bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Physical activity phenotypes and mortality in older adults: a novel distributional data analysis of accelerometry in the NHANES
Authors: Matabuena Marcos , Félix Paulo , Hammouri Ziad Akram Ali , Mota Jorge , del Pozo Cruz Borja
Published: October 2022

Physical activity is deemed critical to successful ageing. Despite evidence and progress, there is still a need to determine more precisely the direction, magnitude, intensity, and volume of physical activity that should be performed on a daily basis to effectively promote the health of individuals. This study aimed to assess the clinical validity of new physical activity phenotypes derived from a novel distributional functional analysis of accelerometer data in older adults. A random sample of participants aged between 65 and 80 years with valid accelerometer data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2014 was used. Five major clinical phenotypes were identified, which provided a greater sensitivity for predicting 5-year mortality and survival outcomes than age alone, and our results confirm the importance of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The new clinical physical activity phenotypes are a promising tool for improving patient prognosis and for directing to more targeted intervention planning, according to the principles of precision medicine. The use of distributional representations shows clear advantages over more traditional metrics to explore the effects of the full spectrum of the physical activity continuum on human health.
Secure medical image sharing for smart healthcare system based on cellular neural network
Authors: Ye Conghuan , Chen Cong
Published: October 2022

The smart healthcare system (SHCS) facilitates the healthcare process with the widespread use of medical data through the internet of medical things (IoMT). Widespread use of medical data, especially medical images can also lead to privacy issues. Traditional encryption algorithms can address some problems; however, they cannot deter the redistribution of decrypted content. To prevent the decrypted content from being used illegally, the paper proposes a combination scheme of encryption and fingerprinting based on the game of life (GOL) and singular value decomposition (SVD) with the purpose of protecting medical images. First, medical images are performed with discrete wavelet transform (DWT). Second, the highest coefficients bit planes of the approximation component are selected to confuse with GOL. Third, the other bit planes and other detail components are chosen to embed fingerprints. Finally, all subbands are diffused with SVD computing. The proposed privacy protection scheme, as far as we know, is the first privacy protection scheme for the SHCS using GOL and SVD based on a chaotic cellular neural network (CNN). The proposed scheme can provide double-level privacy protection for the SHCS. The experimental results and discussion verify it is effective for the privacy protection of the SHCS.
Does statistics anxiety impact academic dishonesty? Academic challenges in the age of distance learning
Authors: Eshet Yovav , Steinberger Pnina , Grinautsky Keren
Published: October 2022

This study discusses the mediating role of statistics anxiety and motivation in the relationship comprising academic dishonesty, personality traits, and previous academic achievements in three different learning environments (Face to Face -F2F, Planned Online Environment – POE, and Emergency Remote Teaching – ERT). Self-determination theory (SDT) provides a broad psychological framework for these phenomena. Data were collected from 649 bachelor-degree students in the Social Sciences in five Israeli academic institutions. Structural equation modelling was employed to investigate the research variables’ relationships. Findings indicate that statistics anxiety mediates the relationship between personality traits and academic dishonesty in the POE and the ERT learning environments. Findings also indicate the relationship between students’ achievements and academic dishonesty, but only in the ERT learning environment. In contrast, motivation mediates the relationship between students’ achievements and statistics anxiety only in the POE learning environment. This study unveils that learning environments determine the mediating role of statistical anxiety. In digital learning environments (POE, ERT), mediation has been found between students’ personality traits and academic dishonesty. No similar parallel mediation could be established in the physical learning environment, F2F. Thus, we conclude that online courses should be designed according to student-centred approaches.
Literacy and Numeracy in Children on Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Kljajevic Vanja
Published: October 2022

Objectives

The variability in patterns of acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is currently not well understood. In the present study, we investigated these skills in cognitively able children with ASD ages 7–12 years.

Methods

Using independent samples t test, we compared autistic children’s scores on word reading, spelling, and numerical operations with those of typically developing children in the same age group. A paired-samples t test was used to assess whether reading, spelling, and numerical operations scores were comparable within the ASD group. Finally, we tested whether verbal IQ mediated the effect of diagnostic status on these scores.

Results

The main findings of the study are that autistic children had worse scores on numerical operations than the control group (t(54.112) =  − 3.326, p = .002, d =  − .314), but the groups’ scores were similar in word reading and spelling. The autistic children had significantly better scores on word reading and spelling than on numerical operations. All scores of autistic children were positively associated with their verbal IQ scores. Verbal IQ mediated the effect of diagnostic status on all outcome variables.

Conclusion

These findings extend current understanding of patterns of acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills in young children with ASD, suggesting a critical role of verbal abilities in the acquisition of numerical skills.
Mass spectrometric analysis of chondroitin sulfate-linked peptides
Authors: Ramarajan Madan Gopal , Saraswat Mayank , Budhraja Rohit , Garapati Kishore , Raymond Kimiyo , Pandey Akhilesh
Published: October 2022

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) are extracellular matrix components composed of linear glycosaminoglycan (GAG) side chains attached to a core protein. CSPGs play a vital role in neurodevelopment, signal transduction, cellular proliferation and differentiation and tumor metastasis through interaction with growth factors and signaling proteins. These pleiotropic functions of proteoglycans are regulated spatiotemporally by the GAG chains attached to the core protein. There are over 70 chondroitin sulfate-linked proteoglycans reported in cells, cerebrospinal fluid and urine. A core glycan linker of 3–6 monosaccharides attached to specific serine residues can be extended by 20–200 disaccharide repeating units making intact CSPGs very large and impractical to analyze. The current paradigm of CSPG analysis involves digesting the GAG chains by chondroitinase enzymes and analyzing either the protein part, the disaccharide repeats, or both by mass spectrometry. This method, however, provides no information about the site of attachment or the composition of linker oligosaccharides and the degree of sulfation and/or phosphorylation. Further, the analysis by mass spectrometry and subsequent identification of novel CSPGs is hampered by technical challenges in their isolation, less optimal ionization and data analysis. Unknown identity of the linker oligosaccharide also makes it more difficult to identify the glycan composition using database searching approaches. Following chondroitinase digestion of long GAG chains linked to tryptic peptides, we identified intact GAG-linked peptides in clinically relevant samples including plasma, urine and dermal fibroblasts. These intact glycopeptides including their core linker glycans were identified by mass spectrometry using optimized stepped higher energy collision dissociation and electron-transfer/higher energy collision dissociation combined with hybrid database search/de novo glycan composition search. We identified 25 CSPGs including three novel CSPGs that have not been described earlier. Our findings demonstrate the utility of combining enrichment strategies and optimized high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis including alternative fragmentation methods for the characterization of CSPGs.
Modifying the linear two-step Windmeijer correction for the presence of spatial error dependence
Authors: Fingleton Bernard
Published: October 2022

The aim in the paper is to show how the presence of spatial dependence affects the often-adopted Windmeijer (J Econom 126:25–51, 2005) finite sample correction (For example it is an option facilitating robust estimation in the software package Stata, which is used by many applied econometricians and data analysts.), which corrects the downward bias in estimated parameter standard errors. Windmeijer (2005) explains why, with numerous instruments, the estimated asymptotic standard errors of the efficient, two-step, GMM estimator are downward biased in small samples. GMM estimation is based on an estimated optimal weight matrix, which is the inverse of the covariance of the sample moments, and the bias results from the weight matrix being evaluated at estimated, rather than the true values of parameters. Hwang et al. (J Econom 229(2):276–298, 2022) provide a correction to the Windmeijer (2005) finite sample correction to allow for over-identification bias. The novel contribution of the current paper is to show how the Windmeijer (2005) correction can be modified given spatial dependence in the error term of a model with moments conditions that are linear in parameters estimated by GMM, leading to corrected standard errors and therefore more accurate inference. Monte Carlo simulations are used to demonstrate the effect of the modification and two examples using real data shows how inference may be affected by ignoring the effect of spatial error dependence.
State Reform, Coalitions, and The Neoliberal Autogolpe in Peru
Authors: Mauceri Philip
Published: October 2022

When President Alberto Fujimori suspended constitutional rule in April 1992, he ended Peru's twelve-year experiment in civilian democratic governance. Citing the growing insurgency of Sendero Luminoso, corruption in the political parties, and difficulties with the Peruvian Congress in passing his economic program, Fujimori announced that democracy would have to be “temporarily suspended” in order to build new institutions. This move was backed by the armed forces. Perhaps most surprising to outside observers was the widespread popularity of Fujimori's move, which reflected the growing disenchantment with traditional political parties of the right and the left. Democratic procedures and institutions during the 1980s had been precarious at best. The military's counterinsurgency campaign against Sendero Luminoso had transformed Peru into one of the hemisphere's worst offenders against human rights, with the highest number of forced disappearances in the world. But despite documented cases of torture and other violations of human rights by state authorities, Peruvian military forces acted with the knowledge that they were virtually immune from prosecution.
Industrial Sectors and Union Politics in Latin American Labor Movements: Light and Power Workers in Argentina and Mexico
Authors: Brennan James P.
Published: October 2022

The March 1976 coup that overthrew a turbulent Peronist government in Argentina also ended one of the few experiments with worker control of industry in Latin American history. For nearly three years, the Buenos Aires local of the country's strong light and power workers' union, the Sindicato de Luz y Fuerza, administered the great public utility SEGBA (Servicios Eléctricos del Gran Buenos Aires), provider of electric power for the capital city and much of the province of Buenos Aires. This experiment with worker control was all the more noteworthy because it was not undertaken by the maverick Cordoban local of Luz y Fuerza, led by Agustín Tosco, principal spokesman within the labor movement for socialism. Rather, the initiative was taken by a bastion of traditional Peronist trade unionism led by Juan José Taccone, the implacable foe of Tosco'sclasistapositions.
After the Mining Boom: Demographic and Economic Aspects of Slavery in Mariana, Minas Gerais, 1750–1808
Authors: Bergad Laird W.
Published: October 2022

Slavery in the interior state of Minas Gerais has been a focal point of the voluminous historiography appearing on Brazilian slavery in the past twenty years. During the mineral boom of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, Minas was the key region of the colonial Brazilian economy and the largest slaveholdingcapitania.The older literature on Brazilian history recognized the centrality of slave labor to the eighteenth-century mining sector but concluded that as the mining boom waned after 1750, slavery began to disintegrate. The history of Minas Gerais after the boom was interpreted as a long period of economic stagnation accompanied by reversion to cattle raising and subsistence agriculture, slow demographic growth, and the transfer of the Mineiro slave population during the nineteenth century to the more dynamic coffee-growing areas in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Recent Works on the Inquisition and Peruvian Colonial Society, 1570–1820
Authors: Hampe-Martínez Teodoro
Published: October 2022

This essay seeks to categorize and assess works published since the 1950s on the activities of the tribunal of the Santo Oficio de la Inquisición of Lima and their repercussions on the social history of the viceroyalty of Peru. The studies made of the Inquisition in recent decades, in going beyond a merely descriptive focus or one biased by the old prejudices of the “Black Legend,” have highlighted the exceptional value of the records of the Lima Inquisition for acquainting researchers with interesting dimensions on the level of mentalities, ideas, attitudes, and behaviors—that is to say, in the expressions of the deepest impulses of the human soul. This trend has allowed historians to modify their image of the Inquisition in the Spanish metropolis and in its former colonies in America.
Land Reform and Agrarian Revolution in El Salvador: Comment on Seligson and Diskin
Authors: Paige Jeffery M.
Published: October 2022

The causes as well as the consequences of land reform are revolutionary. Land reform is not really reform at all. In an agrarian society, land reform is a revolutionary act because it redistributes the major source of wealth, social standing, and political power. Successful large-scale land reforms in Latin America and elsewhere occur only during social revolution or through the actions of invading armies imposing revolution from above. The land reforms in Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, Cuba, and Nicaragua occurred during revolutions; the land reforms in Japan and Taiwan were imposed by invading armies. The reform in South Korea apparently represented a combination of the two. Fundamental land reform without social transformation is a logical and practical impossibility. This is the reason why land reform as a counterrevolutionary strategy, such as the ill-fated “land-to-the-tiller” program attempted in Vietnam, is bound to fail.
The Logic of Clientelism in Argentina: An Ethnographic Account
Authors: Auyero Javier
Published: October 2022

Based on ethnographic fieldwork in a shantytown in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, this article studies the workings of Peronist “political clientelism” among the urban poor. It analyzes the web of relations that some slum-dwellers establish with local political brokers to obtain medicine, food, and solutions to other everyday concerns. The article also explores the main functions of the “problem-solving networks,” which are resource control and information hoarding, and pays particular attention to an underexplored dimension of the operation of clientelism: clients' own views on the network.
Trouble in Paradise?: The Erosion of System Support in Costa Rica, 1978–1999
Authors: Seligson Mitchell A
Published: October 2022

Costa Rica has been the real success story of Latin American democracy. For the last half-century, this small country has held free, fair, and competitive elections, experienced regular rotation of rulers and parties, and rarely violated human or civil rights. Consistent voter turnout rates of 80 percent and a firmly entrenched two-party system appeared to be unalterable features of the electoral landscape since the late 1950s. While democracy still seems securely entrenched, the 1998 elections brought a major shift. Abstention increased by 50 percent, and votes for minor parties in the legislature doubled, reaching one-quarter of the electorate. This research note presents evidence that the shift is the result of long-term forces, using cross-sectional survey data collected from 1978 to 1999. Notable declines in the legitimacy of the political system explain the drop in turnout and the rise of minor parties. The study then attempts to explain why this decline may have occurred.
Agrarian Protest and the Indian Movement in the Ecuadorian Highlands
Authors: Zamosc Leon
Published: October 2022

In June of 1990, the mountains of the Ecuadorian Sierra provided the setting for a spectacular display of protest. For an entire week, tens of thousands of Indian peasants stopped delivering farm produce to the towns and blocked the main highways, picketed on the roadsides and marched en masse in regional capitals. In some places, demonstrators seized the offices of government agencies, and in others, localized skirmishes reportedly broke out where landowners and Indian communities had been embroiled in unresolved land disputes.
Lessons from Economic Reform in the Venezuelan Democracy
Authors: Crisp Brian F.
Published: October 2022

The relationship between capitalism and democracy has been a focal question in political science for years. Compelling arguments have been advanced on all sides of the debate. Democracy promotes capitalism. Capitalism promotes democracy. The two are correlated but are caused by other variables, including everything from a given country's political culture to its position in the world economy. Now the recent turn toward neoliberal economic strategies in Latin America has revitalized the question of whether any one form of capitalism is more compatible with democracy than others.
Waiting for the Forest Law: Resource-Led Development and Environmental Politics in Chile
Authors: Clapp Roger Alex
Published: October 2022

Chile has gained a reputation as the Latin American economic success story of the 1990s. Domestic savings rates are high, foreign investment continues to expand, inflation remains single-digit, and economic growth has averaged 6 percent annually from 1984 to 1995. In the seven years of democratic government since 1989, the poor have begun to share some of the benefits of this growth. From 1989 to 1993, unemployment fell from 12.2 percent to 4.9 percent, and social expenditures increased by a third in real terms (Hojman 1995). But Chile's impressive recent record of sustained economic development coupled with improvements in social justice has incurred significant environmental costs that raise doubts about the ecological sustainability of the Chilean model (Meller, O'Ryan, and Solimano 1996).
Paradoxes of Gendered Political Opportunity in the Venezuelan Transition to Democracy
Authors: Friedman Elisabeth J.
Published: October 2022

On International Women's Day in March 1958, ten thousand women gathered in the largest stadium in Caracas to celebrate the fall of the dictatorship of Major Marcos Pérez Jiménez and to commemorate the many women who had taken an active role in opposing it. This gathering was the first mass meeting following the demise of authoritarian rule. Despite the array of political views represented in the audience and on the dais, unity was stressed by every speaker. Women had struggled against the dictatorship united, and united they would promote their own rights in the fledgling democracy. But within a year, the women's group that had sponsored the rally disbanded. Women did not hold another nonpartisan meeting for sixteen years, and then only when the United Nations' International Women's Year in 1974 galvanized the two thousand participants. During the first thirty years of democracy in Venezuela, women held no more than 5 percent of congressional seats and few of the decision-making positions in political parties.
Public Opinion of the Economy and the President among Mexico City Residents: The Salinas Sexenio
Authors: Villarreal Andrés
Published: October 2022

Because of the prominence of the president in the Mexican political system, public opinion of the executive is a particularly important political indicator. Two models of public opinion are used here to explain changes in President Carlos Salinas de Gortari's approval rate from 1990 to 1994. The economic-performance model assumes that approval was based on public perception of trends in the economy. The statistical analysis shows that individuals' perceptions of economic performance had a strong positive effect on their opinions of the president. But basic economic indicators such as inflation, the real value of wages, and the level of unemployment are found to explain only partially Mexico City residents' opinions of the economy. The policy-initiatives model assumes that approval of President Salinas was based on public opinion of his economic policy initiatives. Citizens' approval of Salinas's economic initiatives was found to affect their opinions of the president substantially. Because many of these policy initiatives, such as NAFTA, had no immediate direct impact on the economic condition of the country, I conclude that Salinas's extraordinary popularity was largely due to the expectations that these initiatives created.
Causes of Tax Reform in Latin America, 1977–95
Authors: Mahon James E.
Published: October 2022

Among the policy changes associated with neoliberalism in Latin America, tax reform has played a leading role as it has been crucial not only to price stabilization but also to managing economic liberalization. But it also has a larger significance, since it involved a reconstitution of core state powers, and these could prove useful to any future government that seeks to expand the state's economic role. This paper seeks to determine its causes more precisely by analyzing data from fifteen Latin American countries from 1977 to 1995. Findings show that the definition of “tax reform” has been remarkably similar across the region with less progressivity, fewer exemptions, a new leading role for the value-added tax (VAT), and the strengthening of tax administration. The data analysis then finds reform is predicted by (in roughly descending importance) past inflation, explicit IMF performance conditions, new administrations, more authoritarian-elected governments, the dominance of the president's party in the legislature, established electoral systems, closed-list proportional representation, less polarized party systems, and more numerous parties. Little or no support exists for the causal importance of past changes in gross domestic product (GDP), the constitutional powers of the president, party institutionalization, or partisan balance. The analysis concludes by placing these results in historical context, referring to theories of state formation and the building of institutions in exchange for resources.
Myths of Racial Democracy: Cuba, 1900-1912
Authors: de la Fuente Alejandro
Published: October 2022

This article reviews the recent literature on the so-called myths of racial democracy in Latin America and challenges current critical interpretations of the social effects of these ideologies. Typically, critics stress the elitist nature of these ideologies, their demobilizing effects among racially subordinate groups, and the role they play in legitimizing the subordination of such groups. Using the establishment of the Cuban republic as a test case, this article contends that the critical approach tends to minimize or ignore altogether the opportunities that these ideologies have created for those below, the capacity of subordinate groups to use the nation-state's cultural project to their own advantage, and the fact that these social myths also restrain the political options of their own creators.
Hidden Potential in Predicting Wintertime Temperature Anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere
Authors: Dobrynin Mikhail , Düsterhus André , Fröhlich Kristina , Athanasiadis Panos , Ruggieri Paolo , Müller Wolfgang A. , Baehr Johanna
Published: October 2022

Variability of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) drives wintertime temperature anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere. Dynamical seasonal prediction systems can skilfully predict the winter NAO. However, prediction of the NAO‐dependent air temperature anomalies remains elusive, partially due to the low variability of predicted NAO. Here, we demonstrate a hidden potential of a multi‐model ensemble of operational seasonal prediction systems for predicting wintertime temperature by increasing the variability of predicted NAO. We identify and subsample those ensemble members which are close to NAO index statistically estimated from initial autumn conditions. In our novel multi‐model approach, the correlation prediction skill for wintertime Central Europe temperature is improved from 0.25 to 0.66, accompanied by an increased winter NAO prediction skill of 0.9. Thereby, temperature anomalies can be skilfully predicted for the upcoming winter over a large part of the Northern Hemisphere through increased variability and skill of predicted NAO.
Near‐Cloud Aerosol Retrieval Using Machine Learning Techniques, and Implied Direct Radiative Effects
Authors: Yang C. Kevin , Chiu J. Christine , Marshak Alexander , Feingold Graham , Várnai Tamás , Wen Guoyong , Yamaguchi Takanobu , Jan van Leeuwen Peter
Published: October 2022

There is a lack of satellite‐based aerosol retrievals in the vicinity of low‐topped clouds, mainly because reflectance from aerosols is overwhelmed by three‐dimensional cloud radiative effects. To account for cloud radiative effects on reflectance observations, we develop a Convolutional Neural Network and retrieve aerosol optical depth (AOD) with 100–500 m horizontal resolution for all cloud‐free regions regardless of their distances to clouds. The retrieval uncertainty is 0.01 + 5%AOD, and the mean bias is approximately −2%. In an application to satellite observations, aerosol hygroscopic growth due to humidification near clouds enhances AOD by 100% in regions within 1 km of cloud edges. The humidification effect leads to an overall 55% increase in the clear‐sky aerosol direct radiative effect. Although this increase is based on a case study, it highlights the importance of aerosol retrievals in near‐cloud regions, and the need to incorporate the humidification effect in radiative forcing estimates.
The Dependence of Tropical Cyclone Pressure Tendency on Size
Authors: Sparks Nathan , Toumi Ralf
Published: October 2022

Current theories of tropical cyclone (TC) intensification give little direct indication of the role of the TC size in intensity changes, although there are observations showing a relationship. We develop a new model of TC central pressure tendency where the pressure change can be expressed as exponential with a time constant determined by the ratio of radius maximum wind (Rmax) and the column inflow or outflow speed. An analysis of observations confirms the relationship which becomes more important for a larger pressure tendency and suggests an upper bound on pressure tendency for a given Rmax. The dependence of the pressure tendency on size poses a challenging constraint on the accurate forecasting of TCs in numerical weather prediction and climate models.
Multidecadal Regime Shifts in North Pacific Subtropical Mode Water Formation in a Coupled Atmosphere‐Ocean‐Sea Ice Model
Authors: Kim Sang‐Yeob , Kwon Young‐Oh , Park Wonsun , Lee Ho Jin
Published: October 2022

A regime shift in the formation mechanisms of the North Pacific subtropical mode water (NPSTMW) and its causes were investigated using a 2,000‐year‐long pre‐industrial control simulation of a fully coupled atmosphere‐ocean‐sea ice model. The volume budget analysis revealed that the air‐sea flux and ocean dynamics (OD) were the two primary driving mechanisms for NPSTMW formation, but their relative importance has periodically alternated in multidecadal timescales of approximately 50–70 years. The regime shift of the NPSTMW formation was closely related to the meridional (50 years) and zonal (70 years) movements of the Aleutian Low (AL). When AL shifted to the south or east, it induces the sea surface height anomalies propagating westward from the central North Pacific and preconditions the NPSTMW formation, thus the OD become relatively more important.
Contrasting Climatic Trends of Atmospheric River Occurrences Over East Asia
Authors: Wang Qiang , Yang Long , Yang Yixin , Chen Xiaodong
Published: October 2022

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are increasingly recognized as a major driver of hydrological cycles, and are projected to increase around the world under a changing climate. However, the long‐term trends of ARs over East Asia (EA) remains less elucidated. Here we fill the gap by developing a longest‐ever archive of EA ARs, and examine its role in determining spatiotemporal precipitation variability over EA. We find contrasting changes in AR occurrences, with more frequent ARs in low latitudes but less in high latitudes during the period 1950–2020. The “dipole” pattern of decadal changes in AR occurrences is dictated by atmospheric dynamics (i.e., winds) in the north but thermodynamics (i.e., moisture) in the south. The reduced AR occurrences explain 49% of decreased annual precipitation in northern China, while more AR‐related precipitation is observed in southern China. Our results provide new insights into regional hydroclimate over EA by connecting it with large‐scale weather systems.
Evaluation of Extreme Soil Moisture Conditions During the 2020 Sahel Floods and Implications for Disease Outbreaks
Authors: Thomas N. P. , Anyamba A. , Tubbs H. , Bishnoi B.
Published: October 2022

The June‐October 2020 growing season was characterized by sustained and extreme flooding across the African Sahel. One consequence of flooding events such as this is outbreaks of vector borne diseases (VBDs) which are often associated with climate anomalies. In this study, data from the soil moisture active passive (SMAP) mission is used with other soil moisture and precipitation data to show that the 2020 Sahelian growing season was the most extreme over the past four decades, ranking first in seasonally accumulated precipitation, which on average exceeded the climatology by around 300 mm. VBD outbreaks of Rift Valley fever and Chikungunya followed in Mauritania/Senegal and Chad, respectively. In some cases, soil moisture is a better indicator of VBD outbreak risk than precipitation, which has so far been more commonly used in studies of VBD outbreaks. It is expected that this finding will inform future monitoring and prediction efforts for VBD risk.
Future Hurricanes Will Increase Palm Abundance and Decrease Aboveground Biomass in a Tropical Forest
Authors: Zhang Jiaying , Bras Rafael L. , Longo Marcos , Scalley Tamara Heartsill
Published: October 2022

Hurricanes are expected to intensify throughout the 21st century, yet the impact of frequent major hurricanes on tropical ecosystems remains unknown. To investigate tropical forest damage and recovery under different hurricane regimes, we generate a suite of scenarios based on Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 climate projections and increased hurricane recurrence and intensity for the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. We then use the Ecosystem Demography model to predict changes in carbon stocks, forest structure and composition. Our results indicate that frequent hurricane disturbances in the future would decrease the overall aboveground biomass, decrease the dominance of late‐successional species, but increase the dominance of palm species. Warmer climates with increased CO2 would have little effect on the functional‐type composition but increase the aboveground biomass. However, the predicted climate and CO2 fertilization effects would not compensate for the biomass loss due to more frequent severe‐hurricane disturbances.
Earthquake Focal Mechanisms as a Stress Meter of Active Volcanoes
Authors: Aoki Yosuke
Published: October 2022

The orientation of faulting associated with volcano‐tectonic earthquakes follows the stress field there, as with tectonic earthquakes. Therefore, stress changes associated with volcanic activity change fault orientations or focal mechanisms. Zhan et al. (2022; https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL097958) observed temporal changes of focal mechanisms associated with volcanic unrest. They decomposed the stress field into the ambient differential stress, volcano loading, and the stress change by the dike intrusion; they then evaluated their relative contributions to constrain the magnitude of the ambient differential stress that is consistent with the observation. This study indicates that focal mechanisms can be used to monitor the stress state of an active volcano. Combining focal mechanisms with other geophysical observables, such as seismic anisotropy and geodetic measurements, will give us more precise assessments of the stress state, leading to better forecasts of volcanic activity.
Meteor Head Echo Analyses From Concurrent Radar Observations at AMISR Resolute Bay, Jicamarca, and Millstone Hill
Authors: Hedges T. , Lee N. , Elschot S.
Published: October 2022

On 10 and 11 October 2019, high‐power radar observations were performed simultaneously for 8 hours at Resolute Bay Incoherent Scatter North (RISR‐N), Jicamarca Radio Observatory (JRO), and Millstone Hill Observatory (MHO). The concurrent observations eliminate diurnal, seasonal, and space weather biases in the meteor head echo populations and elucidate relative sensitivities of each facility and configuration. Each facility observed thousands of head echoes, with JRO observing tens of thousands. An inter‐pulse phase matching technique employs Doppler shifts to determine head echo range rates (velocity component along radar beam) with order‐of‐magnitude greater accuracy versus measuring the Doppler shift at individual pulses, and this technique yields accurate range rates and decelerations for a subset of the head echo population at each facility. Because RISR‐N is at high latitude and points away from the ecliptic plane, it does not observe head echoes with range rates faster than 55 km/s, although its head echo population demonstrates a bias toward larger and faster head echoes. At JRO near the equator, a larger spread of range rates is observed. MHO observes a large spread of range rates at mid‐latitude despite its comparable frequency to RISR‐N, but this occurs because its beam was pointed at a 45° elevation angle unlike RISR‐N and JRO which were pointed near‐zenith. A trend of greater decelerations at lower altitudes is observed at RISR‐N and JRO, with decelerations of up to 60 km/s2, but high‐deceleration events of up to 1,000 km/s2 previously observed in head echo studies are not observed.
Accounting for Modeling Errors in Linear Inversion of Crosshole Ground‐Penetrating Radar Amplitude Data: Detecting Sand in Clayey Till
Authors: Jensen B. B. , Hansen T. M. , Nielsen L. , Cordua K. S. , Tuxen N. , Tsitonaki A. , Looms M. C.
Published: October 2022

Mapping high permeability sand occurrences in clayey till is fundamental for protecting the underlying drinking water resources. Crosshole ground penetrating radar (GPR) amplitude data have the potential to differentiate between sand and clay, and can provide 2D subsurface models with a decimeter‐scale resolution. We develop a probabilistic straight‐ray‐based inversion scheme, where we account for the forward modeling error arising from choosing a straight‐ray forward solver. The forward modeling error is described by a Gaussian probability distribution and included in the total noise model by addition of covariance models. Due to the linear formulation, we are able to decouple the inversion of traveltime and amplitude data and obtain results fast. We evaluate the approach through a synthetic study, where synthetic traveltime and amplitude data are inverted to obtain slowness and attenuation tomograms using several noise model scenarios. We find that accounting for the forward modeling error is fundamental to successfully obtain tomograms without artifacts. This is especially the case for inversion of amplitude data since the structure of the noise model for the forward modeling error is significantly different from the other data error models. Overall, inversion of field data confirms the results from the synthetic study; however, amplitude inversion performs slightly better than traveltime inversion. We are able to characterize a 0.4–0.6 m thick sand layer as well as internal variations in the clayey till matching observed geological information from borehole logs and excavation.
Influence of the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation on SST Fronts Along the West Coasts of North and South America
Authors: Amos Caitlin M. , Castelao Renato M.
Published: October 2022

Along the west coasts of North, Central, and South America, sea surface temperature (SST) fronts are important for circulation dynamics and promoting biological activity. Prevailing equatorward winds during summer results in offshore Ekman transport and upwelling along the coast, where fronts often form between cold, upwelled water and warmer offshore waters. The interannual variability in winds, coastal upwelling, sea level anomalies, and SST in these regions have been linked to the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO), however SST fronts have received less attention. Here, we investigate the interannual variability of SST fronts off North, Central, and South America using satellite SST data spanning 1982–2018. Anomalies of fronts within 0–300 km offshore indicate interannual variability that coincides with ENSO events in most regions. Frontal activity generally decreases during El Niño events and increases during La Niña events. The decrease in fronts off Peru and Chile during El Niño coincides with the seasonal peak in frontal activity, while off the United States the decrease occurs when frontal activity is at a seasonal minimum. We also utilized satellite measurements of wind stress and sea level anomaly to investigate how ENSO oceanic and atmospheric forcing mechanisms affect frontal activity. Decreases in frontal activity during El Niño events are largely due to oceanic forcing (i.e., coastal Kelvin waves) off Central and South America and to both oceanic forcing and atmospheric teleconnections off the United States. This study furthers our understanding of the influence of ENSO on coastal upwelling regions in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Influence of Shallow Groundwater Evapotranspiration on Recharge Estimation Using the Water Table Fluctuation Method
Authors: Boumis Georgios , Kumar Mukesh , Nimmo John R. , Clement T. Prabhakar
Published: October 2022

Groundwater recharge moves downward from the land surface and reaches the groundwater to replenish aquifers. Despite its importance, methods to directly measure recharge remain cost and time‐intensive. Recharge is usually estimated using indirect methods, such as the widely used water‐table fluctuation (WTF) method, which is based on the premise that rises in groundwater levels are due to recharge. In the WTF method, recharge is calculated as the difference between the observed groundwater hydrograph and the hydrograph obtained in the absence of water input. The hydrograph in the absence of rise‐producing input is estimated based on a characteristic master recession curve (MRC), which describes an average behavior for a declining water‐table. Previous studies derive MRC using recession data from all seasons. We hypothesize that for sites where groundwater table is shallow, using recession data from periods with high groundwater‐influenced evapotranspiration (ET) rates versus all periods will yield significantly different MRC, and consequently different estimates of recharge. We test this hypothesis and show that groundwater recession rates are significantly greater in warm months when the groundwater‐influenced ET rates are higher. Since obtaining seasonal recession rates is challenging for locations with a limited amount of data and is prohibitive if it is to be obtained for any given season of a particular year, we propose two novel parsimonious methods to obtain recession time constants for distinct seasons. The proposed methods show the potential to significantly improve the estimates of seasonal recession time constants and provide a better understanding of seasonal variations in recharge estimates.
Extrachromosomal circular DNA: biogenesis, structure, functions and diseases
Authors: Yang Ludi , Jia Ruobing , Ge Tongxin , Ge Shengfang , Zhuang Ai , Chai Peiwei , Fan Xianqun
Published: October 2022

Extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA), ranging in size from tens to millions of base pairs, is independent of conventional chromosomes. Recently, eccDNAs have been considered an unanticipated major source of somatic rearrangements, contributing to genomic remodeling through chimeric circularization and reintegration of circular DNA into the linear genome. In addition, the origin of eccDNA is considered to be associated with essential chromatin-related events, including the formation of super-enhancers and DNA repair machineries. Moreover, our understanding of the properties and functions of eccDNA has continuously and greatly expanded. Emerging investigations demonstrate that eccDNAs serve as multifunctional molecules in various organisms during diversified biological processes, such as epigenetic remodeling, telomere trimming, and the regulation of canonical signaling pathways. Importantly, its special distribution potentiates eccDNA as a measurable biomarker in many diseases, especially cancers. The loss of eccDNA homeostasis facilitates tumor initiation, malignant progression, and heterogeneous evolution in many cancers. An in-depth understanding of eccDNA provides novel insights for precision cancer treatment. In this review, we summarized the discovery history of eccDNA, discussed the biogenesis, characteristics, and functions of eccDNA. Moreover, we emphasized the role of eccDNA during tumor pathogenesis and malignant evolution. Therapeutically, we summarized potential clinical applications that target aberrant eccDNA in multiple diseases.
Germline stem cells in human
Authors: Cheng Hanhua , Shang Dantong , Zhou Rongjia
Published: October 2022

The germline cells are essential for the propagation of human beings, thus essential for the survival of mankind. The germline stem cells, as a unique cell type, generate various states of germ stem cells and then differentiate into specialized cells, spermatozoa and ova, for producing offspring, while self-renew to generate more stem cells. Abnormal development of germline stem cells often causes severe diseases in humans, including infertility and cancer. Primordial germ cells (PGCs) first emerge during early embryonic development, migrate into the gentile ridge, and then join in the formation of gonads. In males, they differentiate into spermatogonial stem cells, which give rise to spermatozoa via meiosis from the onset of puberty, while in females, the female germline stem cells (FGSCs) retain stemness in the ovary and initiate meiosis to generate oocytes. Primordial germ cell-like cells (PGCLCs) can be induced in vitro from embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells. In this review, we focus on current advances in these embryonic and adult germline stem cells, and the induced PGCLCs in humans, provide an overview of molecular mechanisms underlying the development and differentiation of the germline stem cells and outline their physiological functions, pathological implications, and clinical applications.
Factors associated with the oral health-related quality of life of patients with temporomandibular disorder at the final follow-up visit: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Potewiratnanond Prangtip , Limpuangthip Nareudee , Karunanon Varangkana , Buritep Ansaya , Thawai Athitaya
Published: October 2022

Objectives

To determine the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients at the final follow-up visit, and to investigate the associated factors.

Materials and methods

This cross-sectional study comprised 227 TMD patients. Dependent variable was OHRQoL determined by telephone interview using the 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire after the final follow-up visit. Independent variables were collected from dental records, comprising age, sex, treatment duration, diagnosis, clinical parameters (mouth-opening distances), and pain perception. TMD patients were diagnosed as having masticatory muscle disorders (TMDM), temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders (TMDJ), or combined muscle and TMJ disorders (TMDC). Bivariate analyses and multivariable linear regression were used to analyze the factors associated with OHIP-14 scores.

Results

Bivariate analyses demonstrated higher OHIP-14 scores in younger patients, females, having TMDC, and lower mouth-opening distance. Multivariable analysis demonstrated the association of higher OHIP-14 scores with being younger and having TMDC. Participants with TMDC demonstrated greater improvement in unassisted mouth-opening distance, compared with the other clinical diagnosis groups.

Conclusions

At the final follow-up visit, oral health impact problems were reported mainly in physical pain and psychological discomfort domains. Better OHRQoL was found in older, and TMDM or TMDJ patients.
Survey of perspectives of people with inherited retinal diseases on ocular gene therapy in Australia
Authors: Mack Heather G. , Britten-Jones Alexis Ceecee , McGuinness Myra B. , Chen Fred K. , Grigg John R. , Jamieson Robyn V. , Edwards Thomas L. , De Roach John , O’Hare Fleur , Martin Keith R. , Ayton Lauren N.
Published: October 2022

Many gene therapies are in development for treating people with inherited retinal diseases (IRD). We hypothesized that potential recipients of gene therapy would have knowledge gaps regarding treatment. We aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of genetic therapies among potential recipients with IRD, using a novel instrument we designed (Attitudes to Gene Therapy-Eye (AGT-Eye)) and their associations with demographic data, self-reported visual status, and tools assessing quality of life and attitudes toward clinical trials using a community-based cross-sectional survey of Australian adults with IRD. AGT-Eye, overall quality of life EQ-5D-5L, National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-25) and Patient Attitudes to Clinical Trials (PACT-22) instruments were administered. Six hundred and eighty-one people completed the study, 51.7% women of mean age 53.5 years (SD ± 15.8). Most participants (91.6%) indicated they would likely accept gene therapy if it was available to them or family members. However, only 28.3% agreed that they had good knowledge of gene therapy. Most obtained information about gene therapy from the internet (49.3%). Respondents with post-graduate degrees scored highest compared to other educational levels on methods (p < 0.001) and outcomes (p = 0.003) and were more likely to see economic value of treatment (p = 0.043). Knowledge gaps were present regarding methods and outcomes of gene therapy. This survey has shown high level of interest in the IRD community for gene therapies, and highlights areas for improved clinician and patient education.