bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Eleven new species of crustose lichenized fungi from the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Authors: FRYDAY Alan M.
Published: June 2019

Eleven new species of crustose, lichenized fungi are described from the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). Nine species are saxicolous, whereasLecania vermisporaoccurs on the stems ofHebe ellipticaandTephromela lignicolais lignicolous on fence posts. The new species are:Bacidia marina, with a sordid blue-green K−, N+ violet epihymenium and acicular, multiseptate ascospores;B. pruinata, with pruinose apothecia and multiseptate ascospores;Buellia gypsyensis, with a thallus containing 5-O-methylhiascic acid and withAmandinea-type conidia;Cliostomum albidum, with pruinose apothecia lacking pigments;C. longisporum, with long narrow ascospores (c.20 × 3 µm);Coccotrema rubromarginatum, with a placodioid thallus having a red-brown margin and lower surface;Hymenelia microcarpa, with minute, immersed apothecia (<0·1 mm diam.) and a trebouxioid photobiont;Lecania vermispora, with vermiform, 3–6 septate ascospores;Lepra argentea, with papillate isidia with dark caps;Rhizocarpon malvinae, which is similar toR. reductumbut with a grey thallus, generally sessile apothecia with a thick raised margin and often with the Cinereorufa-green pigment in the epithecium and upper exciple; andTephromela lignicola,a sterile, sorediate species on fence posts. Most of these species are reported only from the Falkland Islands althoughCoccotrema rubromarginatumis also reported from Isla de los Estados and Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Ascoconidia are reported fromLepra argenteaand cephalodia fromPertusaria pachythallina.Keys to the species reported from the Falkland Islands in the genera of the newly described species are also provided.
Lobaria amplissima thalli with external cephalodia need more rain than thalli without
Authors: GAUSLAA Yngvar , JOHLANDER Stina , NORDÉN Björn
Published: June 2019

Hydration traits determine much of a lichen’s distribution pattern along a climatic gradient but the mechanisms involved are still incompletely known. A higher abundance of large external cephalodia in wet oceanic than in drier climates has previously been reported in Lobaria amplissima. This study aims to quantify how much more rain L. amplissima thalli with external cephalodia would need to fill their internal water holding capacity (WHCinternal) than thalli without. The mean WHCinternal was 1·8 times higher in thalli with external cephalodia than in those without. The WHCinternal when converted to mm rain needed to saturate an average specimen was 1·37 mm (min–max: 0·55–3·8 mm) for a cephalodiate thallus, whereas an average thallus without external cephalodia needed just 0·76 mm (min–max: 0·36–1·3 mm). Known dewfall rates and rates of water uptake from humid air are far below what is needed to saturate even the cephalodiate thallus with the lowest WHCinternal, implying a stronger dependency on rain for thalli with external cephalodia. Thus, the observed trends in this study are consistent with earlier reports of decreasing frequency of external cephalodia from wet to drier climates.
Research on the on-line processing of collocation: Replication of Wolter and Gyllstad (2011) and Millar (2011)
Authors: Sonbul Suhad , Siyanova-Chanturia Anna
Published: June 2019

Research employing psycholinguistic techniques to assess the on-line processing of collocation by native and non-native speakers has flourished in the past few years. This line of research aims (among other things) at exploring actual performance in real time as opposed to the traditional paper-and-pencil testing techniques that have been extensively employed in collocation research. The present paper reviews some of the pertinent research on the on-line processing of collocations and argues for the need for more replication studies in the area. It then looks at how two experimental studies on the topic – Millar (2011) and Wolter and Gyllstad (2011) – may be replicated in order to gain deeper understanding of the key factors behind collocation processing and to obtain more valid and generalizable results that can find their way into language teaching practice.
Path Planning for Vehicle-borne System Consisting of Multi Air–ground Robots
Authors: Chen Yang , Ren Shiwen , Chen Zhihuan , Chen Mengqing , Wu Huaiyu
Published: June 2019

This paper considers the path planning problem for deployment and collection of a marsupial vehicle system which consists of a ground mobile robot and two aerial flying robots. The ground mobile robot, usually unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), as a carrier, is able to deploy and harvest the aerial flying robots, and each aerial flying robot, usually unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), takes off from and lands on the carrier. At the same time, owing to the limited duration in the air in one flight, UAVs should return to the ground mobile robot timely for its energy-saving and recharge. This work is motivated by cooperative search and reconnaissance missions in the field of heterogeneous robot system. Especially, some targets with given positions are assumed to be visited by any of the UAVs. For the cooperative path planning problem, this paper establishes a mathematical model to solve the path of two UAVs and UGV. Many real constraints including the maximum speed of two UAVs and UGV, the minimum charging time of two UAVs, the maximum hovering time of UAVs, and the dynamic constraints among UAVs and UGV are considered. The objective function is constructed by minimizing the time for completing the whole mission. Finally, the path planning problem of the robot system is transformed into a multi-constrained optimization problem, and then the particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to obtain the path planning results. Simulations and comparisons verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.
Equilibrium-Based Force and Torque Control for an Aerial Manipulator to Interact with a Vertical Surface
Authors: Tavora Bruno , Park Hyeongjun , Romano Marcello , Yun Xiaoping
Published: June 2019

In this paper, a force and torque controller for aerial manipulation is developed using an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a robotic arm to interact near or on a vertical surface such as a wall. Control of aerial manipulators interacting with the environment is a challenging task due to dynamic interactions between aerial vehicles, robotic arms, and environment. To achieve this, modeling of aerial manipulators is first investigated and presented considering interaction with the environment. Nonlinear models of generic aerial manipulators, as well as of a prototype aerial manipulator composed of a hexacopter with a three-joint robotic arm, are established. An equilibrium-based force and torque controller is developed to conduct tasks that require the aerial manipulator to exert forces and torques on a wall. Simulations and experiments validate the performance of the controller that successfully applies desired forces and torques to an object fixed on a wall while flying near the wall.
Securing human rights through risk-management methods: Breakthrough or misalignment?
Authors: Mares Radu
Published: June 2019

This is a study of three authoritative instruments that promote a common idea: economic activities and development should be conducted with respect for human rights. The World Bank Framework, the International Financial Corporation Performance Standards and the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights are examined to get clarity on how human rights risk management differs from more conventional management approaches. The focus here is on prevention of human rights impacts. Do the three instruments employ approaches adequate for handling human rights risks? To understand prevention, one needs to reflect on what makes human rights a particular type of impact and account for the regulatory context of protecting human rights transnationally. The analysis identifies four ‘offsets’ through which economic decision-makers can distort their human rights performance and place causal observers at a disadvantage. Prevention becomes an issue of how to relate to ‘residual impacts’ on human rights. This article finds that the ‘hierarchy or mitigation’ and even ‘human rights due diligence’ under illuminate the challenge. The proposal here is to add ‘reduction at source’ as a parameter of human rights risk management. The sources for this analysis are the three instruments, and the practice of implementing organizations, particularly IFC projects, CAO cases, impact assessments, and CSR reports. In conclusion, the potential for cross-fertilization among instruments is genuine. Increased clarity on prevention of human rights impacts should assist economic decision-makers in their risk management task and casual observers in assessing their performance.
Using routine testing data to understand circulation patterns of influenza A, respiratory syncytial virus and other respiratory viruses in Victoria, Australia
Authors: Price O. H. , Sullivan S. G. , Sutterby C. , Druce J. , Carville K. S.
Published: June 2019

Several studies have reported evidence of interference between respiratory viruses: respiratory viruses rarely reach their epidemic peak concurrently and there appears to be a negative association between infection with one respiratory virus and co-infection with another. We used results spanning 16 years (2002–2017) of a routine diagnostic multiplex panel that tests for nine respiratory viruses to further investigate these interactions in Victoria, Australia. Time series analyses were used to plot the proportion positive for each virus. The seasonality of all viruses included was compared with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza A virus using cross-correlations. Logistic regression was used to explore the likelihood of co-infection with one virus given infection with another. Seasonal peaks were observed each year for influenza A and RSV and less frequently for influenza B, coronavirus and parainfluenza virus. RSV circulated an average of 6 weeks before influenza A. Co-infection with another respiratory virus was less common with picornavirus, RSV or influenza A infection. Our findings provide further evidence of a temporal relationship in the circulation of respiratory viruses. A greater understanding of the interaction between respiratory viruses may enable better prediction of the timing and magnitude of respiratory virus epidemics.
A NEW SPECIES OF OOCEPHALUS (LAMIACEAE) FROM GOIÁS, BRAZIL
Authors: Soares A. S. , Harley R. M. , Pastore J. F. B. , Jardim J. G.
Published: June 2019

A new species, Oocephalus pubescens A.Soares & Harley, from Chapada dos Veadeiros, Goiás, Brazil, is described and illustrated. The characteristics that distinguish it from a similar taxon, Oocephalus foliosus, are listed, and comments on its distribution and an occurrence map are provided.
An Improved Upper Bound for Bootstrap Percolation in All Dimensions
Authors: Uzzell Andrew J.
Published: June 2019

In r-neighbour bootstrap percolation on the vertex set of a graph G, a set A of initially infected vertices spreads by infecting, at each time step, all uninfected vertices with at least r previously infected neighbours. When the elements of A are chosen independently with some probability p, it is natural to study the critical probability pc(G, r) at which it becomes likely that all of V(G) will eventually become infected. Improving a result of Balogh, Bollobás and Morris, we give a bound on the second term in the expansion of the critical probability when G = [n]d and d ⩾ r ⩾ 2. We show that for all d ⩾ r ⩾ 2 there exists a constant cd,r > 0 such that if n is sufficiently large, then

$$p_c (\left[ n \right]^d ,{\rm{ }}r){\rm{\le }}\left( {\frac{{\lambda (d,r)}}{{\log _{(r - 1)} (n)}} - \frac{{c_{d,r} }}{{(\log _{(r - 1)} (n))^{3/2} }}} \right)^{d - r + 1} ,$$

where λ(d, r) is an exact constant and log(k) (n) denotes the k-times iterated natural logarithm of n.
Quality of life in adult survivors after paediatric heart transplantation in Australia
Authors: Parker Alice , Ye Xin Tao , Mathew Jacob , Lee Melissa , Konstantinov Igor E. , d’Udekem Yves , Brizard Christian , Brink Johann
Published: June 2019

Background:

Paediatric heart transplantation in Australia is centralised at The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. Survival to adulthood is improving but the ongoing need for complex medical therapy, surveillance, and potential for late complications continues to impact on quality of life. Quality of life in adults who underwent heart transplantation in childhood in Australia has not been assessed.

Methods:

Cross-sectional quality of life data were collected from paediatric heart transplant survivors >18 years of age using Rand 36-Item Health Survey. Self-reported raw scores were transformed to a 0–100 scale with higher scores indicating better quality of life. Mean scores were compared to National Health Survey Short Form-36 Population Norms data using the independent sample t-test.

Results:

A total of 64 patients (64/151) who underwent transplantation at The Royal Children’s Hospital between 1988 and 2016 survived to adulthood. In total 51 patients (51/64, 80%) were alive at the time of the study and 27 (53%) responded with a mean age of 25 ± 6 years, being a median of 11 years (interquartile range 7–19) post-transplantation. Most self-reported quality of life subscale scores were not significantly different from the Australian normative population data. However, self-reported ‘General Health’ was significantly worse than normative data (p = 0.02). Overall, 93% (25/27) reported their general health as being the same or better compared to 1-year ago.

Conclusion:

Adult survivors after paediatric heart transplantation in Australia report good quality of life in multiple domains and demonstrate independence in activities of daily living and employment. However, lifelong medical treatment may affect perceptions of general health.
Health Risks and Challenges in Earthquake Responders in Nepal: A Qualitative Research
Authors: Khatri KC Jyoti , Fitzgerald Gerard , Poudyal Chhetri Meen B.
Published: June 2019

Introduction:

While the impact of disasters is strongly felt by those directly affected, they also have significant impact on the mental and physical health of rescue/relief workers and volunteers during the response phase of disaster management.

Method:

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 experts in the field of disaster management from Nepal, inquiring specifically about the impact of the 2015 mega-earthquake on the mental and physical health of rescue/relief workers and volunteers. A thematic approach was used to analyze the results. These were used to assess the applicability of a previously developed conceptual framework which illustrates the hazards and risk factors affecting disaster response workers and the related hazard mitigation approaches.

Results:

The findings suggested a relationship between the type of injuries to responders and the type of disaster, type of responder, and vulnerability of location. The conceptual framework derived from literature was verified for its applicability with a slight revision on analysis of experts’ opinion based on particular context and disaster setting. Technical skills of responders, social stigma, governance, and the socio-economic status of the affected nation were identified as critical influencing factors to heath injuries and could be minimized utilizing some specific or collective measures targeted at the aforementioned variables. Some geographic and weather-specific risks may be challenging to overcome.

Conclusion:

To prevent or minimize the hazards for disaster relief workers, it is vital to understand the variables that contribute to injuries. Risk minimization strategies should address these critical factors.
Predictors of Prehospital On-Scene Time in an Australian Emergency Retrieval Service
Authors: Fok Patrick T. , Teubner David , Purdell-Lewis Jeremy , Pearce Andrew
Published: June 2019

Introduction:

Prehospital physicians balance the need to stabilize patients prior to transport, minimizing the delay to transport patients to the appropriate level of care. Literature has focused on which interventions should be performed in the prehospital environment, with airway management, specifically prehospital intubation (PHI), being a commonly discussed topic. However, few studies have sought additional factors which influence scene time or quantify the impact of mission characteristics or therapeutic interventions on scene time.

Hypothesis/Problem:

The goal of this study was to identify specific interventions, patient demographics, or mission characteristics that increase scene time and quantify their impact on scene time.

Methods:

A retrospective, database model-building study was performed using the prehospital mission database of South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS; Adelaide, South Australia) MedSTAR retrieval service from January 1, 2015 through August 31, 2016. Mission variables, including patient age, weight, gender, retrieval platform, physician type, PHI, arterial line placement, central line placement, and finger thoracostomy, were assessed for predictors of scene time.

Results:

A total of 506 missions were included in this study. Average prehospital scene time was 34 (SD = 21) minutes. Four mission variables significantly increased scene time: patient age, rotary wing transport, PHI, and arterial line placement increased scene time by 0.09 (SD = 0.08) minutes, 13.6 (SD = 3.2) minutes, 11.6 (SD = 3.8) minutes, and 34.4 (SD = 8.4) minutes, respectively.

Conclusion:

This study identifies two mission characteristics, patient age and rotary wing transport, and two interventions, PHI and arterial line placement, which significantly increase scene time. Elderly patients are medically complex and more severely injured than younger patients, thus, may require more time to stabilize on-scene. Inherent in rotary wing operations is the time to prepare for the flight, which is shorter during ground transport. The time required to safely execute a PHI is similar to that in the literature and has remained constant over the past two years; arterial line placement took longer than envisioned. The SAAS MedSTAR has changed its clinical practice guidelines for prehospital interventions based on this study’s results. Retrieval services should similarly assess the necessity and efficiency of interventions to optimize scene time, knowing that the time required to safely execute an intervention may reach a minimum duration. Defining the scene time enables mission planning, team training, and audit review with the aim of improved patient care.
PUBLIC DEBT MANAGEMENT AND TAX EVASION
Authors: Argentiero Amedeo , Cerqueti Roy
Published: June 2019

This paper deals with the optimal management of the public debt-to-GDP ratio. We specifically focus on a contrasting tax evasion-based strategy for controlling the debt-to-GDP ratio. Two devices can be employed by the policymaker: by the one side, the tax rate is to be applied to the tax payers; by the other side, the monitoring activity is to be performed in order to detect the evaded taxes. To pursue our scopes, a stochastic control problem is developed and solved. Some numerical experiments validate the theoretical proposal and lead to an intuitive discussion of the obtained findings.
Relative validation of the adapted Mediterranean Diet Score for Adolescents by comparison with nutritional biomarkers and nutrient and food intakes: the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) study
Authors: Aparicio-Ugarriza Raquel , Cuenca-García Magdalena , Gonzalez-Gross Marcela , Julián Cristina , Bel-Serrat Silvia , Moreno Luis A , Breidenassel Christina , Kersting Mathilde , Arouca Aline B , Michels Nathalie , Mouratidou Theodora , Manios Yannis , Dallongeville Jean , Gottrand Frédéric , Widhalm Kurt , Kafatos Anthony , Molnár Denes , De Henauw Stefaan , Gunter Marc J , Huybrechts Inge
Published: June 2019

Objective:

To investigate whether adherence to the adapted Mediterranean Diet Score for Adolescents (MDS_A) and the adapted Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for Adolescents (KIDMED_A) is associated with better food/nutrient intakes and nutritional biomarkers.

Design:

The Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) study is a cross-sectional study aiming to obtain comparable data on a variety of nutritional and health-related parameters in European adolescents aged 12·5–17·5 years.

Setting:

Nine European countries.

Participants:

European adolescents (n 2330) recruited to the HELENA study. Dietary intake was obtained with 24 h dietary recalls, an FFQ and a Food Choices and Preferences questionnaire. MDS_A was calculated as a categorical variable using cut-offs (MDS_A), as a continuous variable (zMDS_A) and with energy adjustments (zEnMDS_A). The KIDMED_A score was also calculated.

Results:

Multilevel linear regression analysis showed positive associations for zMDS_A and KIDMED_A with serum levels of vitamin D, vitamin C, plasma folate, holo-transcobalamin, β-carotene and n-3 fatty acids, while negative associations were observed with trans-fatty acid serum levels. For categorical indices, blood biomarkers showed few significant results. zMDS_A and KIDMED_A showed positive associations with vegetables and fruits intake, and negative associations with energy-dense and low-nutritious foods. zMDS_A and KIDMED_A were positively associated with all macronutrients, vitamins and minerals (all P < 0·0001), except with monosaccharides and PUFA for KIDMED_A and cholesterol for both indices (P < 0·05).

Conclusions:

zMDS_A and KIDMED_A have shown the strongest associations with the dietary indicators and biomarkers that have been associated with the Mediterranean diet before, and are therefore considered the most appropriate and valid Mediterranean diet scores for European adolescents.
Parenting styles are associated with overall child dietary quality within low-income and food-insecure households
Authors: Burke Michael P , Jones Sonya J , Frongillo Edward A , Blake Christine E , Fram Maryah S
Published: June 2019

Objective:

To examine the association between parenting styles and overall child dietary quality within households that are low-income and food-insecure.

Design:

Child dietary intake was measured via a 24 h dietary recall. Dietary quality was assessed using the Healthy Eating Index-2005 (HEI-2005). Parenting styles were measured and scored using the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire. Linear regressions were used to test main and interaction associations between HEI-2005 scores and parenting styles.

Setting:

Non-probability sample of low-income and food-insecure households in South Carolina, USA.

Participants:

Parent–child dyads (n 171). Parents were ≥18 years old and children were 9–15 years old.

Results:

We found a significant interaction between authoritative and authoritarian parenting style scores. For those with a mean authoritarian score, each unit increase in authoritative score was associated with a higher HEI-2005 score (b = 3·36, P < 0.05). For those with an authoritarian score that was 1 sd above the mean authoritarian score, each unit increase in authoritative score was associated with a higher HEI-2005 score (b = 8.42, P < 0.01). For those with an authoritarian score that was −1 sd below the mean authoritarian score, each unit increase in authoritative score was associated with a lower HEI-2005 score; however, this was not significant (b = −1·69, P > 0·05). Permissive parenting style scores were negatively associated with child dietary quality (b = −2·79, P < 0·05).

Conclusions:

Parenting styles should be considered an important variable that is associated with overall dietary quality in children living within low-income and food-insecure households.
“What Value Should We Attach to All These Petitions?”: Petition Campaigns and the Problem of Legitimacy in the Nineteenth-Century Netherlands
Authors: Janse Maartje
Published: June 2019

This article focuses on large-scale petitioning campaigns, or petitionnementen as they were called, organized between 1828 and 1878, including contemporary reflections and debates on this new phenomenon. Although there were only a handful of petitionnementen, they had a remarkable impact—not only on the issues at hand but also on the balance of power between Crown, Cabinet, Parliament, and people. Mass petitions necessarily challenged the political system, whose legitimacy was based on elections under a limited franchise. Based on parliamentary reports, pamphlets, and other sources reflecting on petitioning in general and the petitionnementen more specifically, this article asks how petitioners claimed legitimacy, and how politicians and other observers responded to those claims. Special attention is given to the international context within which Dutch petitioning practices developed. The article focuses on three case studies, representing the major petitioning campaigns of this period: the Southern petition movements of 1828–1830 that were a catalyst for the Belgian revolution (thus reinforcing the association between mass petitioning and revolution), the Anti-Catholic “April Movement” of 1853, and the so-called People’s Petitionnement of 1878, against the liberal education law. Remarkably enough, in the Netherlands it was not progressive reformers, but most prominently conservative Orthodox Protestants who organized petitionnementen.
At Long Last – A Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory Explanation of Procrastination
Authors: Bennett Catherine , Bacon Alison M.
Published: June 2019

Abstract. Procrastination can result in poor wellbeing and performance in academia and the workplace. The present study combined personality and motivational explanations by examining procrastination through the lens of Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST), which assumes that personality traits are underpinned by basic systems of approach and avoidance motivation. Students ( N = 336; Mage = 21.34) and non-students ( N = 187; Mage = 37.98) completed the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ), measures of unintentional and general procrastination and, for students only, a measure of academic procrastination. In both samples, high impulsivity and high Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) activation was associated with reports of general procrastination. In students, high Reward Reactivity (RR) was additionally associated with Unintentional Procrastination (UP), while low Goal-drive Persistence was associated with all forms of procrastination. These data suggest a role for both approach and avoidance motivations in procrastination. Results are discussed in terms of RST and implications for intervention.
A New Money Behavior Quiz
Authors: Furnham Adrian , Grover Simmy
Published: June 2019

Abstract. This study reports on the development of a new questionnaire to measure money behaviors devised by the Financial Times (London). In all, 402 participants from diverse backgrounds, who were recruited online, completed the 29-item questionnaire. Six a priori money types were identified by financial experts, who did not know the salient psychological literature. The internal reliability of the factors was modest and there was some evidence of sex differences. Exploratory factor analyses failed to confirm the six-factor model, but did provide an alternative and interpretable typology. Further step-wise regression analysis showed the simple question: “Are you a spender or a saver?” was strongly related to almost every factor. Gender, age, and self-perceived wealth were also consistently correlated with the money types. Implications and limitations are discussed.
An Adjoint‐State Full‐Waveform Tsunami Source Inversion Method and Its Application to the 2014 Chile‐Iquique Tsunami Event
Authors: Zhou Tong , Meng Lingsen , Xie Yuqing , Han Jiayuan
Published: June 2019

We develop an adjoint‐state full‐waveform inversion procedure to recover the initial water elevation of a tsunami event. Traditional finite‐fault tsunami source inversion methods suffer from the uncertainty of fault parameters or crustal rigidity. Moreover, the heavy computational burden of calculating Green's functions results in limited spatial resolution and hinders the real‐time applicability of the traditional methods to tsunami early warning. In this work, we apply the adjoint‐state full‐waveform inversion method to the tsunami source inversion. The benefits of the adjoint inversion are twofold: (1) independence of fault parameters, and (2) high computational efficiency, especially for dense tsunami arrays and high‐resolution grids. We validate this approach with synthetic tsunami sources and apply it to the 2014 Chile‐Iquique tsunami event. Both synthetic and real‐data results show that the adjoint‐state method is of high efficiency and high resolution, outperforming the traditional tsunami source inversions.
Quantifying Asthenospheric and Lithospheric Controls on Mafic Magmatism Across North Africa
Authors: Ball P. W. , White N. J. , Masoud A. , Nixon S. , Hoggard M. J. , Maclennan J. , Stuart F. M. , Oppenheimer C. , Kröpelin S.
Published: June 2019

African basin‐and‐swell morphology is often attributed to the planform of subplate mantle convection. Across North Africa, the coincidence of Neogene and Quaternary (i.e., <23 Ma) magmatism, topographic swells, long wavelength gravity anomalies, and slow shear wave velocity anomalies within the asthenosphere provides observational constraints for this hypothesis. Admittance analysis of topographic and gravity fields corroborates the existence of subplate support. To investigate quantitative relationships between intraplate magmatism, shear wave velocity, and asthenospheric temperature, we collected and analyzed a suite of 224 lava samples from Tibesti, Jabal Eghei, Haruj, Sawda/Hasawinah, and Gharyan volcanic centers of Libya and Chad. Forward and inverse modeling of major, trace, and rare Earth elements was used for thermobarometric studies and to determine melt fraction as a function of depth. At each center, mafic magmatism is modeled by assuming adiabatic decompression of dry peridotite with asthenospheric potential temperatures of 1300‐1360 °C. Surprisingly, the highest temperatures are associated with the low‐lying Haruj volcanic center rather than with the more prominent Tibesti swell. Our results are consistent with earthquake tomographic models which show that the slowest shear wave anomalies within the upper mantle occur directly beneath the Haruj center. This inference is corroborated by converting observed velocities into potential temperatures, which are in good agreement with those determined by geochemical inverse modeling. Our results suggest that North African volcanic swells are primarily generated by thermal anomalies located beneath thinned lithosphere.
Spatial and Temporal Evolution of Rifting and Continental Breakup in the Eastern Black Sea Basin Revealed by Long‐Offset Seismic Reflection Data
Authors: Monteleone Vanessa , Minshull Timothy A. , Marin‐Moreno Hector
Published: June 2019

The age and distribution of the synrift and early postrift infill records the spatial and temporal distribution of extension and breakup processes in a rift basin. The Eastern Black Sea Basin (EBSB) is thought to have formed by back‐arc extension during Cretaceous to Early Cenozoic time. However, a lack of direct constraints on its deep stratigraphy leaves uncertainties over the time, duration, and location for rifting and breakup processes in the basin. Here we use the enhanced imaging provided by 2‐D long‐offset seismic reflection profiles to analyze the deep structural and stratigraphic elements of the EBSB. Based on these elements, we infer the presence of two distinct Late Cretaceous synrift units, recording initial extension (rift stage 1) over the continental highs (Shatsky Ridge and the Mid Black Sea High), followed by strain localization along the major basin‐bounding faults and rift migration toward the basin axis (rift stage 2). Overlying these units, Palaeocene(?)‐Eocene and Oligocene units show a synkinematic character in the NW, with evidence for ongoing extension until Oligocene time. Toward the SE, these sequences are instead postkinematic, directly overlaying a basement emplaced during breakup. We interpret the Palaeocene(?)‐Oligocene units to record the time spanning from the initiation of breakup (Late Cretaceous‐Palaeocene, in the SE) to the end of extension (Oligocene, in the NW). The first ubiquitously postrift infill is the Lower Miocene Maykop Formation. Our results highlight the along‐strike temporal variability of extension and breakup processes in the EBSB.
T-cell receptor gene therapy targeting melanoma-associated antigen-A4 by silencing of endogenous TCR inhibits tumor growth in mice and human
Authors: Sun Qian , Zhang Xiying , Wang Limei , Gao Xujie , Xiong Yanjuan , Liu Liang , Wei Feng , Yang Lili , Ren Xiubao
Published: June 2019

Genetically engineered T cells expressing a T-cell receptor (TCR) are powerful tools for cancer treatment and have shown significant clinical effects in sarcoma patients. However, mismatch of the introduced TCR α/β chains with endogenous TCR may impair the expression of transduced TCR, resulting in an insufficient antitumor capacity of modified T cells. Here, we report the development of immunotherapy using human lymphocytes transduced with a codon-optimized melanoma-associated antigen (MAGE)-A4 and HLA-A*2402-restricted TCR, which specifically downregulate endogenous TCR by small interfering RNA (si-TCR). We evaluated the efficacy of this immunotherapy in both NOD-SCID mice and uterine leiomyosarcoma patients. Our results revealed that transduced human lymphocytes exhibited high surface expression of the introduced tumor-specific TCR, enhanced cytotoxic activity against antigen-expressing tumor cells, and increased interferon-γ production by specific MAGE-A4 peptide stimulation. Retarded tumor growth was also observed in NOD-SCID mice inoculated with human tumor cell lines expressing both MAGE-A4 and HLA-A*2402. Furthermore, we report the successful management of a case of uterine leiomyosarcoma treated with MAGE-A4 si-TCR/HLA-A*2402 gene-modified T cells. Our results indicate that the TCR-modified T cell therapy is a promising novel strategy for cancer treatment.
Gasdermin D protects against noninfectious liver injury by regulating apoptosis and necroptosis
Authors: Yang Chenxuan , Sun Ping , Deng Meihong , Loughran Patricia , Li Wenbo , Yi Zhongjie , Li Shilai , Zhang Xianghong , Fan Jie , Billiar Timothy R. , Scott Melanie J
Published: June 2019

Gasdermin D (GsdmD) was recently identified as the executioner of pyroptotic inflammatory cell death, and is a substrate for caspases-1 and 11. GsdmD is detrimental in lethal endotoxemia but protective in bacterial sepsis. However, little is known about its role during noninfectious/sterile injuries. In this study, we examined the contribution of GsdmD using WT and GsdmD−/− mice in two models of noninfectious liver injury: hemorrhagic shock with resuscitation (HS/R) and acetaminophen (APAP) overdose. GsdmD−/− mice had significantly increased liver damage at 6 h after HS/R or APAP vs WT, shown by significantly elevated ALT level and extended areas of cell death in liver. Caspase-8, a mediator of multiple cell death pathways, was highly elevated in GsdmD−/− mice after injury. Significantly increased cleavage of caspase-8 and subsequent high levels of apoptosis were found in livers of GsdmD−/− mice after HS/R, a relatively mild ROS-induced liver injury. However, during more severe APAP-mediated ROS-induced liver injury, caspase-8 cleavage in GsdmD−/− liver was inhibited compared with WT, resulting in accumulation of pro-caspase-8 and increased levels of necroptosis. Our findings indicate a novel hepatoprotective role for GsdmD in noninfectious inflammation models via regulation of caspase-8 expression and downstream cell death pathways. The effects of GsdmD protection are likely injury specific and may also depend on injury severity and levels of ROS produced. These data suggest modulation of GsdmD/caspase-8 may be a novel therapeutic option in ROS-mediated liver injury.
Easy access to oxygenated block polymers via switchable catalysis
Authors: Stößer Tim , Sulley Gregory S. , Gregory Georgina L. , Williams Charlotte K.
Published: June 2019

Oxygenated block polyols are versatile, potentially bio-based and/or degradable materials widely applied in the manufacture of coatings, resins, polyurethanes and other products. Typical preparations involve multistep syntheses and/or macroinitiator approaches. Here, a straightforward and well-controlled one-pot synthesis of ABA triblocks, namely poly(ether-b-ester-b-ether), and ABCBA pentablocks, of the form poly(ester-b-ether-b-ester’-b-ether-b-ester), using a commercial chromium catalyst system is described. The polymerization catalysis exploits mechanistic switches between anhydride/epoxide ring-opening copolymerization, epoxide ring-opening polymerization and lactone ring-opening polymerization without requiring any external stimuli. Testing a range of anhydrides, epoxides and chain-transfer agents reveals some of the requirements and guidelines for successful catalysis. Following these rules of switch catalysis with multiple monomer additions allows the preparation of multiblock polymers of the form (ABA)n up to 15 blocks. Overall, this switchable catalysis delivers polyols in a straightforward and highly controlled manner. As proof of potential for the materials, methods to post-functionalize and/or couple the polyols to make higher polymers are demonstrated.
Microscopic ion migration in solid electrolytes revealed by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy
Authors: Morimoto Tomohide , Nagai Masaya , Minowa Yosuke , Ashida Masaaki , Yokotani Yoichiro , Okuyama Yuji , Kani Yukimune
Published: June 2019

Terahertz spectroscopy is one of the most suitable methods for the analysis of electron transport in solids, and has been applied to various materials. Here, we demonstrate that terahertz spectroscopy is the technique of choice to characterize solid electrolytes. We measure the terahertz conductivity of stabilized zirconia, a widely used solid electrolyte material, by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy at high temperatures, providing a wealth of information unavailable from conventional techniques. It is found that the conductivity reflects the microscopic motion of the ion just before hopping to an unoccupied site. Our results suggest a powerful approach in probing the ionic conduction mechanism and could help us explore other solid electrolytes for fuel cells and all-solid-state batteries.
Mediator complex interaction partners organize the transcriptional network that defines neural stem cells
Authors: Quevedo Marti , Meert Lize , Dekker Mike R. , Dekkers Dick H. W. , Brandsma Johannes H. , van den Berg Debbie L. C. , Ozgür Zeliha , van IJcken Wilfred F. J. , Demmers Jeroen , Fornerod Maarten , Poot Raymond A.
Published: June 2019

The Mediator complex regulates transcription by connecting enhancers to promoters. High Mediator binding density defines super enhancers, which regulate cell-identity genes and oncogenes. Protein interactions of Mediator may explain its role in these processes but have not been identified comprehensively. Here, we purify Mediator from neural stem cells (NSCs) and identify 75 protein-protein interaction partners. We identify super enhancers in NSCs and show that Mediator-interacting chromatin modifiers colocalize with Mediator at enhancers and super enhancers. Transcription factor families with high affinity for Mediator dominate enhancers and super enhancers and can explain genome-wide Mediator localization. We identify E-box transcription factor Tcf4 as a key regulator of NSCs. Tcf4 interacts with Mediator, colocalizes with Mediator at super enhancers and regulates neurogenic transcription factor genes with super enhancers and broad H3K4me3 domains. Our data suggest that high binding-affinity for Mediator is an important organizing feature in the transcriptional network that determines NSC identity.
Author Correction: 2600-years of stratospheric volcanism through sulfate isotopes
Authors: Gautier E. , Savarino J. , Hoek J. , Erbland J. , Caillon N. , Hattori S. , Yoshida N. , Albalat E. , Albarede F. , Farquhar J.
Published: June 2019

The authors became aware of a mistake in the data and axis labeling in Fig. 2 in the original version of the Article. Specifically, the authors mistakenly copied and pasted a formula for background correction instead of the actual values. As a result of this, Fig. 3 was updated to replace the incorrect label ‘sulfate flux (kg km−2)’ with the correct ‘sulfate concentrations (ng g−1)’ on the far-left y-axes in both panels, and to add the correct data for Δ33S, as given by the red dotted lines. The correct version of Fig. 3 is shown below as Fig. 1, which replaced the previous incorrect version, shown below as Fig. 2. This has been corrected in both the PDF and the HTML versions of the Article. The findings and interpretations in the original Article are based on the correct dataset, and this error does not affect the original discussion or conclusions of the Article. The authors apologize for the confusion caused by this mistake.
Native top-down mass spectrometry provides insights into the copper centers of membrane-bound methane monooxygenase
Authors: Ro Soo Y. , Schachner Luis F. , Koo Christopher W. , Purohit Rahul , Remis Jonathan P. , Kenney Grace E. , Liauw Brandon W. , Thomas Paul M. , Patrie Steven M. , Kelleher Neil L. , Rosenzweig Amy C.
Published: June 2019

Aerobic methane oxidation is catalyzed by particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO), a copper-dependent, membrane metalloenzyme composed of subunits PmoA, PmoB, and PmoC. Characterization of the copper active site has been limited by challenges in spectroscopic analysis stemming from the presence of multiple copper binding sites, effects of detergent solubilization on activity and crystal structures, and the lack of a heterologous expression system. Here we utilize nanodiscs coupled with native top-down mass spectrometry (nTDMS) to determine the copper stoichiometry in each pMMO subunit and to detect post-translational modifications (PTMs). These results indicate the presence of a mononuclear copper center in both PmoB and PmoC. pMMO-nanodisc complexes with a higher stoichiometry of copper-bound PmoC exhibit increased activity, suggesting that the PmoC copper site plays a role in methane oxidation activity. These results provide key insights into the pMMO copper centers and demonstrate the ability of nTDMS to characterize complex membrane-bound metalloenzymes.
Microbially induced potassium enrichment in Paleoproterozoic shales and implications for reverse weathering on early Earth
Authors: Aubineau Jérémie , El Albani Abderrazak , Bekker Andrey , Somogyi Andrea , Bankole Olabode M. , Macchiarelli Roberto , Meunier Alain , Riboulleau Armelle , Reynaud Jean-Yves , Konhauser Kurt O.
Published: June 2019

Illitisation requires potassium incorporation into a smectite precursor, a process akin to reverse weathering. However, it remains unclear whether microbes facilitate K+ uptake to the sediments and whether illitisation was important in the geological past. The 2.1 billion-year-old Francevillian Series of Gabon has been shown to host mat-related structures (MRS) and, in this regard, these rocks offer a unique opportunity to test whether ancient microbes induced illitisation. Here, we show high K content confined to illite particles that are abundant in the facies bearing MRS, but not in the host sandstone and black shale. This observation suggests that microbial biofilms trapped K+ from the seawater and released it into the pore-waters during respiration, resulting in illitisation. The K-rich illite developed exclusively in the fossilized MRS thus provides a new biosignature for metasediments derived from K-feldspar-depleted rocks that were abundant crustal components on ancient Earth.
Graph dynamical networks for unsupervised learning of atomic scale dynamics in materials
Authors: Xie Tian , France-Lanord Arthur , Wang Yanming , Shao-Horn Yang , Grossman Jeffrey C.
Published: June 2019

Understanding the dynamical processes that govern the performance of functional materials is essential for the design of next generation materials to tackle global energy and environmental challenges. Many of these processes involve the dynamics of individual atoms or small molecules in condensed phases, e.g. lithium ions in electrolytes, water molecules in membranes, molten atoms at interfaces, etc., which are difficult to understand due to the complexity of local environments. In this work, we develop graph dynamical networks, an unsupervised learning approach for understanding atomic scale dynamics in arbitrary phases and environments from molecular dynamics simulations. We show that important dynamical information, which would be difficult to obtain otherwise, can be learned for various multi-component amorphous material systems. With the large amounts of molecular dynamics data generated every day in nearly every aspect of materials design, this approach provides a broadly applicable, automated tool to understand atomic scale dynamics in material systems.
A spatiotemporal natural-human database to evaluate road development impacts in an Amazon trinational frontier
Authors: Klarenberg Geraldine , Muñoz-Carpena Rafael , Perz Stephen , Baraloto Christopher , Marsik Matthew , Southworth Jane , Zhu Likai
Published: June 2019

Road construction and paving bring socio-economic benefits to receiving regions but can also be drivers of deforestation and land cover change. Road infrastructure often increases migration and illegal economic activities, which in turn affect local hydrology, wildlife, vegetation structure and dynamics, and biodiversity. To evaluate the full breadth of impacts from a coupled natural-human systems perspective, information is needed over a sufficient timespan to include pre- and post-road paving conditions. In addition, the spatial scale should be appropriate to link local human activities and biophysical system components, while also allowing for upscaling to the regional scale. A database was developed for the tri-national frontier in the Southwestern Amazon, where the Inter-Oceanic Highway was constructed through an area of high biological value and cultural diversity. Extensive socio-economic surveys and botanical field work are combined with remote sensing and reanalysis data to provide a rich and unique database, suitable for coupled natural-human systems research.
Multitask learning and benchmarking with clinical time series data
Authors: Harutyunyan Hrayr , Khachatrian Hrant , Kale David C. , Ver Steeg Greg , Galstyan Aram
Published: June 2019

Health care is one of the most exciting frontiers in data mining and machine learning. Successful adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) created an explosion in digital clinical data available for analysis, but progress in machine learning for healthcare research has been difficult to measure because of the absence of publicly available benchmark data sets. To address this problem, we propose four clinical prediction benchmarks using data derived from the publicly available Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC-III) database. These tasks cover a range of clinical problems including modeling risk of mortality, forecasting length of stay, detecting physiologic decline, and phenotype classification. We propose strong linear and neural baselines for all four tasks and evaluate the effect of deep supervision, multitask training and data-specific architectural modifications on the performance of neural models.
Publisher Correction: In vitro and in vivo evidences for innate immune stimulators lactic acid bacterial starters isolated from fermented camel dairy products
Authors: Elbanna Khaled , El Hadad Sahar , Assaeedi Abdelrahaman , Aldahlawi Alia , Khider Manal , Alhebshi Alawiah
Published: June 2019

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.