐Formation Bow Echo Caused by Low‐Level Mesovortex in South China
Authors: Liu Qiqing , Xu Xin , Zhao Kun , Zhou Ang
Published: April 2023

This work studied a high winds‐producing bow echo that occurred over South China in the pre‐rainy season using radar observations and high‐resolution analyses from the Variational Doppler Radar Analysis System. The bow echo developed from a quasi‐linear convective system (QLCS) and acquired a well‐defined bow shape after merging with a pre‐line convective cell (CC). Interestingly, the rear‐inflow jet (RIJ), which has been well recognized to play a key role in the formation of a bow echo, was not found in this merger‐formation bow echo (MFBE). The reason is that the QLCS developed in the monsoon environment of high humidity and weak vertical wind shear, leading to a weak cold pool and line‐end vortices. A new pathway of bow echo formation was proposed which highlighted the importance of the low‐level mesovortex (MV) on the leading edge of the QLCS. Vertical vorticity budget analyses revealed that the MV originated from a weak vertical vorticity band ahead of the QLCS and grew rapidly during the merger, because of the enhanced low‐level convergence in between which led to vortexgenesis via vertical stretching of vertical vorticity. The up‐scale growth of the MV produced a RIJ‐like flow wrapping cyclonically from north of the QLCS which forced the system to bulge out and finally evolve into a bow echo. This MV contributed foremost to the near‐surface gales as well. These findings shed light on the diverse formation mechanisms of bow echoes and associated high winds in the moist monsoon environment of South China.
Evaluation of Earth Observations and In Situ Data Assimilation for Seasonal Hydrological Forecasting
Authors: Musuuza Jude L. , Crochemore Louise , Pechlivanidis Ilias G.
Published: April 2023

Earth observations (EOs) are a valuable complement to in situ measurements in hydrology because they provide information in locations where direct measurements are unavailable or prohibitively expensive to make. Recent advances have enabled the assimilation of data sets of different physical variables into hydrological models to better estimate states and fluxes. Along with the meteorological forcings, the assimilated data exert controls on forecasts; it is therefore important to apportion the contributions from the forcing and assimilated data. Quality assessment is sometimes conducted in the pseudo‐reality, which neglects observations and model limitations. Here we introduce a diagnostic framework that accounts for observations to assess the sources of skill and infer the seasonal importance of assimilated and forcing data. We test the framework with a forcing data set from a downscaled Global Circulation Model and assimilate four EO and two in situ data sets to initialize the forecasts. We investigate the hydrological response and seasonal predictions over a Swedish snowmelt‐dominated catchment using the HYPE model over 2001–2015. The framework allows assessing the improvement in seasonal skill due to the different assimilated data and meteorological forcing. For the studied catchment, all EO and in situ data sets add information to the final forecast. The lead times during which data assimilation influences forecast skill also differ between data sets and seasons for example, assimilating snow water equivalent impacts the forecast for more than 20 weeks during winter. Lastly, assimilated data sets are generally more important to streamflow forecasting skill than meteorological forcing in the studied snow‐dominated catchment.
Tracing the Soil Water Flux in Variably Saturated Zones Using Temperature Data
Authors: Su Meng , Ma Rui , Wang Yunquan , Sun Ziyong , Yin Maosheng , Ge Mengyan
Published: April 2023

The coexistence of water, vapor, and solid phases and the spatiotemporal changes in thermal conductivities in response to variations in water content pose a challenge to the heat‐tracing method used to calculate water flux in variably saturated zones. In this study, a new approach, which adopted finite difference numerical schemes along with the limited‐memory Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno bounded (L‐BFGS‐B) parameter optimization algorithm, was developed to inversely trace vertical soil water fluxes in variably saturated zones using temperature‐depth time‐series data. The newly developed method did not utilize hydraulic parameters, and only temperature time‐series data were used at the adjacent depths as boundary conditions. The soil water, vapor flux, and spatiotemporal variations in thermal conductivity at a given location were optimized by fitting the temperature time‐series at the target depth using the L‐BFGS‐B algorithm. Further, the method was verified through laboratory experiments under different saturated conditions that were conducted in two columns with saturated and free drainage bottom boundaries, and five sets of different flow rates with a relatively stable flow condition. The soil water flux calculated using the proposed method was consistent with the observed data, thus, verifying the reliability of the approach in applications with relatively stable flow rates. Furthermore, the new method was applied to a field site to estimate the time‐varying soil water flux using the measured temperature data. The trends of the calculated soil water flux at different depths were consistent with the field hydrologic conditions and observations. Thus, this study provides a novel computationally efficient and easy‐to‐implement tool to determine soil water flux using temperature measurements.
Multifocal skull-compensated transcranial focused ultrasound system for neuromodulation applications based on acoustic holography
Authors: Kook Geon , Jo Yehhyun , Oh Chaerin , Liang Xiaojia , Kim Jaewon , Lee Sang-Mok , Kim Subeen , Choi Jung-Woo , Lee Hyunjoo Jenny
Published: April 2023

Transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation is a promising therapeutic modality for human brain disorders because of its noninvasiveness, long penetration depth, and versatile spatial control capability through beamforming and beam steering. However, the skull presents a major hurdle for successful applications of ultrasound stimulation. Specifically, skull-induced focal aberration limits the capability for accurate and versatile targeting of brain subregions. In addition, there lacks a fully functional preclinical neuromodulation system suitable to conduct behavioral studies. Here, we report a miniature ultrasound system for neuromodulation applications that is capable of highly accurate multiregion targeting based on acoustic holography. Our work includes the design and implementation of an acoustic lens for targeting brain regions with compensation for skull aberration through time-reversal recording and a phase conjugation mirror. Moreover, we utilize MEMS and 3D-printing technology to implement a 0.75-g lightweight neuromodulation system and present in vivo characterization of the packaged system in freely moving mice. This preclinical system is capable of accurately targeting the desired individual or multitude of brain regions, which will enable versatile and explorative behavior studies using ultrasound neuromodulation to facilitate widespread clinical adoption.