bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hyper-androgenemia and obesity in early-pubertal girls
Authors: Durá-Travé T. , Gallinas-Victoriano F.
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The aim of this study was to examine the hormonal profile in early-pubertal girls with obesity. We hypothesized that these patients might already present hormonal alterations with POCS-like features.

Methods

Cross-sectional study in a sample of 283 peri-pubertal girls (prepubertal and early-puberty subgroups), aged 6.1–12.0 years, diagnosed with obesity (BMI-SDS > 2.0, 97th percentile), so-called obesity group. They all underwent clinical examination and blood testing for hormonal measurements (leptin, TSH, FT4, IGF-1, IGFBP3, prolactin, insulin, FSH, LH, estradiol, ACTH, cortisol, 17-OH-P, DHE-S, androstenedione, testosterone and free testosterone). A control group was recruited: 243 healthy girls, aged 6.3–12.1 years, with normal BMI status.

Results

Prepubertal girls with obesity had significantly higher values (p < 0.05) for BMI-SDS, leptin, insulin and HOMA-IR levels than control group. Early-pubertal girls with obesity also had significantly higher values (p < 0.05) for BMI-SDS, leptin, IGF-1, IGFBP3, insulin and HOMA-IR, LH, ratio LH/FSH, ACTH, DHE-S, androstenedione, testosterone and free testosterone levels than control group. In early-pubertal girls with obesity (not prepubertal girls), there was a positive correlation (p < 0.01) between leptin levels with LH, androstenedione and testosterone, and HOMA-IR with LH and testosterone levels. There was also a positive correlation (p < 0.01) between IGF-1 levels with LH, androstenedione, DHE-S and testosterone; and LH levels with testosterone.

Conclusion

The results obtained support our hypothesis that an abnormal hormonal profile with POCS-like features can already be detected (insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia, increased secretion of LH and ACTH, and overproduction of ovarian and adrenal androgens) in early-pubertal girls with obesity.
Goal Setting in Mental Health Rehabilitation: References to Competence and Interest as Resources for Negotiating Goals
Authors: Weiste Elina , Niska Miira , Valkeapää Taina , Stevanovic Melisa
Published: April 2022

Goal setting is at the heart of mental health rehabilitation, but its joint negotiation by clinicians and clients has proven to be a challenging endeavor. This paper investigates goal setting decision-making in the context of Clubhouse Communities: non-profit organizations designed to pave the way for the recovery of individuals diagnosed with mental illnesses. Using the method of conversation analysis, we demonstrate how clinicians make and account for proposals to involve clients in the discussion as more equal partners. In these accounts, clinicians highlight the client’s potential in terms of either competence or interest. Clients, in turn, resist clinicians’ proposals by invoking the opposing factor: when clinicians highlight clients’ competence, clients appeal to their lack of interest and vice versa. In this way, clients are able to reject clinicians’ goal-proposals without disagreeing with the rationalizations of their competence or interest. By contrast, jointly formulated decisions are best reached when clinicians focus the talk on the characteristics of the desired activity rather than on the characteristics of the client. In so doing, clients are able to claim personal ownership of the goal.
Size-Dependent Oxidation-Induced Phase Engineering for MOFs Derivatives Via Spatial Confinement Strategy Toward Enhanced Microwave Absorption
Authors: Xu Hanxiao , Zhang Guozheng , Wang Yi , Ning Mingqiang , Ouyang Bo , Zhao Yang , Huang Ying , Liu Panbo
Published: April 2022

Precisely reducing the size of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) derivatives is an effective strategy to manipulate their phase engineering owing to size-dependent oxidation; however, the underlying relationship between the size of derivatives and phase engineering has not been clarified so far. Herein, a spatial confined growth strategy is proposed to encapsulate small-size MOFs derivatives into hollow carbon nanocages. It realizes that the hollow cavity shows a significant spatial confinement effect on the size of confined MOFs crystals and subsequently affects the dielectric polarization due to the phase hybridization with tunable coherent interfaces and heterojunctions owing to size-dependent oxidation motion, yielding to satisfied microwave attenuation with an optimal reflection loss of −50.6 dB and effective bandwidth of 6.6 GHz. Meanwhile, the effect of phase hybridization on dielectric polarization is deeply visualized, and the simulated calculation and electron holograms demonstrate that dielectric polarization is shown to be dominant dissipation mechanism in determining microwave absorption. This spatial confined growth strategy provides a versatile methodology for manipulating the size of MOFs derivatives and the understanding of size-dependent oxidation-induced phase hybridization offers a precise inspiration in optimizing dielectric polarization and microwave attenuation in theory.
Students’ Perception of Efforts by School Staff to Counteract Bullying and Its Association with Students’ Psychosomatic Problems: an Ecological Approach
Authors: Lönnfjord Victoria , Hagquist Curt
Published: April 2022

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between students’ perceptions of staff efforts to counteract bullying and students’ self-reported psychosomatic problems. Using an ecological framework, the associations were investigated in the light of contextual factors related to the students’ family, school, and peer group, as well as their personal characteristics. We used cross-sectional questionnaire data collected in 2009 and 2010 among 2 582 Swedish students aged between 13 and 15 years. Our main finding was that students’ perception of efforts by school staff to counteract bullying is an important factor in relation to their self-reported psychosomatic problems. Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that the odds of having a higher degree of psychosomatic problems compared to lower degree of psychosomatic problems were about 2.5 times higher among students who reported that school staff members do little to counteract bullying. Analysis of interaction effects revealed that the strength of the association between students’ perception of staff efforts to counteract bullying and the students’ psychosomatic problems was not affected by different types of bullying experienced, nor was the strength of the association modified by the students’ personal characteristics or contextual situation. We conclude that social support from school staff is important in relation to students’ self-reported psychosomatic problems, irrespective of the students’ own experience of bullying. The results underline the importance of promoting a school climate and school culture that support staff members’ opportunities, abilities, and willingness to prevent bullying.
Biosurfactant, a green and effective solution for bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons in the aquatic environment
Authors: Zahed Mohammad Ali , Matinvafa Mohammad Ali , Azari Aryandokht , Mohajeri Leila
Published: April 2022

When pollutants like petroleum hydrocarbons as one of the major origins of aquatic pollution, enter the environment, they alter the biological and/or physicochemical characteristics of the aforementioned sites due to their potential of bioaccumulation, biomagnification, and resistance against biodegradation besides its toxicity and carcinogenicity in nature. Thus, the importance of degradation, deterioration and remediation of these pollutants from environments such as aquatic environments via a green method such as bioremediation is undeniable. Biosurfactants as secondary metabolites of microorganisms, enhance the bioremediation rate of petroleum hydrocarbons. Using oleophilic microorganisms with the capability of biosurfactant production which this paper calls "potential microorganisms" in a bioremediation system is promising. This article reviews the effective factors on bioremediation and the share of biosurfactants on the rate of bioremediation process, chemical surfactants and their limiting factors as biosurfactant's chemical counterpart, the rising market of biosurfactant and its promising future, various types of biosurfactants, and the requirements to develop an optimized biosurfactant-base bioremediation system. Furthermore, this paper based on former studies suggests a novel in-situ biosurfactant-based bioremediation system integrated with Biochar called “Potential Microorganisms Immobilized on Biochar system” (PMIBC system) as a cost-effective in-situ bioremediation system for decontamination of aquatic environments like groundwater, lakes, marshes, etc. from petroleum hydrocarbons and oil spills which requires further study.
The observations of localize ionospheric scintillation structure by FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 Tri-band Beacon network
Authors: Hsiao Tung Yuan , Huang Cheng-yung , Yeh Wen-Hao , Tseng Tzu-Pang , Chen Kun-Lin , Macalalad Ernest P. , Vallar Edgar A. , Galvez Maria Cecilia D.
Published: April 2022

The preliminary results of FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 beacon data are presented in this paper, and the localized scintillation structure where the radio signals are affected by irregularities is recognized. Irregularities in the ionosphere will affect a radio transmission traveling through it. This study looked at a case of beacon satellite scintillation measurement from three stations in Chung-li (25.136N, 121.539E), Tsao-tun (23.981N, 120.697E), and Che-cheng (25.136N, 121.539E) (22.725N, 120.544E). The open-source coherent beacon receiver may receive beacon signals from beacon satellite systems such as the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC Tri-band Beacon Transmitter (150, 400, 1066.7 MHz) or the FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 Tri-band Beacon Transmitter (150, 400, 1066.7 MHz) (400, 965, and 2200 MHz). In Taiwan, the three stations were located around 360 km apart in a north–south direction. We can recognize the localize scintillation position where the radio signals are affected by abnormalities by projecting the course of the satellite’s orbit. Because the maximum potential height in the F2 layer is 350 km, the height was previously believed to be 350 km. We apply a project method to approximate the realistic height and length from the 3 stations by a scintillation case near midnight in order to improve on this assumption. As a result, the height of scintillation would be confirmed using the project approach, whether in the F layer or the E layer.
The Real-World Characteristics of Gender-Affirming Hormonal Use Among Transgender People in Thailand
Authors: Ittiphisit Sakditat , Amponnavarat Salin , Manaboriboon Natnicha , Korpaisarn Sira
Published: April 2022

Background

Most Thai transgender people (TG) do not use gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) under medical supervision.

Aim

To understand the current real-world characteristics of GAHT among TG.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted using an online questionnaire between September and December 2020. TG, who resided in Thailand for more than 1 year, were included. Self-reported demographic data and characteristics of GAHT were obtained. The reported GAHT were compared to the reference regimen recommended by the 2017 Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline.

Outcomes

The characteristics of GAHT used among TG and factors associated with hormonal use outside the reference regimen were reported.

Results

A total of 401 TG were included in the analysis. Of these, 249 (62%) were transgender men (TM). Most TM (81%) and transgender women (88%) were using GAHT. Only 297 TG provided a complete hormone regimen. A total of 224 TG (75%) used GAHT outside the reference regimen. The main reasons in TM were using intramuscular testosterone with a higher dose per injection and less frequent intervals. In transgender women, using oral contraceptive pills and cyproterone acetate 12.5 mg/d were the two most common reasons. A univariate analysis revealed factors associated with hormonal use outside the reference regimen, including age at a survey participation (OR 1.04, 95%CI 1.00–1.08, P = .047), age at hormone initiation (OR 1.04, 95%CI 1.01–1.08, P = .015), TM (OR 2.08, 95%CI 1.22–3.56, P = .007) and using GAHT, not under medical supervision (OR 1.78, 95%CI 1.04–3.05, P = .037). The multivariate analysis showed that only living outside the capital city was solely statistically significant (AOR 1.77, 95%CI 1.02–3.05, P = .041).

Clinical Implications

Enhancing health literacy in GAHT among TG is crucial, especially TG not living in the capital city.

Strengths and Limitations

This study demonstrates a current real-world practice of GAHT use among TG, both under and not under medical care. However, the causality could not be concluded due to the nature of the cross-sectional observation study, and results come with a recall bias.

Conclusion

There is a high prevalence of GAHT use outside the reference regimen. The only factor associated with hormonal use outside the reference regimen is living outside the capital city.
Indonesia's Omnibus Law on Job Creation: Legal Hierarchy and Responses to Judicial Review in the Labour Cluster of Amendments
Authors: Mahy Petra
Published: April 2022

Indonesia enacted a controversial ‘Omnibus Law’ on Job Creation in late 2020, and its implementing regulations followed in February 2021. This Law, and particularly the labour cluster of amendments within it, has been linked to Indonesia's recent ‘democratic decline’ or ‘illiberal turn’. Many of the amendments reduce worker protections with the aim of producing a more flexible labour market. While it is these obvious amendments in favour of employers’ interests that have attracted the most attention, a deeper analysis of the changes introduced by this Law reveals additional important factors at play. There has been a significant repositioning of labour regulations within Indonesia's hierarchy of legal instruments, as well as important responses to Constitutional Court judicial review cases. Overall, this deeper legal analysis produces mixed evidence for democratic decline in Indonesia.
Immunopathogenesis of patients with COVID-19: from the perspective of immune system ‘evolution’ and ‘revolution’
Authors: Lv Dan , Hu Bai , Lin Xingguang , Wang Renjie , Wu Di , Long Rui , He Mengzhou , Liao ShuJie , Deng Dongrui
Published: April 2022

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is sweeping the world, threatening millions of lives and drastically altering our ways of living. According to current studies, failure to either activate or eliminate inflammatory responses timely and properly at certain stages could result in the progression of the disease. In other words, robust immune responses to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are critical. However, they do not theoretically present in some special groups of people, including the young, the aged, patients with autoimmunity or cancer. Differences also do occur between men and women. Our immune system evolves to ensure delicate coordination at different stages of life. The innate immune cells mainly consisted of myeloid lineage cells, including neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils, dendritic cells and mast cells; they possess phagocytic capacity to different degrees at different stages of life. They are firstly recruited upon infection and may activate the adaptive immunity when needed. The adaptive immune cells, on the other way, are comprised mainly of lymphoid lineages. As one grows up, the adaptive immunity matures and expands its memory repertoire, accompanied by an adjustment in quantity and quality. In this review, we would summarise and analyse the immunological characteristics of these groups from the perspective of the immune system ‘evolution’ as well as ‘revolution’ that has been studied and speculated so far, which would aid the comprehensive understanding of COVID-19 and personalised-treatment strategy.
It Takes Three to Tango: A Behavioral Analysis of the Benefits of Having a Mediator in International Disputes
Authors: Nissioti Evangelia
Published: April 2022

This article explores the debiasing role of the mediator in the setting of international disputes. Starting from the rational choice theory, this article examines the choices that international disputants must weigh when deciding how to proceed with their conflict. International actors are assumed to be rational and negotiate settlements that are beneficial to them. Their alternatives to a negotiated settlement include both adjudication and continuation of the conflict. Puzzlingly, despite the advantages of negotiated settlements, many international disputes are not resolved in the form of a settlement. Instead, States seem to prolong conflicts or follow costlier routes of formal adjudication. Behavioral Law and Economics insights on the biases of disputants partly explain this phenomenon. The article contributes to the behavioral discussion by examining two separate categories of biases, i.e., biases when deciding to enter negotiation and biases during negotiation. Following that, it suggests that the specific characteristics of the process of mediation and of the mediator, in particular, can act as debiasing instruments. The article concludes with normative suggestions for wider incorporation of mediation within the international dispute settlement setting.
Comprehensive analysis of spherical bubble oscillations and shock wave emission in laser-induced cavitation
Authors: Liang Xiao-Xuan , Linz Norbert , Freidank Sebastian , Paltauf Günther , Vogel Alfred
Published: April 2022

The dynamics of spherical laser-induced cavitation bubbles in water is investigated by plasma photography, time-resolved shadowgraphs and sensitive single-shot probe beam scattering that portrays the transition from initial nonlinear to late linear oscillations. The frequency of late oscillations yields the bubble's gas content. Numerical simulations with an extended Gilmore model using plasma size as input and oscillation times as fit parameter provide insights into experimentally not accessible bubble parameters and shock wave emission. Model extensions include a term covering the initial shock-driven acceleration of the bubble wall, an automated method determining shock front position and pressure decay and a complete energy balance for the partitioning of absorbed laser energy into vaporization, bubble and shock wave energy and dissipation through viscosity and condensation. These tools are used for analysing a scattering signal covering 102 oscillation cycles from a bubble with 36 μm maximum radius produced by a plasma with 1550 K average temperature. Predicted bubble wall velocities during expansion agree well with experimental data. Upon first collapse, most energy was stored in the compressed liquid around the bubble and radiated away acoustically. The collapsed bubble contained more vapour than gas and had a pressure of 13.5 GPa. The decay of the rebound shock wave pressure with radius r was initially

$\mathrm{\ \propto }{r^{ - 1.8}}$

, and energy dissipation at the shock front heated the liquid near the bubble wall to temperatures above the superheat limit. The shock-induced temperature rise reduces damping during late bubble oscillations. Damping in first collapse increases significantly for small bubbles with less than 10 μm radius.
The nascent coffee ring with arbitrary droplet contact set: an asymptotic analysis
Authors: Moore Madeleine Rose , Vella D. , Oliver J.M.
Published: April 2022

We consider the effect of droplet geometry on the early-stages of coffee-ring formation during the evaporation of a thin droplet with an arbitrary simple, smooth, pinned contact line. We perform a systematic matched asymptotic analysis of the small capillary number, large solutal Péclet number limit for two different evaporative models: a kinetic model, in which the evaporative flux is effectively constant across the droplet, and a diffusive model, in which the flux is singular at the contact line. For both evaporative models, solute is transported to the contact line by a capillary flow in the droplet bulk, while local to the contact line, solute diffusion counters advection. The resulting interplay leads to the formation of the nascent coffee-ring profile. By exploiting a coordinate system embedded in the contact line, we solve explicitly the local leading-order problem, deriving a similarity profile (in the form of a gamma distribution) that describes the nascent coffee ring. Notably, for an arbitrary contact line geometry, the ring characteristics change due to the concomitant asymmetry in the shape of the droplet free surface, the evaporative flux (for diffusive evaporation) and the mass flux into the contact line. We utilize the asymptotic model to determine the effects of contact line geometry on the growth of the coffee ring for a droplet with an elliptical contact set. Our results offer mechanistic insight into the effect of contact line curvature on the development of the coffee ring from deposition up to jamming of the solute; moreover, our model predicts when finite concentration effects become relevant.
Physical activity always benefits employees, right? Examining the role of physical activity type, grit, stress, and career satisfaction
Authors: Flinchbaugh Carol , Zhou Qin , Zare Mortaza
Published: April 2022

This study tests whether employee participation in different types of physical activity benefits employees' training stress and career satisfaction perceptions differently and if grit, as a psychological resource, mediates this relationship. In two samples, we assess whether (1) regular physical activity; or (2) exercise to reach a competitive goal have similar associations with employee outcomes. In study 1, we find no relationship between employee engagement in regular physical activity and the outcomes. Moreover, grit's consistency of effort mediates the physical activity – training stress relationship, exacerbating employees' training stress. In study 2, employee exercise reduces career satisfaction and increases training stress. Importantly, grit's perseverance dimension increases their career satisfaction, and the consistency of interest dimension lessens training stress. Thus, we find evidence that employee participation in different types of physical activity leads to divergent outcomes, and that grit as a mediator only benefits employees exercising for a competitive goal.
Southern Alps equilibrium line altitudes: four decades of observations show coherent glacier–climate responses and a rising snowline trend
Authors: Lorrey Andrew M. , Vargo Lauren , Purdie Heather , Anderson Brian , Cullen Nicolas J. , Sirguey Pascal , Mackintosh Andrew , Willsman Andrew , Macara Gregor , Chinn Warren
Published: April 2022

An end of summer snowline (EOSS) photographic dataset for Aotearoa New Zealand contains over four decades of equilibrium line altitude (ELA) observations for more than 50 index glaciers. This dataset provides an opportunity to create a climatological ELA reference series that has several applications. Our work screened out EOSS sites that had low temporal coverage and also removed limited observations when the official survey did not take place. Snowline data from 41 of 50 glaciers in the EOSS dataset were retained and included in a normalised master snowline series that spans 1977–2020. Application of the regionally representative normalised master snowline series in monthly and seasonally resolved climate response function analyses showed consistently strong relationships with austral warm-season temperatures for land-based stations west of the Southern Alps and the central Tasman Sea. There is a trend towards higher regional snowlines since the 1990s that has been steepening in recent decades. If contemporary decadal normalised master snowline series trends are maintained, the average Southern Alps snowline elevation will be displaced at least 200 m higher than normal by the 2025–2034 decade. More frequent extremely high snowlines are expected to drive more extreme cumulative mass-balance losses that will reduce the glacierised area of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Systematic paleontology, acritarch biostratigraphy, and δ13C chemostratigraphy of the early Ediacaran Krol A Formation, Lesser Himalaya, northern India
Authors: Xiao Shuhai , Jiang Ganqing , Ye Qin , Ouyang Qing , Banerjee Dhiraj M. , Singh Birendra P. , Muscente A. D. , Zhou Chuanming , Hughes Nigel C.
Published: April 2022

Acritarch biostratigraphic and δ13C chemostratigraphic data from the Krol A Formation in the Solan area (Lesser Himalaya, northern India) are integrated to aid inter-basinal correlation of early–middle Ediacaran strata. We identified a prominent negative δ13C excursion (likely equivalent to EN2 in the lower Doushantuo Formation in the Yangtze Gorges area of South China), over a dozen species of acanthomorphs (including two new species—Cavaspina tiwariae Xiao n. sp., Dictyotidium grazhdankinii Xiao n. sp.), and numerous other microfossils from an interval in the Krol A Formation. Most microfossil taxa from the Krol A and the underlying Infra-Krol formations are also present in the Doushantuo Formation. Infra-Krol acanthomorphs support a correlation with the earliest Doushantuo biozone: the Appendisphaera grandis-Weissiella grandistella-Tianzhushania spinosa Assemblage Zone. Krol A microfossils indicate a correlation with the second or (more likely, when δ13C data are considered) the third biozone in the lower Doushantuo Formation (i.e., the Tanarium tuberosum-Schizofusa zangwenlongii or Tanarium conoideum-Cavaspina basiconica Assemblage Zone). The association of acanthomorphs with EN2 in the Krol Formation fills a critical gap in South China where chert nodules, and thus acanthomorphs, are rare in the EN2 interval. Like many other Ediacaran acanthomorphs assemblages, Krol A and Doushantuo acanthomorphs are distributed in low paleolatitudes, and they may represent a distinct paleobiogeographic province in east Gondwana. The Indian data affirm the stratigraphic significance of acanthomorphs and δ13C, clarify key issues of lower Ediacaran bio- and chemostratigraphic correlation, and strengthen the basis for the study of Ediacaran eukaryote evolution and paleobiogeography.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/5289fdb2-0e49-4b3b-880f-f5b21acab371.
Interspecies cosmopolitanism: Non-human power and the grounds of world order in the Anthropocene
Authors: Burke Anthony
Published: April 2022

Cosmopolitanism claims to be the most just and inclusive of mainstream approaches to the ethics and practice of world order, given its commitment to human interconnection, peace, equality, diversity, and rights, and its concern with the many globalised pathologies that entrench injustice and vulnerability across borders. Yet it has largely remained oblivious to the agency, power, and value of non-human life on a turbulent and active Earth. Without rejecting its commitments to justice for human beings, the article challenges its humanism as both morally and politically inadequate to the situation of the Anthropocene, exemplified by the simultaneous crises of climate change, mass extinction, and the COVID-19 pandemic. In answer, the article develops new grounds and principles for an interspecies cosmopolitanism, exploring how we can reimagine its ontological foundations by creating new grounding images of subjectivity, existential unity, institutional organisation, and ordering purpose. These, in turn, can support political and institutional projects to secure the rights of ecosystems and people to flourish and persist through an increasingly chaotic epoch of human dominance and multispecies vulnerability across the Anthropocene Earth.
The power of women: Does increasing women’s parliamentary representation reduce intake of sugar-sweetened beverages among children and adolescents?
Authors: Lin Yu-Chun , Yan Huang-Ting
Published: April 2022

Objective:

Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) is associated with overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. Although existing research confirms the significance of economic and social factors as determinants of SSB intake, comparative studies on political factors and cross-national analyses are lacking. Research indicates that including women in the process of political decision-making promotes healthcare and child protection. This study examined how women’s parliamentary representation influences children’s and adolescents’ SSB intake compared with adults.

Design:

The study used cross-national food and beverage intake data from the Global Dietary Database. The outcome measurement was SSB consumption (g/day) for different population groups. We modelled SSB intake as a function of age groups, women’s parliamentary representation at the national level (the independent variable), regime types (the contextual factor) and import tariffs on SSB (the mediator) using country and time-fixed effects regression models.

Setting:

One-hundred eighty-five countries across three waves from 2005 to 2015.

Participants:

Different population groups.

Results:

The impact of female representation on reducing SSB consumption is more prevalent in children and adolescents than in adults. Furthermore, the effect of women’s parliamentary representation on SSB consumption among children and adolescents is conditional on a country’s democratic status. Finally, the marginal effect decreases when import tariffs on SSB are considered a link in a causal chain. No changes in adult SSB intake are statistically significant.

Conclusions:

The findings suggest that the presence of women in the legislature can have a substantial impact on child and adolescent health.
Lemma navigation by excellent secondary school students of Ancient Greek
Authors: Bartelds Daniël
Published: April 2022

Under the high cognitive pressure of a translation task, secondary school Classics students often make dictionary mistakes. Research indicates that successful students use a lemma's meta-information to engage in a feedback loop between text and dictionary. Using eye-tracking data of expert learners, this study examined how successful students employ the different types of lemma information while limiting their cognitive load. We found that students primarily manage their cognitive load by using boldface definitions as stepping-stones, but navigate through meta-information when it (1) can effectively reduce the amount of definitions and (2) refers to (morphological) features directly visible in the text. Alternatively, they use meta-information as a backup plan, when they are stuck or want to confirm a hypothesis.
Low Dissipation of Earthquake Energy Where a Fault Follows Pre‐Existing Weaknesses: Field and Microstructural Observations of Malawi’s Bilila‐Mtakataka Fault
Authors: Williams Jack N. , Fagereng Åke , Wedmore Luke N. J. , Biggs Juliet , Mdala Hassan , Mphepo Felix , Hodge Michael
Published: April 2022

During earthquakes on low (<1–2 km) displacement faults in isotropic crust, more earthquake energy is consumed by fracturing and gouge formation than in ruptures along more mature faults. To investigate how pre‐existing weaknesses affect earthquake energy dissipation along low displacement faults, we studied fault rocks from the 110 km long, 0.4–1.2 km displacement, Bilila‐Mtakataka Fault (BMF), Malawi. Where the BMF is parallel to surface metamorphic fabrics, macroscale fractures define a narrow (5–20 m wide) damage zone relative to where the BMF is foliation‐oblique (20–80 m), and to faults with comparable displacement in isotropic crust (∼40–120 m). Enhanced microfracturing and widespread gouge formation, typically reported from comparable‐displacement faults, are not observed. Therefore, minimal evidence for earthquake energy dissipation into the BMF’s surrounding wall rock exists, despite geomorphic evidence for MW 7.5–8 earthquakes. We attribute this finding to differences in earthquake energy partitioning along incipient faults in isotropic and anisotropic crust.
Observation‐Based Estimates of Eulerian‐Mean Boundary Downwelling in the Western Subpolar North Atlantic
Authors: Liu Yingjie , Desbruyères Damien G. , Mercier Herlé , Spall Michael A.
Published: April 2022

A significant fraction of the Eulerian‐mean downwelling feeding the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) occurs along the subpolar North Atlantic continental slopes and is maintained by along‐boundary densification and large‐scale geostrophic balance. We here use Argo and shipboard hydrography data to map the 2002–2015 long‐term mean density field along the boundary via a dedicated optimal interpolation tool. The overall downstream densification implies an Eulerian‐mean downwelling of 2.12 ± 0.43 Sv at 1100 m depth between Denmark Strait and Flemish Cap. A clear regional pattern emerges with downwelling in the Irminger Sea and western Labrador Sea and upwelling along Greenland western continental slope. Comparisons with independent cross‐basin estimates confirm that vertical overturning transport across the marginal seas of the subpolar North Atlantic mainly occurs along the continental slopes, and suggest the usefulness of hydrographic data in providing quantitative information about the sinking branch of the AMOC.
Effects of Subauroral Polarization Streams on the Upper Thermospheric Winds During Non‐Storm Time
Authors: Zou Ying , Lyons Larry R. , Shi Xueling , Liu Jiang , Wu Qian , Conde Mark , Shepherd Simon G. , Mende Stephen , Zhang Yongliang , Coster Antea
Published: April 2022

Intense sunward (westward) plasma flows, named Subauroral Polarization Stream (SAPS), have been known to occur equatorward of the electron auroras for decades, yet their effect on the upper thermosphere has not been well understood. On the one hand, the large velocity of SAPS results in large momentum exchange upon each ion‐neutral collision. On the other hand, the low plasma density associated with SAPS implies a low ion‐neutral collision frequency. We investigate the SAPS effect during non‐storm time by utilizing a Scanning Doppler Imager (SDI) for monitoring the upper thermosphere, SuperDARN radars for SAPS, all‐sky imagers and DMSP Spectrographic Imager for the auroral oval, and GPS receivers for the total electron content. Our observations suggest that SAPS at times drives substantial (>50 m/s) westward winds at subauroral latitudes in the dusk‐midnight sector, but not always. The occurrence of the westward winds varies with AE index, plasma content in the trough, and local time. The latitudinally averaged wind speed varies from 60 to 160 m/s, and is statistically 21% of the plasma. These westward winds also shift to lower latitude with increasing AE and increasing MLT. We do not observe SAPS driving poleward wind surges, neutral temperature enhancements, or acoustic‐gravity waves, likely due to the somewhat weak forcing of SAPS during the non‐storm time.
Do We Need to Consider Electrons' Kinetic Effects to Properly Model a Planetary Magnetosphere: The Case of Mercury
Authors: Lapenta Giovanni , Schriver David , Walker Raymond J. , Berchem Jean , Echterling Nicole F. , El Alaoui Mostafa , Travnicek Pavel
Published: April 2022

The magnetosphere of Mercury is studied using an implicit full particle‐in‐cell simulation (PIC). We use a hybrid simulation where ions are full particles and electrons are considered as a fluid to start a PIC simulation where electrons are also particles and follow their distribution function. This approach allows us to estimate the changes introduced by the electron kinetic physics. We find that the overall macroscopic state of the magnetosphere of Mercury is little affected, but several physical processes are significantly modified in the full PIC simulation: the foreshock region is more active with more intense shock reformation, the Kelvin‐Helmholtz rippling effects on the nightside magnetopause are sharper, and the magnetotail current sheet becomes thinner than those predicted by the hybrid simulation. The greatest effect of the electron physics comes from the processes of particle energization. Both species, not just the electrons, are found to gain more energy when kinetic electron processes are included. The region with the most energetic plasma is found on the dusk side of the tail where magnetic flux ropes are formed due to reconnection. We find that the ion and electron energization is associated with the regions of reconnection and the development of kinetic instabilities caused by counter‐streaming electron populations. The resulting electron distributions are highly non Maxwellian, a process that neither MHD nor hybrid models can describe.
Recent Changes of Pacific Decadal Variability Shaped by Greenhouse Forcing and Internal Variability
Authors: Sun Weiyi , Wang Bin , Liu Jian , Dai Yifei
Published: April 2022

Pacific Decadal Variability (PDV) has enormous influences on North American and Eurasian climate and Pacific ecosystems. Its change under anthropogenic warming is of prodigious societal concern and scientific dispute. We show evidence that the observed PDV has amplified in the northeast Pacific horseshoe‐like region while weakened over the South Pacific and Kuroshio‐Oyashio Extension (KOE) region since the beginning of the 21st century. Congruently, under the influence of PDV, precipitation anomalies have significantly amplified globally and reversed the sign over Africa and East Asia. Analysis of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) historical simulations and future projections suggests that greenhouse forcing weakens the PDV in the South and northwestern Pacific and shortens its periodicity. However, the observed PDV's enhancement over the North Pacific eastern boundary is likely due to internal variability. Our findings on the PDV's response to anthropogenic forcing and internal variability shed light on the PDV's future change and decadal prediction.
Impacts of Transboundary Transport on Coastal Air Quality of South China
Authors: Wu Jiarui , Bei Naifang , Li Xia , Wang Ruonan , Liu Suixin , Jiang Qian , Tie Xuexi , Li Guohui
Published: April 2022

Transboundary transport plays an important role in air pollution formation in China. The coastal area of south China (CA‐SCHN) frequently experiences air pollution in spring and autumn, but the contribution of transboundary transport to the air quality is still not clear. Meteorological field analyses reveal that large‐scale synoptic patterns over east China in spring and autumn provide favorable situations facilitating southward transport of air pollutants originated from the North China Plain (NCP) and Yangtze River Delta (YRD). A springtime case study using the WRF‐Chem model shows that trans‐boundary transport of air pollutants from the NCP and YRD contributes to 27% and 46% of ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in the CA‐SCHN, respectively. In the autumn case, the contribution is around 11% for O3 and 24% for PM2.5. In the spring, air pollutants in the NCP and YRD are transported over seas by large‐scale synoptic systems to the South China Sea and re‐circulated by the sea breeze to the CA‐SCHN during daytime. In the autumn, the transport is driven by northerly winds over the land induced by large‐scale synoptic systems, and is also modulated by the local mountain‐valley breeze circulation. The results provide support for design and implementation of air pollutants control strategies in the CA‐SCHN.
Assessment of the WRF Model as a Guidance Tool Into Cloud Seeding Operations in the United Arab Emirates
Authors: Fonseca Ricardo , Francis Diana , Nelli Narendra , Farrah Sufian , Wehbe Youssef , Al Hosari Taha , Al Mazroui Alya
Published: April 2022

With the projected expansion of arid/semi‐arid regions in a warming world, precipitation enhancement activities such as cloud seeding will become increasingly popular and relied upon. Due to the inherent costs, a successful planning is crucial, which involves accurate model predictions. In this study, the usefulness of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model forecasts for guidance into seeding operations in the United Arab Emirates, where seeding activities have been conducted for more than two decades, is assessed. The WRF predictions are compared with ground‐based, satellite‐derived and radar reflectivity data, and in‐situ observations onboard the airplanes used to perform the seeding operations. WRF is found to have higher skill in simulating the observed cloud top pressure/temperature than the cloud fraction, with the model vertical velocity predictions also more skillful than those of the radar reflectivity. A stronger Arabian Heat Low (AHL) in the model leads to drier conditions which, together with a surface cold bias, limits the spatial extent and vertical depth of the simulated convective clouds. Development of convective rolls in the boundary layer is reported in both observations and simulations and their interaction with cold pools from convective clouds promote the development of secondary convection. Sensitivity to the choice of the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) scheme is also noticed, with the Yonsei University PBL scheme giving the best performance. When considering the two factors needed for a successful seeding operation that is, the presence of an updraft and clouds, the model‐predicted seeding regions largely match the areas where precipitation was observed. As the proposed WRF set up can be used operationally, the model forecasts will bring added value to the seeding activities in the country.
Do Earthquakes and Tectonic Plates Have a Two-Way Relationship?
Authors: Hornyak Tim
Published: April 2022

A catastrophic earthquake in Turkey in 1999 changed the motion of the Anatolian plate, according to a study that could change the fundamentals of quake models.
Regional Signatures of Forced North Atlantic SST Variability: A Limited Role for Aerosols and Greenhouse Gases
Authors: Baek Seung H. , Kushnir Yochanan , Ting Mingfang , Smerdon Jason E. , Lora Juan M.
Published: April 2022

Prior studies that argue external forcings drive Atlantic Multidecadal Variability (AMV) use linear detrending to remove the global warming trend from North Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs). The linear detrending method, however, aliases residual nonlinear, global‐scale warming, affecting the interpretation of results. Here we revisit the role of external forcing in AMV using large climate model ensembles, examining the influences of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and industrial aerosols—the two dominant 20th‐century external forcing agents—on North Atlantic SSTs separately from their respective global response. Our approach shows that GHGs have little to no influence unique to the North Atlantic, while industrial aerosols exert only modest influences as part of a broader loading over the Northern Hemisphere. We demonstrate that a prominent role for external forcings on AMV is an artifact of the linear detrending method that disappears when their global responses common to the World Ocean are correctly accounted for.
Whiting Events in a Large Peri‐Alpine Lake: Evidence of a Catchment‐Scale Process
Authors: Escoffier Nicolas , Perolo Pascal , Lambert Thibault , Rüegg Janine , Odermatt Daniel , Adatte Thierry , Vennemann Torsten , Perga Marie‐Elodie
Published: April 2022

Whiting events are transient phenomena commonly occurring in hardwater lakes and manifesting as a turquoise coloration of surface waters during massive calcium carbonate precipitation. While biological and physico‐chemical drivers of carbonate precipitation are known, their relative contributions in controlling whiting events' timing and spatial extent remain poorly understood. Coupling spatially resolved data obtained for two sampling surveys using multiple analytical techniques and geochemical modeling, this study investigated the mechanisms underlying a whiting event during the early summer of 2019 in Lake Geneva. Satellite observations showed that the phenomenon started during a snowmelt period in the catchment at the Rhône River delta before spreading along the lake's northern shore and covering vast areas of its deeper basin. Authigenic calcite precipitated at the river mouth during mixing of warmer calcite super‐saturated lake surface waters with colder snowmelt‐diluted, sediment‐rich river water containing detrital carbonates as potential nucleation sites. The development of the whiting event depended upon the thermal stratification of the water column and the existence of a physically stable metalimnion, within which a river interflow transported finer particles across the lake. During transport, the whiting plume enriched in authigenic carbonates by settling of coarser detrital particles and additional precipitation likely both on the fine‐grained carbonate fraction and through biologically induced mechanisms in the superficial layers of the lake. This study provides novel mechanistic insights on the conditions controlling whiting events in lakes, highlighting a tight coupling of their dynamics with processes acting at the catchment scale.
Production of the plant hormone gibberellin by rhizobia increases host legume nodule size
Authors: Nett Ryan S , Bender Kelly S , Peters Reuben J
Published: April 2022

Plant-associated microbes have evolved the ability to independently produce gibberellin (GA) phytohormones as a mechanism to influence their host. Indeed, GA was first discovered as a metabolite from the fungal rice pathogen Gibberella fujikuroi, which uses it as a virulence factor. Though some bacterial plant pathogens similarly use GA to promote infection, symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria (rhizobia), which inhabit the root nodules of legumes, also can produce GA, suggesting a role in symbiosis. The bacterial GA biosynthetic operon has been identified, but in rhizobia this typically no longer encodes the final metabolic gene (cyp115), so that these symbionts can only produce the penultimate intermediate GA9. Here, we demonstrate that soybean (Glycine max) expresses functional GA 3-oxidases (GA3ox) within its nodules, which have the capability to convert GA9 produced by the enclosed rhizobial symbiont Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens to bioactive GA4. This rhizobia-derived GA is demonstrated to cause an increase in nodule size and decrease in the number of nodules. The increase in individual nodule size correlates to greater numbers of bacterial progeny within a nodule, thereby providing a selective advantage to rhizobia that produce GA during the rhizobia-legume symbiosis. The expression of GA3ox in nodules and resultant nodulation effects of the GA product suggests that soybean has co-opted control of bioactive GA production, and thus nodule size, for its own benefit. Thus, our results suggest rhizobial GA biosynthesis has coevolved with host plant metabolism for cooperative production of a phytohormone that influences nodulation in a mutually beneficial manner.
A positive feedback loop: RAD18-YAP-TGF-β between triple-negative breast cancer and macrophages regulates cancer stemness and progression
Authors: Yan Xueqi , He Yaozhou , Yang Shikun , Zeng Tianyu , Hua Yijia , Bao Shengnan , Yang Fan , Duan Ningjun , Sun Chunxiao , Liang Yan , Fu Ziyi , Huang Xiang , Li Wei , Yin Yongmei
Published: April 2022

As a key regulator of the DNA translesion synthesis (TLS) pathway, RAD18 is error-prone and contributes to the accumulation of DNA mutations. Our previous study showed that it plays an essential role in the progression of multiple tumors. However, the mechanism through which RAD18 influences triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), especially the interaction between tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment, remains elusive. In this study, we showed that RAD18 expression is markedly higher in patients with high T stage TNBC and inversely correlated with prognosis. High expression of RAD18 facilitated a highly stem-cell phenotype through the Hippo/YAP pathway, which supports the proliferation of TNBC. In addition, the cytokine byproduct TGF-β activates macrophages to have an M2-like tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) phenotype. Reciprocally, TGF-β from TAMs activated RAD18 in TNBC to enhance tumor stemness, forming a positive feedback loop. Inhibition of YAP or TGF-β breaks this loop and suppresses cancer stemness and proliferation In nude mice, RAD18 promoted subcutaneous transplanted tumor growth and M2-type TAM recruitment. Collectively, the RAD18-YAP-TGF-β loop is essential for the promotion of the stemness phenotype by TNBC and could be a potential therapeutic target for TNBC.