bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ethics and Robot Democratization: Reflecting on Integrative Ethics Practices
Authors: de Pagter Jesse
Published: May 2023

This paper aims to address the need for new integrative approaches to aid the further development of robot ethics as a research field. It presents observations gathered in a collaborative robotics project that pursued an integrative ethics approach. The paper first contextualizes the increasing attention to ethical approaches in robotics development, design and implementation. Several existing considerations and attempts to further integrate ethics into the field of robotics are reviewed, while also providing context with respect to new trends that generate new possibilities for integrating ethical approaches into robotics and human-robot interaction research. Subsequently, the paper elaborates on the specificities of the collaborative robotics project that pursued an integrative approach. The collaborative robot is presented as a specific type of technological artifact, and insight is given into the project’s aim to “democratize” this technology. Furthermore, practices required to integrate ethics are reviewed based on the author’s observations and experiences in the project. Finally, to contribute to the further development of integrative approaches in robot ethics, these observations are developed into three constitutive components that should aid the further development of integrative robot ethics approaches, namely: increased attention for the way interdisciplinarity is defined in the field of robot ethics, the role and nature of ethical critique, and finally the chances integrative approaches offer for the development of more thorough anticipatory concepts.
A characterisation study of ignimbrites of Tenerife Island employed as building stone
Authors: Valido José A. , Cáceres José M. , Sousa Luís
Published: May 2023

The objective of this study is to evaluate the petrophysical properties of four ignimbrites employed as dimension stones. The natural stone under study is produced in Tenerife Island (Spain) under the commercial brand name of Piedra Chasnera and are differentiated according to their chromatic variety into: brown, violet, grey and green. To assess the suitability for feasible applications, it is essential to have a comprehensive knowledge of its properties. In this respect, mineralogical, petrographic and chemical properties were obtained by X-ray diffraction (XRD), polarisation microscopy (POM) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). According to the procedure described in the standardised methods, apparent density, open porosity, water absorption at atmospheric pressure, water absorption coefficient by capillary and ultrasound propagation velocity were measured. The four variants of ignimbrites were analysed and classified according to the results obtained. It was found that the properties vary depending on the depth of the stratigraphic volcanic level from which the stone is extracted. From the review of the published data, it can be seen that the test results are within the expected values for this lithotype. A comparison was also made with other types of dimensional stones. The correlation analysis shows that there is a high degree of correlation between the physical properties studied.
A new approach for post-fracturing evaluation and productivity prediction based on a reservoir fracability index model in shale gas reservoirs
Authors: Liu Shanyong , Cao Nai , Lou Yishan , Yuan Yuan
Published: May 2023

Multistage fracturing technology is the primary means of reservoir stimulation in shale gas wells. However, the productivity contribution of each stage varies greatly. It is essential to evaluate the fracturing effect in order to make an optimized treatment design. In this study, we adopted an integrated workflow to assess the main control factors of geological and engineering parameters and a novel approach was proposed for post-fracturing evaluation. For this purpose, the H block in Zhaotong shale gas demonstration zone in Sichuan, China, has been taken as an object of study. The production predicting model was built based on the reservoir fracability index (RFI) which took both fluid type and proppant size differences into consideration. The results demonstrated that (1) if the reservoir quality index (RQI) in the target zone is greater than 5.0, then the area has good reservoir quality and development potential. (2) The RFI of H Block is generally at 4.0–6.0, it can be used as the key parameter to screen out the sweet spot. This method not only serves as a set of practical fracturing evaluation methods but also as a set of productivity prediction and fracturing optimization methods, which can provide strong support for the development of shale gas reservoirs.
Identification of screw spacing on pediatric hip locking plate in proximal femoral osteotomy
Authors: Jeong Byeong Cheol , Goh Tae Sik , Lee Chiseung , Ahn Tae Young , Ryu Dongman
Published: May 2023

This study describes a computational analysis technique for evaluating the effect of screw spacing and angle on the pediatric hip locking plate system in proximal femoral osteotomy in pediatric patients having DDH with an aberrant femoral head and femoral angle. Under static compressive load conditions, the stresses of the screw and bone were examined as the screw spacing and angle changed. The spacing and angle of various screws were specifically considered as variables in this study based on the pile mechanism studied in civil engineering. As with the group pile mechanism, the tighter the screw spacing under static compressive loads, the more the overlapping effect between the bone stresses and the screws develops, increasing the risk of injuring the patient’s bone. Therefore, a series of simulations was performed to determine the optimal screw spacing and angles to minimize the overlapping effect of bone stress. In addition, a formula for determining the minimum screw spacing was proposed based on the computational simulation results. Finally, if the outcomes of this study are applied to pediatric patients with DDH in the pre-proximal femoral osteotomy stage, post-operative load-induced femur damage will be reduced.
Pathophysiology and Nutritional Approaches in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): A Comprehensive Review
Authors: Di Lorenzo M. , Cacciapuoti N. , Lonardo M. S. , Nasti G. , Gautiero C. , Belfiore A. , Guida B. , Chiurazzi M.
Published: May 2023

Purpose of Review

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine and metabolic disorder in women of reproductive age worldwide. This disease causes menstrual, metabolic, and biochemical abnormalities such as hyperandrogenism, oligo-anovulatory menstrual cycles, polycystic ovary, hyperleptinemia, insulin resistance (IR), and cardiometabolic disorders, often associated with overweight or obesity and visceral adiposity.

Recent Findings

The etiology and pathophysiology of PCOS are not yet fully understood, but insulin seems to play a key role in this disease. PCOS shares an inflammatory state with other chronic diseases such as obesity, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases; however, recent studies have shown that a healthy nutritional approach can improve IR and metabolic and reproductive functions, representing a valid therapeutic strategy to ameliorate PCOS symptomatology.

This review aimed to summarize and collect evidence about different nutritional approaches such as the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) and the ketogenic diet (KD), as well as bariatric surgery and nutraceutical supplementation as probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics, among the others, used in patients with PCOS.
The Effect of Exercise on Pain in People with Cancer: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis
Authors: Plinsinga Melanie Louise , Singh Ben , Rose Grace Laura , Clifford Briana , Bailey Tom George , Spence Rosalind Renee , Turner Jemma , Coppieters Michel Willem , McCarthy Alexandra Leigh , Hayes Sandra Christine
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Cancer-related pain is common and undertreated. Exercise is known to have a pain-relieving effect in non-cancer pain.

Objectives

This systematic review aimed to evaluate (1) the effect of exercise on cancer-related pain in all cancers, and (2) whether the effect of exercise differed according to exercise mode, degree of supervision, intervention duration and timing (during or after cancer treatment), pain types, measurement tool and cancer type.

Methods

Electronic searches were undertaken in six databases to identify exercise studies evaluating pain in people with cancer, published prior to 11 January 2023. All stages of screening and data extraction were conducted independently by two authors. The Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomised trials (RoB 2) was used and overall strength of evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. Meta-analyses were performed overall and by study design, exercise intervention and pain characteristics.

Results

In total, 71 studies reported in 74 papers were eligible for inclusion. The overall meta-analysis included 5877 participants and showed reductions in pain favouring exercise (standardised mean difference − 0.45; 95% confidence interval − 0.62, − 0.28). For most (> 82%) of the subgroup analyses, the direction of effect favoured exercise compared with usual care, with effect sizes ranging from small to large (median effect size − 0.35; range − 0.03 to − 1.17). The overall strength of evidence for the effect of exercise on cancer-related pain was very low.

Conclusion

The findings provide support that exercise participation does not worsen cancer-related pain and that it may be beneficial. Better pain categorisation and inclusion of more diverse cancer populations in future research would improve understanding of the extent of benefit and to whom.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42021266826.
A Kronecker limit formula for indefinite zeta functions
Authors: Kopp Gene S.
Published: May 2023

We prove an analogue of Kronecker’s second limit formula for a continuous family of “indefinite zeta functions”. Indefinite zeta functions were introduced in the author’s previous paper as Mellin transforms of indefinite theta functions, as defined by Zwegers. Our formula is valid in dimension $$g=2$$

g
=
2

at $$s=1$$

s
=
1

or $$s=0$$

s
=
0

. For a choice of parameters obeying a certain symmetry, an indefinite zeta function is a differenced ray class zeta function of a real quadratic field, and its special value at $$s=0$$

s
=
0

was conjectured by Stark to be a logarithm of an algebraic unit. Our formula also permits practical high-precision computation of Stark ray class invariants.
Partial Hydatidiform Mole, Finding in an Ectopic Tubal Pregnancy: A Case Report
Authors: Álvarez-Sánchez S. , Rodríguez-Marín-Giménez M. , Barreiro-García J. M. , Díez-Corral M. C. , Ontañón-Nasarre M. , García-Berrio R.
Published: May 2023

The ectopic molar pregnancy is rare pathology, with anatomopathological diagnosis. Management and follow-up are similar to algorithm of molar pregnancy intrauterus.
Analysis and verification of stress and plastic zone in surrounding rocks of hydraulic flushing borehole based on strain-softening
Authors: Cui Junqi , Hou Yunbing , Xie Shengrong , Chen Dongdong , Yan Xiangxiang , Ren Yuxin
Published: May 2023

This study aimed to solve the problem ignored by previous research on hydraulic flushing gas extraction technology regarding the strain-softening of surrounding rock. Firstly, through the analysis of experimental data, previous studies have proved that the essence of strain-softening is that the internal friction angle remains unchanged while the cohesion decreases. According to the variation law of cohesion of surrounding rocks in a borehole, we theoretically analyzed the stress distribution of the surrounding rock considering strain-softening and determined the theoretical formula of the plastic zone radius. Subsequently, we established a numerical calculation model considering strain-softening using the COMSOL numerical simulation software. We simulated the influence of residual cohesion on the stress and plastic zone of surrounding rocks of the borehole. We found that with the decrease in residual cohesion, the peak stress transferred to the deep and the plastic zone radius gradually increased. The simulation results were compared with the theoretical values, and the errors were found to be within 10%, which verifies the model's accuracy. Subsequently, we studied the influence law of strain-softening on the stress and plastic zone of surrounding rocks of boreholes with different radii. We found that the larger the borehole radius, the greater the influence of strain-softening. The field measurement results show that the stress reduction zone of a hydraulic flushing borehole is about 10 times the borehole radius. The stress reduction zone calculated without considering strain-softening is 1.305 times the borehole radius, and that calculated while considering strain-softening is 6.663 times the borehole radius. Thus, we proved that strain-softening is an essential factor affecting the stress distribution of surrounding rocks of the borehole. When studying the gas extraction through a hydraulic flushing borehole, it is necessary to consider the strain-softening of surrounding rocks.
Analysing of the sustainable development goals in Damascus University during Syrian crisis using the strategy in the university and the bibliometrics data from SciVal
Authors: Al-Raeei Marwan
Published: May 2023

Most countries strive to reach effective sustainable development policies, given the repercussions of this policy on many aspects, such as the economic growth of countries. The adoption of policies of sustainability by developing countries may lead to their development faster than expected. This research aims to study the strategies applied in one of the universities of developing countries and the sustainability policies adopted at that university which is Damascus University. The study focuses on the time during last four years of the Syrian crisis through several factors, with a focus on the analysis based on the SciVal and Scopus databases and the strategies applied by the university itself. In this research, we use the method of extracting and analysing the data of the sixteen sustainable development goals (SDGs) of Damascus University within Scopus and SciVal. We also analyse the strategies used in the university in order to reach some of the determinants of SDGs. By analysing Scopus and SciVal data, we find that the third goal of SDGs is the most widespread in terms of scientific research in Damascus University. We find that the application of such policies led to an important goal in the environment, which is the ratio of green space in Damascus University reaching to more than 63 percent of the total flat area of the university. In addition, we find that the application of sustainable development policies led to the generation of energy from renewable sources by 11% of the total electrical energy consumed at the university. The university has been able to reach lots of indicators of the sustainable development goals and it remains apply others.
Sedimentary records reveal two stages of evolution of the Abandoned Yellow River Delta from AD1128 to AD1855: vertical accretion and land-forming
Authors: Xue Chengfeng , Yang Yang , Xu Chaoran , Wang Mengyao , Gao Jianhua , Han Xibin , Jia Jianjun
Published: May 2023

In AD1128, the Yellow River shifted its course from the Bohai Sea to the South Yellow Sea (SYS) due to anthropogenic dike excavation, starting the development of the Abandoned Yellow River Delta (AYRD) that lasted for more than 700 years (AD1128-1855). However, the sediment flux of the abandoned Yellow River into the sea is in a state of change due to human activities, and the growth process of the AYRD is not well understood. Here, we investigate the growth process of the AYRD and its sedimentary record characteristics over the last millennium based on three cores collected from the AYRD.

The results show that the main sediment types in the AYRD are silt, mud and sandy silt. After AD1128, the grain size components in the sediments of the AYRD showed significant stage changes with the sand content first starting to decrease. The clay content increased and remained at a high percentage in the middle to late 14th century, followed by a sharp increase from the mid-16th to the mid-17th century, due to a further increase in sediment flux from the abandoned Yellow River into the sea. A slight increase in the proportion of sand content during the final stage of the transition from subaqueous delta to terrestrial delta is a distinctive feature of the sedimentary record, and this change persists for 10 ~ 90 years in different core records.

This study further proposes a schematic model of the development of the AYRD: (a) before the 16th century, the sediments were deposited mainly in the estuary and nearshore, with rapid vertical accretion; (b) After the 16th century, the horizontal land formation was the main focus, and the rate of seaward extension increased rapidly. This model also reflects the following pattern: when the sediment flux from the river into the sea is certain, the rate of land formation is inversely proportional to the rate of vertical accretion. The dominant factors affecting the evolution of the AYRD are the sediment flux into the sea and initial submerged topography, with less influence from sea level changes. Hydrodynamic erosion by wave and tidal forces from the outer delta began to dominate after the interruption of sediment supply due to the Yellow River mouth northward to the Bohai Sea in AD1855. This study has important implications for understanding the growth and evolution of deltas under the influence of human activities.
A History of Big History
Authors: Hesketh Ian
Published: May 2023

Big History is a seemingly novel approach that seeks to situate human history within a grand cosmic story of life. It claims to do so by uniting the historical sciences in order to construct a linear and accurate timeline of 'threshold moments' beginning with the Big Bang and ending with the present and future development of humanity itself. As well as examining the theory and practice of Big History, this Element considers Big History alongside previous largescale attempts to unite human and natural history, and includes comparative discussions of the practices of chronology, universal history, and the evolutionary epic.
Europe and the Transformation of the Irish Economy
Authors: FitzGerald John , Honohan Patrick
Published: May 2023

Having stagnated for decades in the shadow of the UK, the Irish economy's performance improved after it joined the European Union (EEC) in 1973. This Element shows how the challenge of EU membership gave focus and direction to Irish economic policy. No longer dependent on low value-added agricultural exports to Britain, within the EU Ireland became a hub for multinational corporations in IT and pharmaceutical products. This export success required and facilitated a strengthening of education and social policy infrastructures, and underpinned the achievement of high average living standards. EU membership has also brought challenges, and several severe setbacks have resulted from Irish policy mistakes. But the European flavour of Ireland's structural policies (leavened with exposure to US experience) has helped it navigate the hazards of hyper-globalization with fewer political tensions than seen elsewhere.
Using video detection of snow surface movements to estimate weak layer crack propagation speeds
Authors: Simenhois Ron , Birkeland Karl W. , Gaume Johan , van Herwijnen Alec , Bergfeld Bastian , Trottet Bertil , Greene Ethan
Published: May 2023

Dry-snow slab avalanches release due to crack propagation in a weak snow layer under a cohesive snow slab. Crack propagation speeds can provide insights into the potential size of avalanches and inform fracture and avalanche release models. Despite their importance, slope-scale crack speed measurements from real avalanches are limited. Further, most existing slope-scale measurements utilize the appearance of slab fractures on the snow surface. However, we have no evidence that the appearance of surface cracking is a good indicator of the weak layer crack propagation tip. Here we present a novel method to estimate crack propagation speed from snow surface movements in avalanche videos. Our technique uses changes in frame pixel intensity, allowing us to detect the location of weak layer cracks well before slab fractures appear on the snow surface. We use field experiments and numerical simulations to validate our method before applying it to five avalanches. Our estimates show that cracks propagate faster up and down the slope than in the cross-slope direction; this suggests that different propagation regimes likely govern crack propagation up/down the slope, cross-slope and in flat terrain.
The Impact of Digitalization on International Investment Law: Are Investment Treaties Analogue or Digital?
Authors: Polanco Rodrigo
Published: May 2023

This article explores digitalization’s impacts on the existing international investment law regime. In particular, it examines whether international investment agreements (IIAs) apply to the digital economy, analyzing their scope of application, including the definition of protected investment and protected investor, as well as the territorial application of those treaties. We conclude that the IIAs and their provisions are, in principle, not intended for the digital era. However, their usually broad definitions are likely to cover investments in digital assets, if there is a flexible interpretation of the required territorial nexus. However, we believe caution should be exercised about including digital transformation commitments in IIAs, as they could increase the chance of investor-state dispute settlement (-ISDS-).
ASSESSING THE SPREAD OF ENEOLITHIC AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITIES IN THE FOREST-STEPPE OF UKRAINE USING AMS RADIOCARBON DATING
Authors: Harper Thomas K , Diachenko Aleksandr , Ryzhov Sergei N , Rassamakin Yuri Y , Eccles Laurie R , Kennett Douglas J , Tsvek Elena V
Published: May 2023

Current scholarship suggests that Neo-Eneolithic systems of settlement and subsistence in Eastern Europe were defined by short-to-medium range migration, while sparsely populated land in peripheral regions allowed for the continual colonization of new territories. We address the Eastern Tripolye Culture (ETC), a sub-group of the Cucuteni-Tripolye cultural complex that flourished ca. 4300–2950 BC by expanding into the forest-steppe ecozone of Central Ukraine. While a general lack of multi-layer sites complicates regional chronology, we resolve several longstanding questions in Ukrainian archaeological discourse by combining traditional relative chronologies of ceramic types with high-precision AMS dating of material from key sites. We offer a revision of the chronology of Tripolye BI and BI-II, which, rather than consisting of distinct “early” and “late” temporal periods, instead constitute a single period characterized by stylistic diversity in material culture. With an absolute chronology established, we then analyze the space-time distribution of sites, revealing a southwest-to-northeast migratory vector across Central Ukraine characterized by punctuated episodes of “leapfrog” colonization. The establishment of this vector by the ETC presages larger-scale population movements by the Western Tripolye Culture (WTC), which led to the establishment of the giant-settlement phenomenon during the first part of the 4th millennium BC.
Canada's Federal Electoral Districts, 1867–2021: New Digital Boundary Files and a Comparative Investigation of District Compactness
Authors: Taylor Zack , Lucas Jack , Kirby J. P. , Hewitt Christopher Macdonald
Published: May 2023

We introduce new data resources to enable spatial and nonspatial research on Canadian elections, electoral history and political geography. These include a comprehensive set of distinct identification codes for every federal electoral district in Canada from 1867 to the present, a complete set of digital boundary files for these electoral districts, historical census data aggregated to federal electoral districts, and tools to connect our district identification codes to federal election results. After describing the construction and content of these new resources, we provide an example of their use in a comparative-historical analysis of district compactness in Canada and the United States. We find that, in contrast to the United States, postwar institutional changes to district boundary-drawing processes had little effect on district compactness in Canada.
Reimagining Democracy: The Socialist Origins of the Initiative and Referendum in the United States
Authors: Ellis Richard J.
Published: May 2023

The initiative and referendum are commonly characterized as quintessentially Populist or Progressive reforms, but transatlantic socialism deserves pride of place in the intellectual history of direct legislation in the United States. A decade and a half before the People’s Party famously commended the idea of direct legislation at its 1892 nominating convention in Omaha, Nebraska, the Socialist Labor Party (SLP) made the demand for direct legislation a plank in its first party platform. That demand was shaped by the 1875 Gotha Program formulated by the Socialist Workers Party of Germany and informed by socialist debates during the First International and the pioneering work of Moritz Rittinghausen. The diffusion of these ideas among Gilded Age labor radicals is a crucial and underappreciated part of the story of the origins of the initiative and referendum in the United States. That socialists’ pioneering role in the origins of the initiative and referendum in the United States has largely been slighted is particularly ironic since the individual arguably most responsible for securing the direct legislation resolution at Omaha was among the nation’s most successful radical labor organizers and a committed socialist, Joseph R. Buchanan.
Climatic Control on Mean Annual Groundwater Evapotranspiration in a Three‐Stage Precipitation Partitioning Framework
Authors: Zhang Yu , Yao Lili , Geurink Jeffrey S. , Parajuli Kshitij , Wang Dingbao
Published: May 2023

A three‐stage precipitation partitioning framework is proposed to study the climate controls on mean annual groundwater evapotranspiration (GWET) for 33 gauged watersheds in west‐central Florida. Daily GWET, total evapotranspiration (ET), groundwater recharge, base flow, and total runoff are simulated by the Integrated Hydrologic Model, which dynamically couples a surface water model (HSPF) and a groundwater flow model (MODFLOW). The roles of GWET on long‐term water balance are quantified by four ratios. The ratios of GWET to total available water, watershed wetting, ET, and recharge decrease exponentially with watershed aridity index (WAI), which is defined as the ratio of potential evapotranspiration to total available water. In the one‐stage precipitation partitioning framework, the contribution of GWET to the ratio between total ET and available water for ET (i.e., the y‐axis of Budyko curve) decreases with WAI. In the two‐stage precipitation partitioning framework, the contribution of GWET to the ratio between total ET and watershed wetting (i.e., Horton index) decreases with WAI. The changes in GWET caused by intra‐monthly (IM) climate variability are the highest among the temporal scales of climate variability investigated to understand controls on GWET. The inter‐annual, intra‐annual, and IM climate variabilities lead to increase of GWET; but the sub‐daily climate variability results in decrease of GWET. For the third stage of partitioning, given the same ratio of potential GWET to available water for GWET, higher percentage of forest and wetland and lower percentage of impervious land contribute to higher ratio of GWET to available water for GWET.
Moho Geometry Estimation Beneath the Gulf of Guinea From Satellite Gravity Data Based on a Regularized Non‐Linear Gravity Inversion
Authors: Kamto Paul Gautier , Lemotio Willy , Kamguia Joseph
Published: May 2023

In this work, we present a new gravimetric Moho model over the Gulf of Guinea computed from the inversion of the global gravity EIGEN‐6C4 model. The computation procedure contains a regularized non‐linear inversion algorithm. Before applying the inversion algorithm, the gravity data from the EIGEN‐6C4 model have been corrected from gravimetric effects of topography, bathymetry, and sediments. To calculate these corrections, a forward modeling has been applied using tesseroids to take into account the earth curvature, and via the Legendre Quadrature integration technique. The inversion procedure of the Bouguer disturbances integrates the use of hyperparameters in particular the regularization parameter, the anomalous Moho density contrast and the reference Moho depth. This regularized non‐linear inversion method has been tested on synthetic data contaminated by a normally distributed noise. Through this test, the inversion method showed its effectiveness in estimating a Moho model. The application of this method on the Gulf of Guinea has produced a high‐resolution gravimetric model, whose depths vary between 7.75 and 44.50 km. The greatest depths (greater than 40 km) are located along the eastern part of the study area. The comparison of our gravimetric model with the isostatic Airy, GEMMA (GOCE Exploitation for Moho Modeling and Applications) and CRUST1.0 Moho models, globally shows good similarities. The comparison of our gravimetric Moho model to the GEMMA gravimetric model exhibits large residuals around the continental margin, thus reflecting the limit of the inversion method for areas with great Moho depth gradients. The differences observed between our gravimetric model and the CRUST1.0 model in certain regions such as southern Nigeria show the impact of the neglect of anomalous crustal and mantle sources in the accuracy of the solutions obtained after inversion. However, our gravimetric model yields an improved and high‐resolution representation of the Moho undulations over the Gulf of Guinea compared to previous gravimetric Moho models.
Rapidly Changing East Asian Marine Heatwaves Under a Warming Climate
Authors: Lee S. , Park M. S. , Kwon M. , Park Y. G. , Kim Y. H. , Choi N.
Published: May 2023

The East Asian marginal seas (EAMS) are one of the fastest‐warming ocean regions globally. This study presents the long‐term trends (1982–2020) of extreme ocean warming events called “marine heatwaves” over the EAMS and examines the relationships between marine heatwave trends and mean SST warming trends. We focus on five subregions with different influences from atmospheric perturbation and ocean currents: the northern East Sea (N‐ES), southern East Sea, Yellow Sea, Korea Strait (KS), and East China Sea (ECS). During the past four decades, marine heatwave duration and intensity in the EAMS have increased to approximately +4 days and +0.3°C per decade on average, respectively. In summer, the positive trend of marine heatwaves is the highest in the ECS, primarily due to the rapidly increasing mean sea surface temperature (SST). In winter, the N‐ES reveals remarkably rapid increases in marine heatwave properties in the last two decades, with increasing rates of approximately 6.2 (4.9) times longer total duration (stronger intensity) than the global average changes. Beyond the impact of the rapid increase in mean SST, the N‐ES marine heatwaves can be further extended due to the northward shift of the East Korea Warm Current. In general, mean SST changes are critical to the increasing trend in marine heatwave duration and intensity. This study further emphasizes that the changes in ocean circulation may expedite more rapid changes in extreme ocean events, which can produce more vulnerability in some places, such as the N‐ES, to marine heatwaves under continued global warming.
Modified Tracer Gas Injection for Measuring Stream Gas Exchange Velocity in the Presence of Significant Temperature Variation
Authors: Jensen Craig R. , Genereux David P. , Gilmore Troy E. , Solomon D. Kip
Published: May 2023

Gas exchange between streams and overlying air is an important physical‐chemical environmental process that is typically determined by injecting a tracer gas into a stream at a steady rate and sampling steady‐state tracer gas concentrations in the stream water. Previous modes of tracer gas injection allow gas‐water partitioning of the tracer gas, making the rate of gas injection and thus the measured gas transfer velocity potentially sensitive to temperature variation. Presented here is a modification to the tracer solution injection method in which a tracer gas solution was prepared in Tedlar® bags from which all headspace was removed before injecting the solution into the stream. Along with four other strategies to prevent a headspace from forming in the bags during tracer injection in the field, this zero‐headspace tracer solution method prevents gas‐water partitioning anywhere in the injection system, allowing a steady delivery of tracer gas to the stream even in the presence of variation in air and/or stream water temperature. A field test of the method in Nebraska yielded a gas transfer velocity of 4.1 m/day, within the range found in the literature for similarly‐sized streams.
Evaluation of Parameterization Schemes for Matric Potential in Frozen Soil in Land Surface Models: A Modeling Perspective
Authors: Zhao Yi , Nan Zhuotong , Cao Zetao , Ji Hailong , Hu Jianan
Published: May 2023

Soil matric potential (SMP) is an important variable in land surface models (LSMs) for regulating soil hydrological processes and highly influenced by soil ice in frozen ground. In this study, four SMP parameterization schemes that incorporate different effects of soil pore ice were separately integrated into the Simultaneous Heat and Water (SHAW) model and evaluated for their ability to simulate heat and water transport at a permafrost monitoring site at the Tanggula Mountain Pass on the inner Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau based on the same data and model settings. The schemes differed in their treatment of pore ice effects, including effective porosity and cryosuction. An identifiability analysis of SMP‐related parameters for each scheme was performed, based on 1,000‐fold random parameter sampling. The scheme that considered both effects performed best, accurately simulating both soil moisture content and temperature in the active layer. The schemes that considered only one effect of pore ice showed limitations, with the effective porosity scheme underestimating unfrozen water content and the cryosuction scheme seriously overestimating it, and both schemes leading to large discrepancies in simulated soil temperature. The scheme that ignored both effects performed better than the partially considered schemes due to a compensating effect of reduced effective porosity and increased cryosuction in the presence of pore ice, but not as well as the scheme that considered both effects, particularly in simulating soil temperature during freezing periods and estimating unfrozen water content near the mid‐depth of the active layer.
Circlehunter: a tool to identify extrachromosomal circular DNA from ATAC-Seq data
Authors: Yang Manqiu , Zhang Shufan , Jiang Rong , Chen Shaomu , Huang Moli
Published: May 2023

In cancer, extrachromosomal circular DNA (ecDNA), or megabase-pair amplified circular DNA, plays an essential role in intercellular heterogeneity and tumor cell revolution because of its non-Mendelian inheritance. We developed circlehunter (https://github.com/suda-huanglab/circlehunter), a tool for identifying ecDNA from ATAC-Seq data using the enhanced chromatin accessibility of ecDNA. Using simulated data, we showed that circlehunter has an F1 score of 0.93 at 30× local depth and read lengths as short as 35 bp. Based on 1312 ecDNAs predicted from 94 publicly available datasets of ATAC-Seq assays, we found 37 oncogenes contained in these ecDNAs with amplification characteristics. In small cell lung cancer cell lines, ecDNA containing MYC leads to amplification of MYC and cis-regulates the expression of NEUROD1, resulting in an expression pattern consistent with the NEUROD1 high expression subtype and sensitive to Aurora kinase inhibitors. This showcases that circlehunter could serve as a valuable pipeline for the investigation of tumorigenesis.
Epigenetic regulation in the tumor microenvironment: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic targets
Authors: Yang Jing , Xu Jin , Wang Wei , Zhang Bo , Yu Xianjun , Shi Si
Published: May 2023

Over decades, researchers have focused on the epigenetic control of DNA-templated processes. Histone modification, DNA methylation, chromatin remodeling, RNA modification, and noncoding RNAs modulate many biological processes that are crucial to the development of cancers. Dysregulation of the epigenome drives aberrant transcriptional programs. A growing body of evidence suggests that the mechanisms of epigenetic modification are dysregulated in human cancers and might be excellent targets for tumor treatment. Epigenetics has also been shown to influence tumor immunogenicity and immune cells involved in antitumor responses. Thus, the development and application of epigenetic therapy and cancer immunotherapy and their combinations may have important implications for cancer treatment. Here, we present an up-to-date and thorough description of how epigenetic modifications in tumor cells influence immune cell responses in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and how epigenetics influence immune cells internally to modify the TME. Additionally, we highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting epigenetic regulators for cancer immunotherapy. Harnessing the complex interplay between epigenetics and cancer immunology to develop therapeutics that combine thereof is challenging but could yield significant benefits. The purpose of this review is to assist researchers in understanding how epigenetics impact immune responses in the TME, so that better cancer immunotherapies can be developed.
New insights into inflammatory osteoclast precursors as therapeutic targets for rheumatoid arthritis and periodontitis
Authors: Hascoët Emilie , Blanchard Frédéric , Blin-Wakkach Claudine , Guicheux Jérôme , Lesclous Philippe , Cloitre Alexandra
Published: May 2023

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontitis are chronic inflammatory diseases leading to increased bone resorption. Preventing this inflammatory bone resorption is a major health challenge. Both diseases share immunopathogenic similarities and a common inflammatory environment. The autoimmune response or periodontal infection stimulates certain immune actors, leading in both cases to chronic inflammation that perpetuates bone resorption. Moreover, RA and periodontitis have a strong epidemiological association that could be explained by periodontal microbial dysbiosis. This dysbiosis is believed to be involved in the initiation of RA via three mechanisms. (i) The dissemination of periodontal pathogens triggers systemic inflammation. (ii) Periodontal pathogens can induce the generation of citrullinated neoepitopes, leading to the generation of anti-citrullinated peptide autoantibodies. (iii) Intracellular danger-associated molecular patterns accelerate local and systemic inflammation. Therefore, periodontal dysbiosis could promote or sustain bone resorption in distant inflamed joints. Interestingly, in inflammatory conditions, the existence of osteoclasts distinct from “classical osteoclasts” has recently been reported. They have proinflammatory origins and functions. Several populations of osteoclast precursors have been described in RA, such as classical monocytes, a dendritic cell subtype, and arthritis-associated osteoclastogenic macrophages. The aim of this review is to synthesize knowledge on osteoclasts and their precursors in inflammatory conditions, especially in RA and periodontitis. Special attention will be given to recent data related to RA that could be of potential value in periodontitis due to the immunopathogenic similarities between the two diseases. Improving our understanding of these pathogenic mechanisms should lead to the identification of new therapeutic targets involved in the pathological inflammatory bone resorption associated with these diseases.
Atlas of mRNA translation and decay for bacteria
Authors: Huch Susanne , Nersisyan Lilit , Ropat Maria , Barrett Donal , Wu Mengjun , Wang Jing , Valeriano Valerie D. , Vardazaryan Nelli , Huerta-Cepas Jaime , Wei Wu , Du Juan , Steinmetz Lars M. , Engstrand Lars , Pelechano Vicent
Published: May 2023

Regulation of messenger RNA stability is pivotal for programmed gene expression in bacteria and is achieved by a myriad of molecular mechanisms. By bulk sequencing of 5′ monophosphorylated mRNA decay intermediates (5′P), we show that cotranslational mRNA degradation is conserved among both Gram-positive and -negative bacteria. We demonstrate that, in species with 5′–3′ exonucleases, the exoribonuclease RNase J tracks the trailing ribosome to produce an in vivo single-nucleotide toeprint of the 5' position of the ribosome. In other species lacking 5′–3′ exonucleases, ribosome positioning alters endonucleolytic cleavage sites. Using our metadegradome (5′P degradome) sequencing approach, we characterize 5′P mRNA decay intermediates in 96 species including Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Synechocystis spp. and Prevotella copri and identify codon- and gene-level ribosome stalling responses to stress and drug treatment. We also apply 5′P sequencing to complex clinical and environmental microbiomes and demonstrate that metadegradome sequencing provides fast, species-specific posttranscriptional characterization of responses to drug or environmental perturbations. Finally we produce a degradome atlas for 96 species to enable analysis of mechanisms of RNA degradation in bacteria. Our work paves the way for the application of metadegradome sequencing to investigation of posttranscriptional regulation in unculturable species and complex microbial communities.
Spatial dysregulation of T follicular helper cells impairs vaccine responses in aging
Authors: Silva-Cayetano Alyssa , Fra-Bido Sigrid , Robert Philippe A. , Innocentin Silvia , Burton Alice R. , Watson Emily M. , Lee Jia Le , Webb Louise M. C. , Foster William S. , McKenzie Ross C. J. , Bignon Alexandre , Vanderleyden Ine , Alterauge Dominik , Lemos Julia P. , Carr Edward J. , Hill Danika L. , Cinti Isabella , Balabanian Karl , Baumjohann Dirk , Espeli Marion , Meyer-Hermann Michael , Denton Alice E. , Linterman Michelle A.
Published: May 2023

The magnitude and quality of the germinal center (GC) response decline with age, resulting in poor vaccine-induced immunity in older individuals. A functional GC requires the co-ordination of multiple cell types across time and space, in particular across its two functionally distinct compartments: the light and dark zones. In aged mice, there is CXCR4-mediated mislocalization of T follicular helper (TFH) cells to the dark zone and a compressed network of follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) in the light zone. Here we show that TFH cell localization is critical for the quality of the antibody response and for the expansion of the FDC network upon immunization. The smaller GC and compressed FDC network in aged mice were corrected by provision of TFH cells that colocalize with FDCs using CXCR5. This demonstrates that the age-dependent defects in the GC response are reversible and shows that TFH cells support stromal cell responses to vaccines.
Phosphatidylserine-dependent structure of synaptogyrin remodels the synaptic vesicle membrane
Authors: Yu Taekyung , Flores-Solis David , Eastep Gunnar N. , Becker Stefan , Zweckstetter Markus
Published: May 2023

Synaptic vesicles are small membrane-enclosed organelles that store neurotransmitters at presynaptic terminals. The uniform morphology of synaptic vesicles is important for brain function, because it enables the storage of well-defined amounts of neurotransmitters and thus reliable synaptic transmission. Here, we show that the synaptic vesicle membrane protein synaptogyrin cooperates with the lipid phosphatidylserine to remodel the synaptic vesicle membrane. Using NMR spectroscopy, we determine the high-resolution structure of synaptogyrin and identify specific binding sites for phosphatidylserine. We further show that phosphatidylserine binding changes the transmembrane structure of synaptogyrin and is critical for membrane bending and the formation of small vesicles. Cooperative binding of phosphatidylserine to both a cytoplasmic and intravesicular lysine-arginine cluster in synaptogyrin is required for the formation of small vesicles. Together with other synaptic vesicle proteins, synaptogyrin thus can sculpt the membrane of synaptic vesicles.
A blood and bronchoalveolar lavage protein signature of rapid FEV1 decline in smoking-associated COPD
Authors: DiLillo Katarina M. , Norman Katy C. , Freeman Christine M. , Christenson Stephanie A. , Alexis Neil E. , Anderson Wayne H. , Barjaktarevic Igor Z. , Barr R. Graham , Comellas Alejandro P. , Bleecker Eugene R. , Boucher Richard C. , Couper David J. , Criner Gerard J. , Doerschuk Claire M. , Wells J. Michael , Han MeiLan K. , Hoffman Eric A. , Hansel Nadia N. , Hastie Annette T. , Kaner Robert J. , Krishnan Jerry A. , Labaki Wassim W. , Martinez Fernando J. , Meyers Deborah A. , O’Neal Wanda K. , Ortega Victor E. , Paine Robert , Peters Stephen P. , Woodruff Prescott G. , Cooper Christopher B. , Bowler Russell P. , Curtis Jeffrey L. , Arnold Kelly B. ,   SPIROMICS investigators
Published: May 2023

Accelerated progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with increased risks of hospitalization and death. Prognostic insights into mechanisms and markers of progression could facilitate development of disease-modifying therapies. Although individual biomarkers exhibit some predictive value, performance is modest and their univariate nature limits network-level insights. To overcome these limitations and gain insights into early pathways associated with rapid progression, we measured 1305 peripheral blood and 48 bronchoalveolar lavage proteins in individuals with COPD [n = 45, mean initial forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) 75.6 ± 17.4% predicted]. We applied a data-driven analysis pipeline, which enabled identification of protein signatures that predicted individuals at-risk for accelerated lung function decline (FEV1 decline ≥ 70 mL/year) ~ 6 years later, with high accuracy. Progression signatures suggested that early dysregulation in elements of the complement cascade is associated with accelerated decline. Our results propose potential biomarkers and early aberrant signaling mechanisms driving rapid progression in COPD.