bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hydrometallurgical Routes to Close the Loop of Electric Vehicle (EV) Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs) Value Chain: A Review
Authors: Saleem Usman , Joshi Bhaskar , Bandyopadhyay Sulalit
Published: August 2023

With an ever-increasing demand for energy, there is a proportionate increase in energy storage devices, among which batteries hold the key to the energy transition. Globally, batteries constitute the fastest-growing energy storage technology that is playing a key role in the transport sector electrification leading to rising demand for LIBs. However, there is a substantial need for innovation that will help mitigate the environmental effects of the production and use of LIBs—such as energy use, mineral extraction, and chemical processing. The battery value chain can be seen as an exceptional sustainable value creation opportunity wherein sustainability depends in part on the ability to reuse and recycle batteries. A typical LIB battery serves in electric vehicles (EVs) for about 5–10 years and needs to be replaced when they reach ~ 20% capacity loss. At this stage, the fate of the battery follows one of the routes—disposal, reuse/repurpose/remanufacture (3R) or recycle. However, a major obstacle for car and battery manufacturers to invest in second life, or to otherwise take advantage of the reuse market, is that they in many cases do not have control over the batteries. On the other hand, recycling LIBs holds tremendous potential owing to the recirculation of materials i.e., closed-loop recycling needed for battery manufacturing promoting sustainability. This review will enable readers to devise processes that contribute to closing the loop of the EV LIBs value chain from an industrial perspective as well as critically understand the current state and future of battery recycling.

Graphical Abstract
Fliegende Zeichen, verheißungsvolle Stimmen: Vogelboten in mittelalterlicher Literatur
Authors: Klinger Judith , Winst Silke
Published: August 2023

Vögel und die Kommunikation mit ihnen sind in mittelalterlichen Kulturen auf vielfältige Weise präsent: in kunstvollen Visualisierungen, in Wissenstraditionen und theologischen Reflexionen ebenso wie in literarischen Überlieferungen. Flug und Gesang verschaffen ihnen in menschlicher Wahrnehmung eine besondere Stellung, deuten sie doch auf außergewöhnliche Potenziale der Kommunikation und der Grenzüberschreitung hin. Nicht zuletzt legen sie eine Positionierung von Vögeln zwischen irdischer und himmlischer Sphäre nahe. Die Sprechbegabung einzelner Vogelarten trägt dazu bei, dass Vögel häufiger als andere Spezies sprechend oder singend Botschaften, Offenbarungen oder Prophezeiungen übermitteln. Den Begegnungen und Kommunikationsformen zwischen Vögeln und Menschen in der mittelalterlichen Kultur und Literatur sowie den sie begleitenden Mehrdeutigkeiten und Unwägbarkeiten geht dieser Beitrag nach und konzentriert sich dabei auf die Figuration von Vögeln als Boten.
»Viele alte Aufgaben wurden damit in einem neuen Lichte gesehen«
Authors: Gretz Daniela
Published: August 2023

Dieser Beitrag widmet sich dem Zusammenhang von geistesgeschichtlicher Literaturgeschichtsschreibung und dem Konzept der ›deutschen Bewegung‹. Er rekonstruiert vor allem dessen germanistische Adaption und Weiterentwicklung durch Paul Kluckhohn sowie seinen polyvalenten Einsatz zum heft- und jahrgangsübergreifenden Erzählen einer fortgesetzten nationalen Geistesgeschichte in der Deutschen Vierteljahrsschrift.
Identifying and Validating Indices of Happiness and Unhappiness in Autistic Children and Examining Them as Quality of Life Indicators During Presession Pairing
Authors: Agarwal Tuhina , Ramey Devon
Published: August 2023

Objectives

Happiness is paramount to an improved quality of life (QoL), but there are barriers to assessing the happiness and overall QoL of autistic children using traditional measures. To address this, Study 1 aimed to identify and validate the idiosyncratic mood indices of three autistic children. In Study 2, these indices were measured as QoL indicators during discrete trial teaching (DTT) sessions that followed presession pairing. Task engagement was recorded as a secondary measure.

Methods

Three preschool boys on the autism spectrum participated in both studies. Their individualized indices of happiness and unhappiness were first identified and validated using an abbreviated procedure that extended previous research. The effects of presession pairing were then examined using a concurrent multiple baseline design across participants. The idiosyncratic mood indices were measured using 10-s partial interval recording, while task engagement was measured using 15-s whole interval recording.

Results

Study 1 demonstrated that the abbreviated procedure was efficient for identifying and validating the idiosyncratic mood indices of the participants. Study 2 found that presession pairing improved the mood of all three children during DTT, but there were minimal increases in task engagement. Percentage of nonoverlapping data (PND) scores initially revealed no effects for indices of happiness (M = 43.2%), large effects for indices of unhappiness (M = 76.4%), and no effects for task engagement (M = 37.6%). Contrary to this, omnibus Tau-U scores suggested large effects for indices of happiness (Tau-U = 0.7), very large effects for indices of unhappiness (Tau-U = 0.9), and moderate effects for task engagement (Tau-U = 0.5).

Conclusions

Individualized indices of happiness and unhappiness can and should be used as QoL indicators during behavioral interventions for autistic children.
Optimising the use of SARC-F for the identification of muscle weakness by considering alternative cut-points: findings from the Newcastle SarcScreen project
Authors: Osman Mo , Witham Miles D. , Sayer Avan A. , Cooper Rachel
Published: August 2023

Purpose

We assessed the impact of applying different SARC-F cut-points for the identification of muscle weakness in an older clinical population.

Methods

We included 159 men and 311 women aged 56–98 years who had completed the SARC-F questionnaire and had their maximum grip strength measured at an Older People’s Medicine Day Unit. We applied cut-points of ≥ 4, 3 and 2 to SARC-F and tested agreement with muscle weakness (grip strength < 27kg men, < 16kg women) in analyses stratified by sex and obesity status.

Results

Prevalence of muscle weakness was 86.8% and 82.6% in men and women, respectively. Sensitivity of the SARC-F increased at lower cut-points (e.g. 81% for ≥ 4 vs 97% for ≥ 2 in women). There was typically greater sensitivity among women than men and among those classified as obese vs non-obese.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that different cut-points may be required to optimise the utility of SARC-F for identifying muscle weakness in different patient sub-groups.
A Bayesian Approach with Prior Mixed Strategy Nash Equilibrium for Vehicle Intention Prediction
Authors: Lucente Giovanni , Dariani Reza , Schindler Julian , Ortgiese Michael
Published: August 2023

The state-of-the-art technology in the field of vehicle automation will lead to a mixed traffic environment in the coming years, where connected and automated vehicles have to interact with human-driven vehicles. In this context, it is necessary to have intention prediction models with the capability of forecasting how the traffic scenario is going to evolve with respect to the physical state of vehicles, the possible maneuvers and the interactions between traffic participants within the seconds to come. This article presents a Bayesian approach for vehicle intention forecasting, utilizing a game-theoretic framework in the form of a Mixed Strategy Nash Equilibrium (MSNE) as a prior estimate to model the reciprocal influence between traffic participants. The likelihood is then computed based on the Kullback-Leibler divergence. The game is modeled as a static nonzero-sum polymatrix game with individual preferences, a well known strategic game. Finding the MSNE for these games is in the PPAD $$\cap$$
∩
PLS complexity class, with polynomial-time tractability. The approach shows good results in simulations in the long term horizon (10s), with its computational complexity allowing for online applications.
Fretting wear behaviour in 6061-T6 aluminium alloy
Authors: Erturun V. , Odabas D.
Published: August 2023

In this study, fretting wear in riveted lap joints of aluminium alloy plates was investigated. For the fretting test, 6061-T6 aluminium alloy plates, which are widely used in aircraft construction, and blind rivets were used. Experiments were carried out using a computer controlled Instron testing machine. Fretting surface roughness, microhardness was investigated by metallographic techniques and scanning electron microscopy.

Tensile load cycles in the riveted lap joint were found to cause damage to all surfaces. Two contact surfaces where friction occurs were investigated. The contact surface of the lower plate with the upper plate, and the contact surface of the lower plate with the rivet head. As load and cycles increased, fretting scars and surface roughness increased.

Consequently, it has been determined that fretting damages occur between the contact surface of the plates and between the plate and the rivet contact surface.
Stable systems with power law conditions for Poisson hail
Authors: Mountford Thomas , Wang Zhe
Published: August 2023

We consider Poisson hail models and characterize up to boundaries the collection of critical moments which guarantee stability. In particular, we treat the case of infinite speed of propagation.
How does the Appraisal Right with the Concept of the Fair Value Including Synergies Work?: Lessons from Japan
Authors: Iida Hidefusa
Published: August 2023

This article presents how the appraisal right, with the concept of the fair value which includes synergies, has worked in Japanese corporate law. The appraisal right gives dissenting shareholders the ability to protect their interests. The Delaware courts calculate a fair value by excluding synergy effects in appraisal proceedings. One can criticise the exclusion of synergies because the petitioners of the appraisal right might receive less than the merger price. It would be interesting to analyse how the situation changes if the fair value includes synergies. Japanese corporate law gives a good illustration for this. The revision of the Companies Act of Japan in 2005 enhanced the role of the appraisal right by empowering the Court to include synergy value into the determination of fair value. However, Japan's Court developed the doctrine to use the deal price as a fair value with a relatively lax review of the fairness of the deal process. This has resulted in an unattractive situation for petitioners of appraisal remedies, because they rarely gain profits through the appraisal remedy. Empowering minorities in black letter law does not necessarily strengthen minority protection in reality.
The Impact of Cognitive Restructuring on Post-Event Rumination and Its Situational Effect on Socially Anxious Adolescents
Authors: Yu Meng , Zhu Yawen , Gao Dingguo , Xu Qian , Wang Ye , Wang Jianping
Published: August 2023

Post-event rumination (PER) has been seen as a key element in the persistence of social anxiety (disorder). Studies on PER-targeted intervention, e.g., cognitive restructuring (CR), has, however, received little attention in adults, not yet in youth. In addition, previous research showed that, compared to interaction, participants reported higher levels of PER after speech task. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of CR targeting PER among socially anxious (Chinese) adolescents and also to compare the intervention effect between speech and interaction situations. The present study recruited a sample of 73 high socially anxious adolescents aged 12–16 years and then randomly assigned them into speech (n = 37) or interaction (n = 36) group, without control group. PER and social anxiety (SA) were measured before and after CR. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) results showed that adolescents’ PER and SA symptoms were significantly improved with intervention with moderate to high effect size. Furthermore, the decrease in PER could significantly predict the improvement of SA. However, the intervention effect showed no difference between groups. Although no control group was included, one-session CR still showed its potential to improve participants’ PER and SA. Limitations and future directions were discussed.
Randomized controlled trial of a group peer mentoring model for U.S. academic medicine research faculty
Authors: Pololi Linda H. , Evans Arthur T. , Brimhall-Vargas Mark , Civian Janet T. , Cooper Lisa A. , Gibbs Brian K. , Ninteau Kacy , Vasiliou Vasilia , Brennan Robert T.
Published: August 2023

Introduction:

Midcareer is a critical transition point for biomedical research faculty and a common dropout point from an NIH-funded career. We report a study to assess the efficacy of a group peer mentoring program for diverse biomedical researchers in academic medicine, seeking to improve vitality, career advancement, and cross-cultural competence.

Methods:

We conducted a stratified randomized controlled trial with a waitlist control group involving 40 purposefully diverse early midcareer research faculty from 16 states who had a first-time NIH R01 (or equivalent) award, a K training grant, or a similar major grant. The yearlong intervention (2 to 3 days quarterly) consisted of facilitated, structured, group peer mentoring. Main study aims were to enhance faculty vitality, self-efficacy in achieving research success, career advancement, mentoring others, and cultural awareness and appreciation of diversity in the workplace.

Results:

Compared to the control group, the intervention group’s increased vitality did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.20), but perceived change in vitality was 1.47 standard deviations higher (D = 1.47, P = 0.03). Self-efficacy for career advancement was higher in the intervention group (D = 0.41, P = 0.05) as was self-efficacy for research (D = 0.57, P = 0.02). The intervention group also valued diversity higher (D = 0.46, P = 0.02), had higher cognitive empathy (D = 0.85, P = 0.03), higher anti-sexism/racism skills (D = 0.71, P = 0.01), and higher self-efficacy in mentoring others (D = 1.14, P = 0.007).

Conclusions:

The mentoring intervention resulted in meaningful change in important dimensions and skills among a national sample of diverse early midcareer biomedical faculty. This mentoring program holds promise for addressing the urgencies of sustaining faculty vitality and cross-cultural competence.
‘The most humane of all weapons’: Discrimination, airpower, and precision doctrine
Authors: Goddard Stacie E. , Larkin Colleen
Published: August 2023

How did the norm of discrimination become the dominant yardstick to measure the ethics of US airpower? Conventional accounts suggest that as elites and publics embraced norms of discrimination, this pushed US air forces to adopt a precision doctrine, one that demands accurately striking military, and not civilian, targets. Relying on a pragmatic reading of norm contestation and settling, we suggest that conventional explanations have the causal story reversed: it was not the strengthening of the norm of discrimination that led US air forces to commit to precision bombing. It was the commitment to precision bombing that led to the strengthening of the norm of discrimination. As precision technology became available during the interwar period, air-force officers co-opted the language of discrimination to justify their emerging doctrine. This co-optation of the language of discrimination would not only settle these norms as the guiding ethics of airpower. It would also transform them, redefining these norms in ways that privileged the process of precision targeting, rather than the outcome of civilian harm.
Interplay between advective, diffusive and active barriers in (rotating) Rayleigh–Bénard flow
Authors: Aksamit Nikolas O. , Hartmann Robert , Lohse Detlef , Haller George
Published: August 2023

Our understanding of the material organization of complex fluid flows has benefited recently from mathematical developments in the theory of objective coherent structures. These methods have provided a wealth of approaches that identify transport barriers in three-dimensional (3-D) turbulent flows. Specifically, theoretical advances have been incorporated into numerical algorithms that extract the most influential advective, diffusive and active barriers to transport from data sets in a frame-indifferent fashion. To date, however, there has been very limited investigation into these objectively defined transport barriers in 3-D unsteady flows with complicated spatiotemporal dynamics. Similarly, no systematic comparison of advective, diffusive and active barriers has been carried out in a 3-D flow with both thermally driven and mechanically modified structures. In our study, we utilize simulations of turbulent rotating Rayleigh–Bénard convection to uncover the interplay between advective transport barriers (Lagrangian coherent structures), material barriers to diffusive heat transport, and objective Eulerian barriers to momentum transport. For a range of (inverse) Rossby numbers, we identify each type of barrier and find intriguing relationships between momentum and heat transport that can be related to changes in the relative influence of mechanical and thermal forces. Further connections between bulk behaviours and structure-specific behaviours are also developed.
A numerical study on Langmuir circulations and coherent vortical structures beneath surface waves
Authors: Tsai Wu-ting , Lu Guan-hung
Published: August 2023

Langmuir circulations (LCs) arise through the interaction between the Lagrangian drift of the surface waves and the wind-driven shear layer. Quasi-streamwise vortices (QSVs) also form in the turbulent shear layer next to a flat surface. Both vortical structures manifest themselves by inducing wind-aligned streaks on the surface. In this study, numerical simulations of a stress-driven turbulent shear layer bounded by monochromatic surface waves are conducted to reveal the vortical structures of LCs and QSVs, and their interactions. The LC structure is educed from conditional averaging guided by the signatures of predominant streaks obtained from empirical mode decomposition; the width of the averaged LC pair is found to be comparable to the most unstable wavelength of the Craik–Leibovich equation. Coherent vortical structures (CVSs) are identified using a detection criterion based on local analysis of the velocity-gradient tensor and their topological geometry; QSVs accumulated beneath the windward surface are found to dominate the distribution. Employing the variable-interval spatial average to the identified QSVs further reveals that QSVs tend to form in the edge vicinity of the surface streaks induced by the LCs. The transport budgets of streamwise enstrophy are examined to reveal the interaction. It is found that QSVs perturb the streaks resulting in a localized streamwise gradient of the spanwise velocity, that is, vertical vorticity. The vertical shear tilts the vertical vorticity, therefore enhancing streamwise enstrophy production and the formation of QSVs. The results highlight the differences in the CVSs between the Langmuir turbulence and the wall turbulence.
Impact force of roll waves against obstacles
Authors: Yu Boyuan , Chu Vincent H.
Published: August 2023

The roll waves in open-channel flow on steep slopes can strike an obstacle with great force. We conducted two-dimensional shallow-water simulations to study the impact force of the waves against structures of various shapes and orientations. The focus is on the front runner of a wave packet developed from spatial instability. The numerical results include the stand-off distance of the bow shock wave, the front face's run-up height and the wave force on the obstacle. The strength of the impact depends on the Froude number of the undisturbed flow and the obstacle's distance from the local disturbance but not much on the form of the perturbation that initiates the instability. The wave force could reach a peak of more than an order of magnitude greater than the force on the structure without the roll waves. However, an obstacle with a sharp and pointy front can deflect the incident waves, significantly reducing the impact force.
ON THE ANTI-CANONICAL GEOMETRY OF WEAK -FANO THREEFOLDS, III
Authors: JIANG CHEN , ZOU YU
Published: August 2023

For a terminal weak
${\mathbb {Q}}$
-Fano threefold X, we show that the mth anti-canonical map defined by
$|-mK_X|$
is birational for all
$m\geq 59$
.
Quality analysis of publicly available information about hypoplastic left heart syndrome
Authors: Brennan Zachary , Sharaf Omar M. , Treffalls John A. , Roa-Vidal Natalia , Weinstein Douglas J. , Bassuk Jonah S. , Stukov Yuriy , Peek Giles J. , Bleiweis Mark S. , Jacobs Jeffrey P.
Published: August 2023

Purpose:

Publicly available health information is increasingly important for patients and their families. While the average US citizen reads at an 8th-grade level, electronic educational materials for patients and families are often advanced. We assessed the quality and readability of publicly available resources regarding hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).

Methods:

We queried four search engines for “hypoplastic left heart syndrome”, “HLHS”, and “hypoplastic left ventricle”. The top 30 websites from searches on Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Dogpile were combined into a single list. Duplicates, commercial websites, physician-oriented resources, disability websites, and broken links were removed. Websites were graded for accountability, content, interactivity, and structure using a two-reviewer system. Nonparametric analysis of variance was performed.

Results:

Fifty-two websites were analysed. Inter-rater agreement was high (Kappa = 0.874). Website types included 35 hospital/healthcare organisation (67.3%), 12 open access (23.1%), 4 governmental agency (7.7%), and 1 professional medical society (1.9%). Median total score was 19 of 39 (interquartile range = 15.8–25.3): accountability 5.5 of 17 (interquartile range = 2.0–9.3), content 8 of 12 (interquartile range = 6.4–10.0), interactivity 2 of 6 (interquartile range = 2.0–3.0), and structure 3 of 4 (interquartile range = 2.8–4.0). Accountability was low with 32.7% (n = 17) of sites disclosing authorship and 26.9% (n = 14) citing sources. Forty-two percent (n = 22) of websites were available in Spanish. Total score varied by website type (p = 0.03), with open access sites scoring highest (median = 26.5; interquartile range = 20.5–28.6) and hospital/healthcare organisation websites scoring lowest (median = 17.5; interquartile range = 13.5–21.5). Score differences were driven by differences in accountability (p = 0.001) – content scores were similar between groups (p = 0.25). Overall readability was low, with median Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level of 11th grade (interquartile range = 10th–12th grade).

Conclusions:

Our evaluation of popular websites about HLHS identifies multiple opportunities for improvement, including increasing accountability by disclosing authorship and citing sources, enhancing readability by providing material that is understandable to readers with the full spectrum of educational background, and providing information in languages besides English, all of which would enhance health equity.
The EU and the Common Central Asian Higher Education Area: The Kazakh Dimension
Authors: Zhakyanova Aigerim M. , Baisultanova Kulipa Ch.
Published: August 2023

This study topic is highly relevant as it explores the geopolitical dynamics of Kazakhstan, which serves as a hub where the interests of major world powers intersect with regional significance. The purpose of this article is to examine and analyse the state of Kazakhstan within the Central Asian region, considering its characteristics, such as high levels of socio-political and economic development, political stability, and its ability to conduct independent policies. The study utilized a range of research methods including deductive and inductive approaches, historical research, content analysis and event analysis. These methods were employed to analyse the current higher education system in Kazakhstan and explore the potential for its transformation, while also examining the impact of the Declaration on the creation of the Central Asian Higher Educational Area (Turkestan Declaration). The study reveals that Kazakhstan plays a significant role as a geopolitical actor in Central Asia, with stable socio-political and economic development. Kazakhstan aims to elevate the ‘Turkic world’ on the international stage and build strong foreign-policy relations. The findings have implications for specialists, policymakers, and readers interested in the region. The study emphasizes the importance of a ‘Knowledge Society’ and research capacity in forming a Common Central Asian Higher Education Area.
Visual Representations to Stimulate New Musicking Strategies in Live Coding
Authors: Masu Raul , Dal Rì Francesco Ardan
Published: August 2023

In live coding, the code can be considered as an archetypal form of score that notates formal processes. We aimed at investigating the possibility of using graphic visuals as a complementary form of descriptive score by visualising sound events using different time representations. To this end, we devised two visualisation systems (Time_X and Time_Z). Time_X represents time along thex-axis, while in Time_Z the objects overlap along an imaginaryz-axis. Based on our previous personal experience with the system, such forms of visual scores can help to develop new musicking strategies while live coding. In this article, we wanted to broaden such reflections, and we used them as probes in a study with three live coders. After tailoring the two systems to the usual practice of the three participants, we asked them to use the systems for three weeks and keep a diary. At the end, we interviewed them. Based on their comments, we present some reflections on the use of graphic forms of visualisation in live coding, on how they can support musicking process, and to what extent such visuals can be considered scores.
Unhealthy weight among young children in the Middle East and North African region
Authors: Jones-Antwi Rebecca , Cunningham Solveig A
Published: August 2023

Objective:

To understand early-life growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and how it has changed over time, we estimated the prevalence of wasting and overweight at ages under 5 years.

Design:

Cross-sectional data from twenty-nine Demographic and Health Surveys with direct anthropometric data and parent-reported demographic information were examined. The study utilised the WHO Child Growth Standards to classify overweight (weight-for-height z-score ≥ 2 sd above the median), wasting (weight-for-height z-score ≤ 2 sd below the median) and unhealthy weight defined as either wasting or overweight.

Setting:

Nationally representative for nine of the MENA countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen).

Participants:

Children under age 5 from nine MENA countries between 1987 and 2016 (n 155 961).

Results:

Across the region, at the most recent time point, between 7·3 and 23·6 % of children experienced unhealthy weight (Jordan – 7·3 %, Egypt –23·6 %); 1·7 and 16·6 % had wasting (Turkey, Yemen) and 2·0 and 15·0 % had overweight (Yemen, Egypt). Overweight was more common than wasting in all countries except Yemen and Mauritania. Between 1987 and 2016, the prevalence of unhealthy weight in the region increased (10·0–18·4 %) due to increases in both wasting and overweight. Boys had a higher prevalence of unhealthy weight than girls.

Conclusion:

Undernutrition continues to be a problem in some countries in the MENA region, and overnutrition is emerging as a health concern in many countries in the region. Countries in the region must advance programmes that reduce undernutrition while not overlooking or inadvertently promoting overnutrition.
Some differences, many similarities: comparing Europe’s responses to the 1973 oil crisis and the 2022 gas crisis
Authors: Schramm Lucas
Published: August 2023

Scholars of European integration are primarily interested in explaining change and variation over time. Indeed, given that integration has progressed over 50 years and competences have been transferred to the European level in policy fields, including energy, fast and coordinated action in the face of a major external threat might have been anticipated. Yet, as this article documents, member states struggled to establish a cohesive and solidary European response to the 2022 gas crisis, just as they had failed to cooperate effectively during the 1973 oil crisis. Building on recent literature on European polity development and integration through crises, this article argues that differences in national crisis affectedness and energy structures hampered cooperation. Such asymmetries became particularly visible on the part of France and Germany, the Union’s two largest member states, who could have provided regional political leadership. Consequently, both the 1973 and 2022 energy crises led to very limited steps in European integration and collectively suboptimal policy outcomes, such as high energy prices and uneven access to energy resources.
A constitution for the ocean? An agora on ocean governance
Authors: Havercroft Jonathan , Kloker Alice
Published: August 2023

This introduction briefly discusses the global constitutional issues raised by ocean governance and introduces the three pieces from our Agora contributors.
Suicide Rates in High-Risk High-Harm Perpetrators of Domestic Abuse in England and Wales
Authors: Knipe Duleeka , Vallis Emma , Kendall Luke , Snow Martha , Kirkpatrick Kyla , Jarvis Rosie , Metcalfe Chris , Eisenstadt Nathan , Bickham Viv
Published: August 2023

Abstract: Background A limited amount of research indicates a high prevalence of mental illness in perpetrators of domestic abuse (DA). Aims Estimate the suicide rate in high-risk high-harm perpetrators of DA. Method We utilized data collected as part of Drive, which supports and challenges perpetrators of DA to reduce their harmful behaviors. Using routine anonymized data, we established a cohort of clients ( n = 3,475) who were referred via Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences to the service and were followed up during service engagement. Results Most clients were male (92%) and White British (76%) with a median age of 32 years (IQI 27–39). There were 10 male suicide deaths recorded with an estimated male suicide rate of 461 per 100,000 person years (95% CI 248, 856). Limitations Analysis was restricted to those referred to the service and a specific group of perpetrators, limiting the generalizability to all perpetrators of DA. Conclusion The suicide rate in this high-risk high-harm DA perpetrator group is significantly higher than many other high-risk groups. Improving their mental health and outcomes is imperative to reduce the suicide deaths in this group and therefore reduce the impact such deaths would have on the victims of abuse.
Balancing EC‐Earth3 Improving the Performance of EC‐Earth CMIP6 Configurations by Minimizing the Coupling Cost
Authors: Acosta M. C. , Palomas S. , Tourigny E.
Published: August 2023

Earth System Models (ESMs) are complex systems used in weather and climate studies generally built from different independent components responsible for simulating a specific realm (ocean, atmosphere, biosphere, etc.). To replicate the interactions between these processes, ESMs typically use coupling libraries that manage the synchronization and field exchanges between the individual components, which run in parallel as a Multi‐Program, Multiple‐Data application. As ESMs get more complex (increase in resolution, number of components, configurations, etc.), achieving the best performance when running in High‐performance Computing platforms has become increasingly challenging and of major concern. One of the critical bottlenecks is the load‐imbalance, where the fastest components will have to wait for the slower ones. Finding the optimal number of processing elements to assign to each of the multiple independent constituents to minimize the performance loss due to synchronizations and maximize the overall parallel efficiency is impossible without the right performance metrics, methodology, and tools. This paper presents the results of balancing multiple Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 configurations for the EC‐Earth3 ESM. We will show that intuitive approaches can lead to suboptimal resource allocations and propose new setups up to 25% fasters while reducing the computational cost by 72%. We prove that new methods are needed to deal with the load‐balance of ESMs and hope that our study will serve as a guide to optimize any other coupled system.
Late Cretaceous‐Recent Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the Yucatan Back‐Arc Basin, Northern Caribbean Sea
Authors: Ramos Juan Pablo , Mann Paul
Published: August 2023

The 110,000 km2 Yucatan Basin in the northern Caribbean Sea is critical for understanding the Late Cretaceous to Recent tectonic evolution of the Caribbean‐North American plate boundary. This study integrates gravity, magnetic, and a 5,500 km grid of 2D seismic data to carry out a tectonostratigraphic analysis of the Yucatan Basin. These data provide the first recognition of 38–102 km‐long spreading ridges that constrain a SW‐NE opening direction in the western Yucatan Basin. The age of this oceanic crust is constrained to be late Paleocene‐middle Eocene (57–42 Ma) based on heat flow measurements, depth‐to‐seafloor, and three sedimentary sequences inferred to be Eocene—Recent in age based on stratigraphic correlations to distant wells. We interpret the Yucatan Basin as a back‐arc basin formed during the northeastward movement of the Caribbean volcanic arc that is now exposed in Cuba, evolved during the early Cretaceous to middle Eocene, and was terminated by collision with the Bahama carbonate platform during the late Paleocene to middle Eocene. We identify regional, left‐lateral strike‐slip faults that extend into the Cuban volcanic arc, as observed in other active back‐arc basins. We propose that the Yucatan back‐arc basin once formed the northwestern extension of age‐equivalent back‐arc basins in Hispaniola, where the basin is inverted, topographically elevated, and strongly shortened, and in the Lesser Antilles where the Paleogene back‐arc basin has remained undeformed and submarine. This once‐continuous back‐arc basin was disrupted and left‐laterally offset by ∼500 km during the Late Eocene‐Recent formation of the Cayman trough strike‐slip system.
Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Alkene Transformations in Oceanic Hydrothermal Fluids: A Mechanistic Study of Styrene
Authors: Aspin Alexandria , Smith Benjamin , Burcar Ethan , Firestone Zackary , Yang Ziming
Published: August 2023

Natural organic matter plays an important role in oceanic hydrothermal systems through a combination of geological and chemical processes. However, identifying the hydrothermal pathways of organic compounds is still quite limited, preventing us from understanding how organic matter is transformed in hydrothermal systems. In this study, we focus on the reaction pathways of alkenes, which represent a key functional group intermediate linking the most abundant hydrocarbons in seafloor hydrothermal environments. Three major pathways are observed for alkenes under mild hydrothermal conditions, including hydration, oxidation, and dimerization. The pathway distributions of alkenes can be affected by the presence of dissolved metal salts; hydration of alkenes is driven by metal ions via the change of solution pH, while alkene dimerization is controlled by pH and the type of metal cations and complexes. Overall, this study identifies alkene hydrothermal pathways and highlights the important roles of metal salts in controlling hydrothermal transformations.
Optimizing Injection Locations Relaxes Altitude‐Lifetime Trade‐Off for Stratospheric Aerosol Injection
Authors: Sun Hongwei , Bourguet Stephen , Eastham Sebastian , Keith David
Published: August 2023

Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) aims to offset some climate hazards by injecting aerosols into the stratosphere to reflect solar radiation. The lifetime of injected particles influences SAI's radiative efficacy—the ratio of radiative forcing to particle mass flux. We employ a Lagrangian trajectory model with particle sedimentation to simulate how background circulations influence the transport of passive particles (without microphysical growth) in the stratosphere and quantify sensitivities of particle lifetime to injection locations. At 20 km, optimizing injection locations can increase particle lifetime by >40%. Injection strategies can be constrained to maintain an interhemispheric balance of particle lifetime without significantly decreasing total lifetime. Generally, increasing injection altitude increases particle lifetime while also increasing costs and environmental impacts of deployment aircraft. Optimizing injection latitude and longitude can relax this altitude‐lifetime trade‐off by increasing lifetime without needing to increase altitude, which warrants further testing in global climate models with aerosol microphysics.
Plasmaspheric High‐Frequency Whistlers as a Candidate Cause of Shock Aurora at Earth
Authors: Liu Nigang , Su Zhenpeng , Jin Yuyue , He Zhaoguo , Yu Jiang , Li Kun , Chen Zuzheng , Cui Jun
Published: August 2023

Auroral brightening driven by interplanetary shocks on Earth's closed magnetic field lines is commonly attributed to the 0.1–10 keV electron precipitations by electron cyclotron harmonic waves and whistler‐mode chorus waves in the low‐density region. In contrast, we propose here a new candidate driver, high‐frequency whistlers in the high‐density plasmasphere. Theoretical calculations predict the comparable abilities of whistler‐mode waves with sufficiently high frequencies inside the plasmasphere and chorus waves outside to produce auroral electron precipitations. Such expected waves are further verified to exist following an interplanetary shock. The shock perpendicularly accelerated source electrons inside the plasmasphere and then produced strong high‐frequency whistler‐mode waves. These waves appeared as a hybrid of chorus and hiss in the frequency‐time spectrogram and probably resulted from a combination of linear and nonlinear instabilities. Our findings demonstrate that interplanetary shocks can promptly promote energy transfer toward the ionosphere from the inner high‐density magnetosphere.
Fe–Mg Isotopes Trace the Mechanism of Crustal Recycling and Arc Magmatic Processes in the Neo‐Tethys Subduction Zone
Authors: Chen Long , Li Dong‐Yong , Deng Jiang‐Hong , Li San‐Zhong , Somerville Ian , Chen Yi‐Xiang , Zhao Zi‐Fu , An Wei , Li Xiao‐Hui
Published: August 2023

There has been intense debate on the mechanism of crustal recycling in subduction zones, and Fe–Mg isotopes may provide new constraints on this issue. This study reports Fe–Mg isotope data for mafic plutonic rocks from the eastern and central Gangdese arc, along with their associated trench sediments in southern Tibet. The δ26Mg values of the eastern Gangdese arc rocks show negative correlations with (87Sr/86Sr)i and (206Pb/204Pb)i values, but positive correlations with εNd(t) and εHf(t) values. Conversely, the δ56Fe values of the eastern Gangdese arc rocks show positive correlations with (87Sr/86Sr)i and (206Pb/204Pb)i values, but negative correlations with εNd(t) and εHf(t) values. The Mg and Fe isotopic compositions of the central Gangdese arc rocks are comparable with those of the eastern ones, but they do not correlate with Sr–Pb–Nd–Hf isotopic compositions. Notably, the Fe–Mg isotopic compositions of most arc rocks fall between those of local trench sediments and the mantle wedge. Combined qualitative analyses and quantitative simulations suggest that: (a) the Fe–Mg isotope variations observed in the eastern Gangdese arc rocks highlight the important role of source mixing between sediment‐derived melts and peridotite, whereas (b) the Fe–Mg isotope variations observed in the central Gangdese arc rocks reflect the superposition of carbonated serpentinite‐derived Mg‐rich fluids‐peridotite source mixing and source melting. The strong correlations between Fe–Mg isotope ratios and traditional geochemical tracers provide further evidence for the recycling of crustal materials in subduction zones via various types of slab‐derived fluids and melts.
Influence of Clay‐Containing Sediments on Methane Hydrate Formation: Impacts on Kinetic Behavior and Gas Storage Capacity
Authors: Constant Agnissan Art‐Clarie , Guimpier Charlène , Terzariol Marco , Fandino Olivia , Chéron Sandrine , Riboulot Vincent , Desmedt Arnaud , Ruffine Livio
Published: August 2023

On Earth, natural hydrates are mostly encountered in clay‐rich sediments. Yet their formation processes in such matrices remain poorly understood. Achieving an in‐depth understanding of how methane hydrates accumulate on continental margins is key to accurately assess (a) their role in sustaining the development of some chemosynthetic communities at cold seeps, (b) their potential in terms of energy resources and geohazards, and (c) the fate of the methane releases, a powerful greenhouse gas, in this changing climate. This study investigated the formation of methane hydrates and their gas storage capacity (GSC) in clay‐rich sediments. A set of hydrate experiments were performed in matrices composed of sand, illite‐rich clay, and montmorillonite‐rich clay at different proportions aiming to determine the role of mineralogy on hydrate formation processes. The experiments demonstrate that a clay content of 10% in a partially water saturated sand/clay mixture increases the induction time by ∼60%, irrespective of the nature of the clay used. The increase in water saturation in the two matrices promotes hydrate formation. Micro‐Raman spectroscopic analyses reveal that increasing the clay content leads to a decrease in the hydrate small‐cage occupancy, with an impact on the storage capacity. Finally, the analyses of collected natural samples from the Black Sea (off Romania) enable us to estimate the GSC of the deposit. Our estimates is different from previous ones, and supports the importance of coupling multiscale properties, from the microscale to the geological scale, to accurately assess the total amount of methane hosts in hydrate deposits worldwide.
Four‐Beams‐Reconfigurable Circular‐Ring Array Antennas for Monopulse Radar Applications
Authors: Battaglia Giada M. , Isernia Tommaso , Palmeri Roberta , Morabito Andrea F.
Published: August 2023

We propose a new approach to the mask‐constrained power synthesis of reconfigurable circular‐ring array antennas for monopulse radar applications. By resorting to Orbital Angular Momentum vortex beams, and without increasing either the complexity of the beam forming network or the signal processing times with respect to the state‐of‐art solutions, the proposed method allows improving the precision pointing with respect to usual techniques. The overall synthesis is cast as a Convex Programming optimization problem aimed at reducing as much as possible the number of control points of the array, and it is tested in relevant application scenarios.
The use of neuroimaging techniques in the early and differential diagnosis of dementia
Authors: Chouliaras Leonidas , O’Brien John T.
Published: August 2023

Dementia is a leading cause of disability and death worldwide. At present there is no disease modifying treatment for any of the most common types of dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Vascular dementia, Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) and Frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Early and accurate diagnosis of dementia subtype is critical to improving clinical care and developing better treatments. Structural and molecular imaging has contributed to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative dementias and is increasingly being adopted into clinical practice for early and accurate diagnosis. In this review we summarise the contribution imaging has made with particular focus on multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography imaging (PET). Structural MRI is widely used in clinical practice and can help exclude reversible causes of memory problems but has relatively low sensitivity for the early and differential diagnosis of dementia subtypes. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET has high sensitivity and specificity for AD and FTD, while PET with ligands for amyloid and tau can improve the differential diagnosis of AD and non-AD dementias, including recognition at prodromal stages. Dopaminergic imaging can assist with the diagnosis of LBD. The lack of a validated tracer for α-synuclein or TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) imaging remain notable gaps, though work is ongoing. Emerging PET tracers such as 11C-UCB-J for synaptic imaging may be sensitive early markers but overall larger longitudinal multi-centre cross diagnostic imaging studies are needed.
Cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript (CART) mediates sex differences in binge drinking through central taste circuits
Authors: Maddern Xavier J. , Letherby Bethany , Ch’ng Sarah S. , Pearl Amy , Gogos Andrea , Lawrence Andrew J. , Walker Leigh C.
Published: August 2023

The neuropeptide cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) has been implicated in alcohol consumption and reward behaviours, yet mechanisms mediating these effects have yet to be identified. Using a transgenic CART knockout (KO) mouse line we uncovered a sexually dimorphic effect of CART in binge drinking, with male CART KO mice increasing intake, whilst female CART KO mice decreased their alcohol intake compared to controls. Female CART KO mice show greater sensitivity to bitter solutions that can be overshadowed through addition of a sweetener, implicating taste as a factor. Further we identify that this is not driven through peripherally circulating sex hormones, but the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) is a locus where CART contributes to the regulation of alcohol consumption, with CeA CART neutralisation specifically reducing plain alcohol, but not sweetened alcohol consumption in female mice. These findings may have implications for the development of sex-specific treatment options for alcohol use disorders through targeting the CART system.