bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PdRuO2/PVP nanomaterial as a highly selective, stable, and applicable potentiometric sensor for the detection of Cr3+
Authors: Çevik Kenan , Yildiz İlyas , Yildiz Adnan , Nas Mehmet Salih , Alma Mehmet Hakki , Calimli Mehmet Harbi
Published: July 2024

PdRuO2/PVP nanomaterial was synthesized using a straightforward method and characterized using advanced analytical methods such as TEM, XRD, XPS, elemental mapping and SEM. The synthesized PdRuO2/PVP nanomaterial was used as an ionophore in potentiometric sensor electrodes and successfully adapted to Cr3+ ion detection in a large number of aqueous samples. Several experimental parameters of the PdRuO2/PVP sensor such as potentiometric behavior, selectivity, repeatability, response time, pH, titration, and recovery in real samples were investigated. Potentiometric behavioral characteristics were performed in the concentration range 1 × 10−6–1.0 × 10−1 M. The repeated experiments performed six times showed that there was no deviation in the measurements. The limit of detection of the PdRuO2/PVP potentiometric sensor was very low with a value of 8.6 × 10−8 M. The potentiometric measurements showed that the synthesized PdRuO2/PVP ionophore was highly effective in detecting Cr3+ in a wide pH range of 2.0–8.0 and was found to have a shelf life of over 1 year. As a result, the synthesized PdRuO2/PVP electrode material was found to be highly selective, stable, and applicable for Cr3+ detection.

Graphical Abstract
LES of Biomass Syngas Combustion in a Swirl Stabilised Burner: Model Validation and Predictions
Authors: Papafilippou Nikolaos , Pignatelli Francesco , Subash Arman Ahamed , Chishty Muhammad Aqib , Gebart Rikard
Published: July 2024

In this work, numerical investigations were performed using large eddy simulations and validated against detailed measurements in the CeCOST swirl stabilised burner. Both cold and reactive flow have been studied and the model has shown a good agreement with experiments. The verification of the model was done using the LES index of quality and a single grid estimator. The cold flow simulations predicted results closely to experiments setting baseline for the reactive simulations. Coherent structures like the vortex rope above the swirler and a precessing vortex core in the combustion chamber were identified. The reactive conditions were modelled with the Flamelet generated manifold and artificially thickened flame models. Simulations were performed for an experimental syngas composition from black liquor gasification at three different CO2 dilution levels. Three different Reynolds numbers were investigated with the model matching closely to experimentally detected 2D flow field and OH for the most CO2 diluted mixture. It was found that the opening angles of the flames differ by a maximum of 13% between experiments and simulations. The most diluted fuel investigated experienced a liftoff distance of 23.5 mm at the Re 25 k. This was also the highest liftoff distance experienced in this cohort of fuels. The same fuel also proved to have the thickest flame annulus at 78.5 mm. Overall, in cases with no experimental data available the predictions made by the model follow the same trends which hints its applicability to higher Re cases.
Modelling Patient Longitudinal Data for Clinical Decision Support: A Case Study on Emerging AI Healthcare Technologies
Authors: Niu Shuai , Ma Jing , Yin Qing , Wang Zhihua , Bai Liang , Yang Xian
Published: July 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical need for advanced technology in healthcare. Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) have emerged as one of the most promising technologies for improving patient outcomes. This study’s focus on developing a deep state-space model (DSSM) is of utmost importance, as it addresses the current limitations of AI predictive models in handling high-dimensional and longitudinal electronic health records (EHRs). The DSSM’s ability to capture time-varying information from unstructured medical notes, combined with label-dependent attention for interpretability, will allow for more accurate risk prediction for patients. As we move into a post-COVID-19 era, the importance of CDSS in precision medicine cannot be ignored. This study’s contribution to the development of DSSM for unstructured medical notes has the potential to greatly improve patient care and outcomes in the future.
Sex Differences in the Broad Autism Phenotype: Insights from the Australian Biobank
Authors: Di Mento Blaise , John James Rufus , Diaz Antonio Mendoza , Lin Ping-I , Masi Anne , Grove Rachel , Eapen Valsamma
Published: July 2024

Examining sub-threshold autistic traits in non-autistic first-degree relatives of individuals on the autism spectrum, known as the Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP), could provide new insights into the associations and familial aggregation of autistic traits. This study was a retrospective cross-sectional study of parents (n = 1008), probands with autism (n = 613), and unaffected siblings (n = 221) of probands with autism. BAP traits were examined by the BAP Questionnaire and Communication Checklist-Adult in parents, Autism Developmental Observation Scale-Second edition in probands, and Social Responsiveness Scale in siblings. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to investigate the associations of parental BAP traits on autistic traits in probands and unaffected sibling BAP traits. Fathers showed significantly increased aloofness, pragmatic language difficulties, and social engagement problems compared to mothers. Female siblings showed increased difficulties with social cognition compared to male siblings. Adjusted models of the regression analyses showed that all BAP traits in fathers were significantly associated with BAP trait expression in probands with autism. Additionally, all of mother’s BAP traits were significantly associated with unaffected siblings’ BAP trait expression while only fathers’ aloofness and rigidity traits were inversely associated with siblings’ BAP trait expression. Finally, there were significant inverse interactions noted between parent’s BAP traits and their children’s BAP trait expression. This study demonstrated differences in how males and females express BAP traits and also identified differences in parent-child associations by sex, with fathers having a greater effect on their proband children’s expression of BAP traits than mothers.
Bacterial microbiome dynamics in commercial integrated aquaculture systems growing Ulva in abalone effluent water
Authors: de Jager Kristin , Brink-Hull Marissa , Bolton John J. , Cyrus Mark D. , Macey Brett M.
Published: July 2024

In South Africa, the green seaweed Ulva lacinulata is grown in land-based integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) farms with the abalone Haliotis midae. The Ulva serves as a biofilter and the co-produced Ulva is often used as feed for the abalone. To better understand the potential benefits and risks associated with this practice, this study characterised the bacterial microbiome associated with the seawater and Ulva raceways receiving abalone effluent (IMTA system) and compared this to Ulva tanks supplied with fertilised seawater (non-IMTA; control). Ulva samples were collected from each Ulva system, and water samples were collected at the inlet and outlet of each system. Bacterial communities were assessed using a culture-based approach and next-generation sequencing (NGS) of the V3-V4 16S rDNA region. It was observed that Ulva has the potential to reduce the bacterial load of abalone effluent, with the total number of potential culturable Vibrio species declining from 150×103 cells mL-1 in the inlet to 37×103 cells mL-1 in the outlet of the Ulva system. The NGS dataset supported these findings, with a reduction observed in Vibrio and Pseudoalteromonas from the inlet to outlet samples. A lower number of genera (p < 0.05) were observed on Ulva when compared with water samples, indicating that Ulva has a beneficial, modulatory effect on bacteria. These findings contribute towards the growing body of evidence for the benefits of seaweeds in IMTA and addresses the biosecurity concerns of abalone farmers wishing to improve the circularity of their farming activities by incorporating seaweeds.
Friendship Network and School Socialization Correlates of Adolescent Ethnic-Racial Identity Development
Authors: Kornienko Olga , Umaña-Taylor Adriana J. , Hernández Maciel M. , Ha Thao
Published: July 2024

Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development is consequential for youth adjustment and includes exploration, resolution, and affect about the meaning of one’s ethnic-racial group membership. Little is known about how identity-relevant experiences, such as ethnic-racial socialization and discrimination in peer relationships and school contexts, catalyze adolescent ERI development. The present study examines how identity-relevant experiences in friend and school contexts (i.e., proportion of same-ethnoracial friends, cultural socialization among friends, friends’ ERI dimensions, friends’ experiences of ethnoracial discrimination, and school promotion of cultural competence and critical consciousness) are associated with ERI development. A multivariate path model with a sample from four southwestern U.S. schools (N = 717; 50.5% girls; Mage = 13.76; 32% Latinx, 31.5% Multiethnic, 25.7% White, 11% other) was used to test these associations. Findings showed that friend and school predictors of ERI did not differ between early and middle adolescents, but significant differences and similarities emerged in some of these associations between ethnoracially minoritized and White youth. Specifically, friend cultural socialization was positively associated with ERI exploration for ethnoracially minoritized youth only, whereas school critical consciousness socialization was positively linked with ERI exploration only for White youth. Friend cultural socialization and friend network’s levels of ERI resolution were positively associated with ERI resolution across both ethnoracial groups. These friend and school socialization associations were documented above and beyond significant contributions of personal ethnoracial discrimination to ERI exploration and negative affect for both ethnoracially minoritized and White youth. These findings expand our understanding of how friend and school socialization mechanisms are associated with adolescent ERI development, which is vital to advancing developmental theory and fostering developmental competences for youth to navigate their multicultural yet socially stratified and inequitable world.
Comparative Analysis of the Clarus Aspergillus Galactomannan Enzyme Immunoassay Prototype for the Diagnosis of Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid
Authors: Sedik Sarah , Boyer Johannes , Egger Matthias , Dichtl Karl , Prattes Juergen , Prüller Florian , Hoenigl Martin
Published: July 2024

Background

Galactomannan (GM) testing using Platelia Aspergillus enzyme immunoassay (Platelia AGM) from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) aids in early diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). Globally, only a minority of laboratories have the capability to perform on-site GM testing, necessitating accessible and affordable alternatives. Hence, we conducted a comparative evaluation of the new clarus Aspergillus GM enzyme immunoassay prototype (clarus AGM prototype) with Platelia AGM using BALF samples.

Methods

This is a single-center, prospective, cross-sectional study, where Platelia AGM testing was routinely performed followed by clarus AGM prototype testing in those with true positive or true negative AGM test results according to the 2020 EORTC/MSG and the 2024 FUNDICU consensus definitions. Descriptive statistics, ROC curve analysis, and Spearman’s correlation analysis were used to evaluate analytical performance of the clarus AGM prototype assay.

Results

This study enrolled 259 adult patients, of which 53 (20%) were classified as probable IPA, while 206 did not fulfill IPA-criteria. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed a strong correlation between the two assays (rho = 0.727, p < 0.001). The clarus AGM prototype had a sensitivity of 96% (51/53) and a specificity of 74% (153/206) for differentiating probable versus no IPA when using the manufacturer recommended cut-off. ROC curve analysis showed an AUC of 0.936 (95% CI 0.901–0.971) for the clarus AGM prototype, while the Platelia AGM yielded an AUC of 0.918 (95% CI 0.876–0.959).

Conclusions

Clarus AGM prototype demonstrated a strong correlation and promising test performance, comparable to Platelia AGM, rendering it a viable alternative in patients at risk of IPA.
Safe development paradox: evidence and methodological insights from a systematic review
Authors: Fusinato Emanuel , Han Sungju , Kobiyama Masato , de Brito Mariana Madruga
Published: July 2024

Hydrological hazards pose significant threats worldwide, resulting in extensive societal and environmental impacts. To mitigate these impacts, structural protection measures like levees are commonly implemented. However, these measures can overlook complex human-water interactions and cause unintended consequences, such as the safe development paradox (SDP) and its sub-phenomena, the levee effect (LE), where risk reduction efforts paradoxically increase risk in the long run due to a false sense of safety. Despite the growing body of research on the SDP and LE, existing evidence remains fragmented due to the diverse methodologies and variables considered. To address this gap, we systematically reviewed 94 studies spanning 2001–2023 to synthesize the methodological approaches, variables, and evidence in this field. Most of the reviewed studies (75%) provided conclusive evidence to support the occurrence of the SDP and LE via three key mechanisms: (a) increased development in protected areas, (b) reduced preparedness and false sense of safety, and (c) increased damage from rare disaster events. About 40% of the reviewed case studies focused solely on exposure, overlooking other critical dimensions of the SDP and LE, such as vulnerability and behavioral aspects linked to a false sense of safety. Furthermore, the effect of non-structural and individual adaptation measures on the SDP and LE remains underinvestigated. A more holistic assessment of these socio-hydrological phenomena should thus include aspects such as preparedness, vulnerability, and risk perception. This holistic approach would enable a better understanding of the diversity of scenarios where the SDP and LE can manifest, providing policymakers with essential information to prevent unintended consequences of adaptation.
‚That’s Not Appropriate!‘ Examining Social Norms as Predictors of Negative Campaigning
Authors: Oschatz Corinna , Maier Jürgen , Dian Mona , Geber Sarah
Published: July 2024

The use of negative campaigning is often explained by rational considerations; the more perceived benefits exceed perceived costs, the more likely candidates are to attack their political opponents. However, this benefit-cost ratio explains campaign behavior only to some extent. In this study, we test social norms as additional drivers of a candidate’s attack behavior. Social norms are informal rules that guide the behavior of members of a group. Descriptive norms—the perceived prevalence of a behavior—indicate an effective action. Injunctive norms—the perception of others’ approval of a behavior—indicate appropriate behavior. In a preregistered postelection survey among candidates of the six major parties in five German state elections (N = 1.087), we examine how perceived descriptive and injunctive norms of candidates of other parties, members of a candidate’s own party, and voters affect the decision to go negative in addition to the benefit-cost-ratio. The results show that the perceived descriptive norms among the members of a candidate’s own party (i.e., the perceived extent to which they use negative campaigning) and the perceived injunctive norms of a candidate’s voters (i.e., their perceived approval of negative campaigning) substantially affect a candidate’s attack behavior. No impact was observed for the perceived social norms of candidates from other parties.
Natures, ideas, and essentialism in Kant
Authors: Spagnesi Lorenzo
Published: July 2024

Despite recent essentialist approaches to Kant’s laws of nature, it is unclear whether Kant’s critical philosophy is compatible with core tenets of essentialism. In this paper, I first reconstruct Kant’s position by identifying the key metaphysical and epistemological features of his notion of ‘nature’ or ‘essence’. Two theses about natures can be found in the literature, namely that they are noumenal in character (noumenal thesis) and that they guide scientific investigation as regulative ideas of reason (regulative thesis). I argue that Kant’s notion of nature does not entail the noumenal thesis and, based on his model of causal explanation, I propose a novel, phenomenal thesis, that allows for a better understanding of the function of natures as regulative ideas. In the last part of the paper, I show that Kant’s ‘essentialism’ is a genuine form of essentialism committed to de re modality, although it differs in several respects from major contemporary essentialist accounts. I conclude by suggesting that Kant’s essentialism (if appropriately updated) can be relevant to the contemporary debate, which has so far been dominated by Humean and Aristotelian proposals.
Continuous wildfires threaten public and ecosystem health under climate change across continents
Authors: Chen Guochao , Qiu Minghao , Wang Peng , Zhang Yuqiang , Shindell Drew , Zhang Hongliang
Published: July 2024

Wildfires burn approximately 3%–4% of the global land area annually, resulting in massive emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants. Over the past two decades, there has been a declining trend in both global burned area and wildfire emissions. This trend is largely attributed to a decrease in wildfire activity in Africa, which accounts for a substantial portion of the total burned area and emissions. However, the northern high-latitude regions of Asia and North America have witnessed substantial interannual variability in wildfire activity, with several severe events occurring in recent years. Climate plays a pivotal role in influencing wildfire activity and has led to more wildfires in high-latitude regions. These wildfires pose significant threats to climate, ecosystems, and human health. Given recent changes in wildfire patterns and their impacts, it is critical to understand the contributors of wildfires, focus on deteriorating high-latitude areas, and address health risks in poorly managed areas to mitigate wildfire effects.
Exergaming to Increase Physical Activity in Older Adults: Feasibility and Practical Implications
Authors: Rytterström Patrik , Strömberg Anna , Jaarsma Tiny , Klompstra Leonie
Published: July 2024

Purpose of Review

To evaluate the feasibility of exergaming among older adults, focusing on acceptability, demand, implementation, and practicality. Additionally, to offer practical implications based on the review's findings.

Recent Findings

Exergaming is a safe for older adults, potentially increasing physical activity, balance, cognition, and mood. Despite these possible benefits, barriers such as unfamiliarity with equipment, complex controls, and unclear instructions may challenge older adults in exergaming.

Based on the experience of older adults, they found exergaming enjoyable, particularly the social interactions. Exergaming was perceived as physically and cognitively demanding, with technical and safety challenges. Introducing exergaming requires thorough familiarization, including written and video instructions, follow-up support, and home accessibility. To be able to follow improvements during exergaming as well as age-appropriate challenges are important for successful integration into daily life.

Based on these findings, an ExerGameFlow model for older adults was developed which provides practical implications for future design of exergames and interventions.
Structure and Function of Restored and Natural Salt Marshes: Implications for Ecosystem Resilience and Adaptive Potential
Authors: Crosby Sarah C. , Hudson David M. , Hughes A. Randall , Bartholet Anna , Burns Kasey T. , Donato Mary K. , Healy Devan S. , Raviraj Rebha , Sperry Katherine , Spiller Nicole C. , Susarchick Justin
Published: July 2024

Salt marshes have ecological and economic value, but shoreline development, the increasing rate of sea-level rise, and other human impacts have caused significant loss of salt marshes. As a result, restoration of these ecosystems is widespread. For restoration and management to be effective, it is imperative to improve our understanding of marsh-building plants that serve as the ecological foundation of these habitats. Given the observed differences in characteristics between populations of smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, restoration plantings may impact the biodiversity and resilience of restored ecosystems. Understanding differences in the structural and functional outcomes of active planting of restoration sites will enable the long-term success of restoration efforts to be improved. Natural and restored salt marshes in Long Island Sound were studied in 2021–2022 for S. alterniflora genetics, biomass, stem morphology, and faunal community composition. The average genotypic diversity of S. alterniflora was more than 4 times higher in restored than in natural marshes, and differentiation between each restored site and natural sites decreased with time. No difference was observed in live S. alterniflora belowground biomass; however, mean dead belowground biomass in natural marshes was more than 3 times greater than in restored marshes. Marsh platform invertebrates differed between the restored and natural sites, with natural marsh edge habitats having 9 times higher density of Geukensia demissa and 3 times as many crab burrows than in restored marshes, but there was no detected difference in species richness or abundance of nekton at high tide. With restoration practitioners seeking resilient, self-sustaining ecosystems, it is important to evaluate whether restored marsh characteristics are consistent with those goals and modify restoration planning accordingly to incorporate genetics, structure, and function.
Beyond Psychology: An Arts-Based Visual Inquiry
Authors: Rhodes Paul
Published: July 2024

Practicing psychologists are typically positioned as expert practitioners, disembodied from their own psyche and the spiritual realm, engaged in assessment, formulation and intervention with their focus on the other. This paper serves as a psychologists’ arts-based visual inquiry, engaging in a dialogical research with his own psyche. In particular it serves as an inquiry about religion and restoration. The questions that I asked were. (1) How might we find hope in an apocalypse? (2) Can religion be possible without God? (3) How might art serve a form of restoration without psychology?
Operator means and the reduced relative quantum entropy
Authors: Hansen Frank
Published: July 2024

We study operator means more general than the Kubo-Ando means. They are given as minima of geodesically convex functions and allow uniquely defined extensions to any number of variables. Multivariate hyper-means is a class of means of this type bounded from below by the arithmetic mean. We extend the definition of a hyper-man in the bivariate case and discover bivariate means that are not restrictions of the multivariate means studied earlier. We introduce the notion of reduced relative quantum entropy and prove that it is convex. The result is used to give a simplified proof of a theorem of Lieb and Seiringer.
A Multitask Learning-Based Vision Transformer for Plant Disease Localization and Classification
Authors: Hemalatha S. , Jayachandran Jai Jaganath Babu
Published: July 2024

Plant disease detection is a critical task in agriculture, essential for ensuring crop health and productivity. Traditional methods in this context are often labor-intensive and prone to errors, highlighting the need for automated solutions. While computer vision-based solutions have been successfully deployed in recent years for plant disease identification and localization tasks, these often operate independently, leading to suboptimal performance. It is essential to develop an integrated solution combining these two tasks for improved efficiency and accuracy. This research proposes the innovative Plant Disease Localization and Classification model based on Vision Transformer (PDLC-ViT), which integrates co-scale, co-attention, and cross-attention mechanisms and a ViT, within a Multi-Task Learning (MTL) framework. The model was trained and evaluated on the Plant Village dataset. Key hyperparameters, including learning rate, batch size, dropout ratio, and regularization factor, were optimized through a thorough grid search. Early stopping based on validation loss was employed to prevent overfitting. The PDLC-ViT model demonstrated significant improvements in plant disease localization and classification tasks. The integration of co-scale, co-attention, and cross-attention mechanisms allowed the model to capture multi-scale dependencies and enhance feature learning, leading to superior performance compared to existing models. The PDLC-ViT model evaluated on two public datasets achieved an accuracy of 99.97%, a Mean Average Precision (MAP) of 99.18%, and a Mean Average Recall (MAR) of 99.11%. These results underscore the model's exceptional precision and recall, highlighting its robustness and reliability in detecting and classifying plant diseases. The PDLC-ViT model sets a new benchmark in plant disease detection, offering a reliable and advanced tool for agricultural applications. Its ability to integrate localization and classification tasks within an MTL framework promotes timely and accurate disease management, contributing to sustainable agriculture and food security.
Increasing Detection of Legionnaires’ Disease in a Large Italian Hospital in the Period 2016–2023
Authors: La Sorda Marilena , De Maio Flavio , Scaturro Maria , Fiori Barbara , Santarelli Giulia , Iera Jessica , Mancini Fabiola , Posteraro Brunella , Ricci Maria Luisa , Sanguinetti Maurizio
Published: July 2024

The pandemic marked the beginning of an era of dynamic and rapid changes in the diagnosis of respiratory infections. Herein we describe Legionnaires’ disease trend in the years 2016–2023 in a large Italian hospital showing how improvements in diagnostic algorithms impact on its detection.
Wind‐Induced Quasi‐Seasonal and Quasi‐Monthly Variations of Near‐Bottom Temperature on the Chukchi Slope of the Southwestern Canada Basin
Authors: Ku Ahyoung , Jeon Chanhyung , Peacock Thomas , Chae Jeong‐Yeob , Park Taewook , Cho Kyoung‐Ho , Park Jae‐Hun
Published: July 2024

The time series of near‐bottom temperatures collected from September 2018 until August 2020 from an array of three current‐ and pressure‐recording inverted echo sounders showed quasi‐seasonal and quasi‐monthly (∼28 days) variations at a depth of ∼1,300 m near the Chukchi slope in the western Arctic Ocean. They revealed an increase of ∼0.1°C during the winter‐spring period compared with the summer‐fall period. These variations were observed in the data‐assimilated Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) outputs near the observation site (correlation coefficient >0.7). They confirmed that variations in near‐bottom temperature are related to changes in the intensity of the Atlantic Water (AW) boundary current, concurrent with the deepening of the lower AW layer by approximately 50 m. The difference in sea surface height (SSH) between the Canada Basin and the Chukchi Shelf increased because of the negative wind stress curl (WSC) and retarded the AW boundary current according to the geostrophic effect. When the near‐bottom temperature increased during the winter‐spring period, the SSH in the Chukchi Shelf was lower than that in the summer‐fall period because of the less negative WSC. Quasi‐monthly variations were related to SSH on the Chukchi Shelf owing to the negative WSC. HYCOM outputs from 1994 to 2015 showed that the AW boundary current weakened more recently than in the past due to the increased melting of sea ice. The results imply that a longer sea‐ice‐free season in the Arctic amplifies changes in the AW boundary current and deep ocean temperature owing to increased atmospheric forcing.
Disentangling Carbon Concentration Changes Along Pathways of North Atlantic Subtropical Mode Water
Authors: Reijnders Daan , Bakker Dorothee C. E. , van Sebille Erik
Published: July 2024

North Atlantic subtropical mode water (NASTMW) serves as a major conduit for dissolved carbon to penetrate into the ocean interior by its wintertime outcropping events. Prior research on NASTMW has concentrated on its physical formation and destruction, as well as Lagrangian pathways and timescales of water into and out of NASTMW. In this study, we examine how dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations are modified along Lagrangian pathways of NASTMW on subannual timescales. We introduce Lagrangian parcels into a physical‐biogeochemical model and release these parcels annually over two decades. For different pathways into, out of, and within NASTMW, we calculate changes in DIC concentrations along the path (ΔDIC), distinguishing contributions from vertical mixing and biogeochemical processes. The strongest ΔDIC is during subduction of water parcels (+101 μmol L−1 in 1 year), followed by transport out of NASTMW due to increases in density in water parcels (+10 μmol L−1). While the mean ΔDIC for parcels that persist within NASTMW in 1 year is relatively small at +6 μmol L−1, this masks underlying dynamics: individual parcels undergo interspersed DIC depletion and enrichment, spanning several timescales and magnitudes. Most DIC enrichment and depletion regimes span timescales of weeks, related to phytoplankton blooms. However, mixing and biogeochemical processes often oppose one another at short timescales, so the largest net DIC changes occur at timescales of more than 30 days. Our new Lagrangian approach complements bulk Eulerian approaches, which average out this underlying complexity, and is relevant to other biogeochemical studies, for example, on marine carbon dioxide removal.
Carbon‐Water Tradeoffs in Old‐Growth and Young Forests of the Pacific Northwest
Authors: Farinacci Michael D. , Jones Julia , Silva Lucas C. R.
Published: July 2024

Despite much interest in relationships among carbon and water in forests, few studies assess how carbon accumulation scales with water use in forested watersheds with varied histories. This study quantified tree growth, water use efficiency, and carbon‐water tradeoffs of young versus mature/old‐growth forest in three small (13–22 ha) watersheds in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, Oregon, USA. To quantify and scale carbon‐water tradeoffs from trees to watersheds, tree‐ring records and greenness and wetness indices from remote sensing were combined with long‐term vegetation, climate, and streamflow data from young forest watersheds (trees ∼45 years of age) and from a mature/old‐growth forest watershed (trees 150–500 years of age). Biomass production was closely related to water use; water use efficiency (basal area increment per unit of evapotranspiration) was lower; and carbon‐water tradeoffs were steeper in young forest plantations compared with old‐growth forest for which the tree growth record begins in the 1850s. Greenness and wetness indices from Landsat imagery were not significant predictors of streamflow or tree growth over the period 1984 to 2017, and soil C and N did not differ significantly among watersheds. Multiple lines of evidence show that mature and old‐growth forest watersheds store and accumulate more carbon, are more drought resistant, and better sustain water availability compared to young forests. These results provide a basis for reconstructions and predictions that are potentially broadly applicable, because first‐order watersheds occupy 80%–90% of large river basins and study watersheds are representative of forest history in the Pacific Northwest region.
Review of the August 1972 and March 1989 (Allen) Space Weather Events: Can We Learn Anything New From Them?
Authors: Tsurutani Bruce T. , Sen Abhijit , Hajra Rajkumar , Lakhina Gurbax S. , Horne Richard B. , Hada Tohru
Published: July 2024

Updated summaries of the August 1972 and March 1989 space weather events have been constructed. The features of these two events are compared to the Carrington 1859 event and a few other major space weather events. It is concluded that solar active regions release energy in a variety of forms (X‐rays, EUV photons, visible light, coronal mass ejection (CME) plasmas and fields) and they in turn can produce other energetic effects (solar energetic particles (SEPs), magnetic storms) in a variety of ways. It is clear that there is no strong one‐to‐one relationship between these various energy sinks. The energy is often distributed differently from one space weather event to the next. Concerning SEPs accelerated at interplanetary CME (ICME) shocks, it is concluded that the Fermi mechanism associated with quasi‐parallel shocks is relatively weak and that the gradient drift mechanism (electric fields) at quasi‐perpendicular shocks will produce harder spectra and higher fluxes. If the 4 August 1972 intrinsic magnetic cloud condition (southward interplanetary magnetic field instead of northward) and the interplanetary Sun to 1 au conditions were different, a 4 August 1972 magnetic storm and magnetospheric dawn‐to‐dusk electric fields substantially larger than the Carrington event would have occurred. Under these special interplanetary conditions, a Miyake et al. (2012), https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11123‐like extreme SEP event may have been formed. The long duration complex 1989 storm was probably greater than the Carrington storm in the sense that the total ring current particle energy was larger.
A Multi‐Objective Optimization‐Based Reflective Metasurface for Enhanced Multi‐Point Focusing With Diffraction Suppression
Authors: Xiao Dongping , Xu Lanxin , Su Dongping , Shi Zhuxin , Zhang Huaiqing
Published: July 2024

Metasurface arrays can achieve beam control at low cost and high quality by providing different phase compensations for each unit, effectively focusing microwave energy on target locations. With the development of short‐range communication technology or microwave power transmission technology, the demand for focusing has also increased. Using metasurface arrays to achieve multi‐target focusing has wide application value. However, as the number of focal points increases, the superposition of electromagnetic wave propagation paths leads to significant interference phenomena, which can impact potential applications. Existing solutions are unable to solve such complex problems involving a large number of targets with conflicts between them. Multi‐objective algorithms, by iteratively obtaining a set of optimal solutions, provide decision support for designers in complex multi‐objective problems. This paper alters the phase of cells in a reflective array, calculates the near‐field electric field model using the Fresnel diffraction formula, and employs various solutions using the Non‐dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm III (NSGA‐III) combined with different constraints. Finally, we select the balanced solution to establish the array. After simulation, three adjacent focal points with normalized central values of 1, 0.86, and 0.88 were obtained, with the maximum electric field value outside the focal points being only 0.58, demonstrating the feasibility of multi‐objective algorithms in solving complex multi‐focal problems.
Quantifying Extreme Values in Geomagnetic Perturbations Using Ground Magnetic Records
Authors: Rodríguez‐Zuluaga J. , Gjerloev J. , Ohtani S. , Zou Y. , Anderson B.
Published: July 2024

We comprehensively analyzed geomagnetic perturbations using ground magnetic records from over 400 stations spanning four solar cycles, from 1976 to 2023. We assess the perturbations in the three magnetic components separately. Our study covers low, middle, and high magnetic latitudes in the northern magnetic hemisphere, with the primary objective of quantifying extreme values and evaluating their variability on magnetic latitude, local time, and solar cycle phases “minimum, ascending, maximum, and declining.” Our findings reveal spatial patterns to be less discernible as perturbations intensify, with distinct responses at middle and high latitudes. The extreme values, defined as percentiles 0 and 100, were observed to be localized and randomly distributed in local time, especially in the east magnetic component. Additionally, we observed dusk‐dawn asymmetries in the magnitude of perturbations related to the auroral electrojets, indicating complex interactions between the magnetosphere and ionosphere. Furthermore, the results reveal a preference for the most significant extreme values to occur in the declining phase of the solar cycle. These insights deepen our understanding of geomagnetic perturbations and their variability, contributing to space weather forecasting and mitigation strategies.
Epithelial CEBPD activates fibronectin and enhances macrophage adhesion in renal ischemia-reperfusion injury
Authors: Chang Shen-Shin , Cheng Chao-Chun , Chen Ying-Ren , Chen Feng-Wei , Cheng Ya-Min , Wang Ju-Ming
Published: July 2024

Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a cause of acute kidney injury in patients after renal transplantation and leads to high morbidity and mortality. Damaged kidney resident cells release cytokines and chemokines, which rapidly recruit leukocytes. Fibronectin (FN-1) contributes to immune cell migration, adhesion and growth in inflamed tissues. CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein delta is responsive to inflammatory cytokines and stresses and plays functional roles in cell motility, extracellular matrix production and immune responses. We found that the expression of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein delta was increased in renal epithelial cells in IRI mice compared with sham mice. Following IRI, the colocalization of FN-1 with the macrophage marker F4/80 was increased in renal injury model wild-type mice but was significantly attenuated in Cebpd-deficient mice. Inactivation of CEBPD can repress hypoxia-induced FN-1 expression in HK-2 cells. Moreover, the inactivation of CEBPD and FN-1 also reduces macrophage accumulation in HK-2 cells. These findings suggest that the involvement of CEBPD in macrophage accumulation through the activation of FN-1 expression and the inhibition of CEBPD can protect against renal IRI.
Stabilizing Schottky junction in conjugated polymer diodes enables long-term reliable radio-frequency energy harvesting on plastic
Authors: Lee Yongwoo , Kang Boseok , Jung Sungjune , Kwon Jimin
Published: July 2024

Due to their inherent flexibility, solution-processable conjugated polymers are increasingly being considered for the cost-effective production of thin-film semiconductor devices used in Internet of Everything (IoE) applications. With considerable improvements in charge carrier mobilities, the final challenge impeding the commercialization of conjugated polymers may be improving their environmental and electrical stabilities. Recent studies have improved the stability of computing devices (i.e., transistors) by eliminating interface traps and water molecules within conjugated polymers. However, the stability issue of Schottky diodes, which play a crucial role in configuring thin-film IoE devices used in wireless communication and energy harvesting, has been largely overlooked. This study reveals that aluminum, which is commonly used as a cathode metal in polymer Schottky diodes, creates a nonstoichiometric effect when deposited on conjugated polymers, thereby leading to the formation of charge traps over time, which reduces the rectification ratio of the Schottky diodes and induces a significant bias stress effect during operation. To address this issue, we introduce a zinc-oxide sacrificial interlayer between the conjugated polymer and cathode. This interlayer effectively eliminates the penetrated Al metal or ionized Al-induced nonstoichiometric effect without reducing the charge injection efficiency, achieving exceptional environmental and operational stability. The printed polymer Schottky diodes demonstrate consistent rectifying operation at 13.56 MHz for several months with negligible changes in electrical characteristics.
Including glutamine in a resource allocation model of energy metabolism in cancer and yeast cells
Authors: Ewald Jan , He Ziyang , Dimitriew Wassili , Schuster Stefan
Published: July 2024

Energy metabolism is crucial for all living cells, especially during fast growth or stress scenarios. Many cancer and activated immune cells (Warburg effect) or yeasts (Crabtree effect) mostly rely on aerobic glucose fermentation leading to lactate or ethanol, respectively, to generate ATP. In recent years, several mathematical models have been proposed to explain the Warburg effect on theoretical grounds. Besides glucose, glutamine is a very important substrate for eukaryotic cells—not only for biosynthesis, but also for energy metabolism. Here, we present a minimal constraint-based stoichiometric model for explaining both the classical Warburg effect and the experimentally observed respirofermentation of glutamine (WarburQ effect). We consider glucose and glutamine respiration as well as the respective fermentation pathways. Our resource allocation model calculates the ATP production rate, taking into account enzyme masses and, therefore, pathway costs. While our calculation predicts glucose fermentation to be a superior energy-generating pathway in human cells, different enzyme characteristics in yeasts reduce this advantage, in some cases to such an extent that glucose respiration is preferred. The latter is observed for the fungal pathogen Candida albicans, which is a known Crabtree-negative yeast. Further, optimization results show that glutamine is a valuable energy source and important substrate under glucose limitation, in addition to its role as a carbon and nitrogen source of biomass in eukaryotic cells. In conclusion, our model provides insights that glutamine is an underestimated fuel for eukaryotic cells during fast growth and infection scenarios and explains well the observed parallel respirofermentation of glucose and glutamine in several cell types.
A hybrid DDA/DIA-PASEF based assay library for a deep proteotyping of triple-negative breast cancer
Authors: Lapcik Petr , Synkova Klara , Janacova Lucia , Bouchalova Pavla , Potesil David , Nenutil Rudolf , Bouchal Pavel
Published: July 2024

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer, and deeper proteome coverage is needed for its molecular characterization. We present comprehensive library of targeted mass spectrometry assays specific for TNBC and demonstrate its applicability. Proteins were extracted from 105 TNBC tissues and digested. Aliquots were pooled, fractionated using hydrophilic chromatography and analyzed by LC-MS/MS in data-dependent acquisition (DDA) parallel accumulation-serial fragmentation (PASEF) mode on timsTOF Pro LC-MS system. 16 individual lysates were analyzed in data-independent acquisition (DIA)-PASEF mode. Hybrid library was generated in Spectronaut software and covers 244,464 precursors, 168,006 peptides and 11,564 protein groups (FDR = 1%). Application of our library for pilot quantitative analysis of 16 tissues increased identification numbers in Spectronaut 18.5 and DIA-NN 1.8.1 software compared to library-free setting, with Spectronaut achieving the best results represented by 190,310 precursors, 140,566 peptides, and 10,463 protein groups. In conclusion, we introduce assay library that offers the deepest coverage of TNBC proteome to date. The TNBC library is available via PRIDE repository (PXD047793).
High-quality reference genome of cowpea beetle Callosobruchus maculatus
Authors: Lu Hao-Ran , Mao Chu-Yang , Zhang Li-Jie , He Jin-Wu , Wang Xie-Shuang , Zhang Xin-Ying , Fan Wei-Li , Huang Zheng-Zhong , Zong Le , Cui Chu-Han , Wu Feng-Ming , Wang Xue-Li , Zou Zhen , Li Xue-Yan , Ge Si-Qin
Published: July 2024

Callosobruchus maculatus is one of the most competitive stored grain pests, which causes a great loss to agricultural economy. However, due to an inadequacy of high-quality reference genome, the molecular mechanisms for olfactory and hypoxic adaptations to stored environments are unknown and require to be revealed urgently, which will contribute to the detection and prevention of the invasive pests C. maculatus. Here, we presented a high-quality chromosome-level genome of C. maculatus based on Illumina, Nanopore and Hi-C sequencing data. The total size was 1.2 Gb, and 65.17% (797.47 Mb) of it was identified to be repeat sequences. Among assembled chromosomes, chromosome 10 was considered the X chromosome according to the evidence of reads coverage and homologous genes among species. The current version of high-quality genome provides preferable data resources for the adaptive evolution research of C. maculatus.
The effect of human albumin administration on postoperative renal function following major surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Lee Kuen Su , Kim Ji Eun , Kang Giung , Won Young Ju , Choi Yoon Ji
Published: July 2024

Optimal fluid management during major surgery is of considerable concern to anesthesiologists. Although crystalloids are the first choice for fluid management, the administration of large volumes of crystalloids is associated with poor postoperative outcomes. Albumin can be used for fluid management and may protect renal function. However, data regarding the effects of albumin administration on kidney function are conflicting. As such, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of albumin administration on renal function in patients undergoing major surgery and compare its effects with those of crystalloid fluid. The Embase, Medline, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and KoreaMed databases were searched for relevant studies. The primary endpoint of the meta-analysis was the incidence of postoperative kidney injury, including acute kidney injury and renal replacement therapy. Twelve studies comprising 2311 patients were included; the primary endpoint was analyzed in four studies comprising 1749 patients. Perioperative albumin levels in patients undergoing major surgery did not significantly influence kidney dysfunction (p = 0.98). Postoperative fluid balance was less positive in patients who underwent major surgery and received albumin than in those who received crystalloids. Owing to the limitations of this meta-analysis, it remains unclear whether albumin administration during major surgery is better than crystalloid fluid for improving postoperative renal function.