bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association of mobile device proficiency and subjective cognitive complaints with financial management ability among community-dwelling older adults: a population-based cross-sectional study
Authors: Shimokihara Suguru , Ikeda Yuriko , Matsuda Fumiyo , Tabira Takayuki
Published: February 2024

Background

Mobile devices have been used by many older adults and have the potential to assist individuals with subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs) in daily living tasks. Financial management is one of the most complex daily activity for older adults, as it is easily impaired in the prodromal stage of dementia and cognitive impairment.

Aim

To investigate financial management ability among older adults from SCCs and mobile device proficiency.

Methods

A self-administered questionnaire was sent to 529 participants who were ≥ 65 years and regularly use mobile devices. Participants were divided into four groups based on SCC prevalence and scores of the Mobile Device Proficiency Questionnaire (MDPQ-16). Financial management abilities were compared between groups using the Process Analysis of Daily Activities for Dementia subscale. Regression model and crosstabulation table were used to investigate associations in detail.

Results

A significant difference in financial management ability was observed among the four groups (p < 0.001), with the dual impairment group showed significantly lower than the robust and SCC groups (p < 0.001). Educational history, sex, and MDPQ-16 score were significantly associated with participants’ financial management ability (p ≤ 0.01). The proportion of participants who could use ATMs and electronic money independently was significantly lower among those with low proficiency in mobile devices (LPM), regardless of SCC (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The LPM group showed an impaired ability to manage their finances, particularly in situations where they would use information devices. Therefore, healthcare professionals should assess not only the SCC but also their proficiency with mobile devices to predict their impairment in activities of daily living.
Trends in Water-Energy Nexus and Carbon Emissions Balance in Axarquia Region, Spain, in the Period 1990–2030
Authors: Tocados-Franco Enrique , Martínez-Dalmau Javier , Espinosa-Tasón Jaime , Montilla-López Nazaret M.
Published: February 2024

This research explores the dynamic interplay of water, energy, and carbon in Axarquia, Spain (1990–2030), focusing on the escalating water deficit and rising emissions. It seeks to comprehend the impact of subtropical crop expansion on regional resources. A comprehensive methodology integrates data on water demand, alternative sources and energy-intensive processes. Key methods include assessing the influence of subtropical crops on water requirements by calculating the FAO 56 crop coefficient (Kc), the total annual energy (GWh) as a consequence of the volume of water demanded, identifying the predominant water sources and quantifying CO2 emissions by calculating the carbon footprint balance, providing a holistic view of regional resource dynamics. The methodology developed here can be adapted to basins elsewhere and can be a useful tool to help the design of water management policies in basins where the balance of the Water, Food, Energy nexus is of particular interest. The study reveals a substantial 30% surge in water demand due to exponential growth in subtropical crops. Additionally, energy-intensive processes linked to alternative water sources contribute to a projected surge in emissions (2022–2030), indicating significant regional challenges. Axarquia faces imminent challenges with a widening water deficit and escalating emissions. However, the region emerges as a vital carbon sink, evidenced by the net carbon balance. With 176,413 tCO2eq sequestered by cultivated plant mass, the study underscores the potential for environmental improvement and climate change mitigation in the region.
Beyond the Situation: Hanging Out with Peers now is Associated with Short-Term Mindsets Later
Authors: Kübel Sebastian L. , Deitzer Jessica R. , Frankenhuis Willem E. , Ribeaud Denis , Eisner Manuel P. , van Gelder Jean-Louis
Published: February 2024

It is well-established that unstructured unsupervised socializing with peers (UUS) motivates deviance while in that specific context. In this article, we extend this situational view by arguing that repeated UUS may also gradually shape adolescents’ norms and decision making beyond the situation. Specifically, we argue that UUS promotes short-term mindsets, i.e., an increased focus on present rewards at the expense of considering future consequences. We test this hypothesis with fixed-effects models, using longitudinal data from a representative sample of 1,675 adolescents from Zurich, Switzerland. Consistent with our preregistered predictions, more frequent UUS is associated with increased short-term mindsets. Thus, our finding suggests that the effects of UUS on later deviance might be driven by becoming more present-oriented. This link offers new insights into the developmental pathways toward adolescent delinquency and offers a potential target for intervention.
Regularity results for classes of Hilbert C*-modules with respect to special bounded modular functionals
Authors: Frank Michael
Published: February 2024

Considering the deeper reasons of the appearance of a remarkable counterexample by Kaad and Skeide (J Operat Theory 89(2):343–348, 2023) we consider situations in which two Hilbert C*-modules $$M \subset N$$

M
⊂
N

with $$M^\bot = \{ 0 \}$$

M
⊥

=

{
0
}

over a fixed C*-algebra A of coefficients cannot be separated by a non-trivial bounded A-linear functional $$r_0: N \rightarrow A$$

r
0

:
N
→
A

vanishing on M. In other words, the uniqueness of extensions of the zero functional from M to N is focussed. We show this uniqueness of extension for any such pairs of Hilbert C*-modules over W*-algebras, over monotone complete C*-algebras and over compact C*-algebras. Moreover, uniqueness of extension takes place also for any one-sided maximal modular ideal of any C*-algebra. Such a non-zero separating bounded A-linear functional $$r_0$$

r
0

exist for a given pair of full Hilbert C*-modules $$M \subseteq N$$

M
⊆
N

over a given C*-algebra A iff there exists a bounded A-linear non-adjointable operator $$T_0: N \rightarrow N$$

T
0

:
N
→
N

, such that the kernel of $$T_0$$

T
0

is not biorthogonally closed w.r.t. N and contains M. This is a new perspective on properties of bounded modular operators that might appear in Hilbert C*-module theory. By the way, we find a correct proof of Lemma 2.4 of Frank (Int J Math 13:1–19, 2002) in the case of monotone complete and compact C*-algebras, but find it not valid in certain particular cases.
Accumulation of microplastics in bivalves within the Chandragiri River in South-Western India
Authors: Radhakrishnan Nidhin Krishna Kadalassery , Sangeetha Jeyabalan , Alabhai Jadav Mulji , Jayasree Poornendu
Published: February 2024

The pervasive presence of microplastics within river ecosystems has a profound and often underestimated detrimental impact. These minuscule yet persistent particles have infiltrated diverse biological habitats, making their detrimental effects on aquatic life increasingly concerning worldwide. The ability of microplastics to accumulate within aquatic organisms further exacerbates this concern. Consequently, the monitoring of microplastic pollution in surface water environments has emerged as a crucial endeavour, offering invaluable insights into the extent of this ecological threat. This study delved into the contamination levels of microplastics within two bivalve species, Perna viridis and Villorita cyprinoides, along the Chandragiri River in Kerala and Karnataka, South-West India, spanning eight distinct locations. The investigation yielded a significant discovery, with a total of 667 microplastic particles extracted from 288 individuals. On average, each individual bivalve harboured approximately 2.31 ± 0.93 microplastic items. Notably, these microplastic particles exhibited a wide range of morphological characteristics, underscoring their diverse origins and pathways into the ecosystem. Furthermore, five polymer types of microplastics were unequivocally confirmed through FTIR-ATR analysis, shedding light on the types of plastics that pose a threat to the riverine ecosystem. The findings of this study contribute to a growing body of evidence highlighting the global threat of microplastic pollution, urging international collaboration and innovative solutions to prevent further contamination and remediate existing microplastic burdens in aquatic environments.
Writing about the Merovingians in the Early United States
Authors: Halfond Gregory I.
Published: February 2024

In a young American republic seeking to define itself in relation to European cultural and political models past and present, it was assumed that the history of Europe's peoples could be tracked across time over the longue durée. From this perspective, even the barbarous long-haired kings of the distant Merovingian era helped to define the political and cultural identity of a France-and, indeed, a Europe-whose actions Americans recognized as relevant to their own republic. Americans saw medieval parallels not only in the actions of successive French regimes, but in contemporary transatlantic issues of anxiety, including the adjudication of claims of political legitimacy and the debate over the perpetuation of racial slavery. That early American writers located their own meanings in the history of Merovingian Francia is indicative of a less linear, and more diverse and transnational, historiography than previously recognized.
Children's Literature and Old Norse Medievalism
Authors: Clark David
Published: February 2024

This book explores the ways in which contemporary authors respond to and rework key aspects of Old Norse history and viking culture for young twenty-first-century audiences. Why are contemporary authors and audiences so manifestly attracted to the viking past? In what ways do writers respond to Norse sources? How do the narratives they tell reflect our beliefs about and desires for the past, our constructions of childhood and adolescence, our anxieties around gender, sexuality, and ethnicity? How do these texts engage with a future occluded by apocalyptic ecological threat? David Clark explores these questions through readings of a rich body of diverse material which retells, updates, and transforms Norse culture. The volume contextualizes Norse medievalism and explores how thematic foci on gender, sexuality, disability, and ethnicity relate to contemporary concerns around these topics, and the construction of childhood.
Film Authorship in Contemporary Transmedia Culture
Authors: Promkhuntong Wikanda
Published: February 2024

Film Authorship in Contemporary Transmedia Culture: The Paratextual Lives of Asian Auteurs examines film authorship in the transmedia era whereby film directors have become public figures through a wide range of textual, material, and performative practices. The book draws on the notion of paratext and its related term - palimpsest - to bring forth the idea of self-reflexive authorship as a method of examining the mediated past, present, and afterlife of East Asian filmmakers. The first part of the book pays attention to materials surrounding film festivals, multi-platform distribution, and cinephile/fan creative practices, which have been created, rewritten, and shared to foster and problematize the reputations of selected filmmakers. The second part examines alternative modes of self-projections and creative productions that address the filmmakers' sense of selves and relations with the industry and the public. Across different chapters, discourses surrounding film authorship and East Asian cinema are revisited and expanded to highlight its multiple histories and possible futures.
Gifting Translation in Early Modern England
Authors: Inglis Kirsten
Published: February 2024

Translation was a critical mode of discourse for early modern writers. Gifting Translation in Early Modern England: Women Writers and the Politics of Authorship examines the intersection of translation and the culture of gift-giving in early modern England, arguing that this intersection allowed women to subvert dominant modes of discourse through acts of linguistic and inter-semiotic translation and conventions of gifting. The book considers four early modern translators: Mary Bassett, Jane Lumley, Jane Seager, and Esther Inglis. These women negotiate the rhetorics of translation and gift-culture in order to articulate political and religious affiliations and beliefs in their carefully crafted manuscript gift-books. This book offers a critical lens through which to read early modern translations in relation to the materiality of early modern gift culture.
Image and the Office of the Dead in Late Medieval Europe
Authors: Schell Sarah
Published: February 2024

Image and the Office of the Dead in Late Medieval Europe explores the Office of the Dead as a site of interaction between text, image, and experience in the culture of commemoration that thrived in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The Office of the Dead was a familiar liturgical ritual, and its perceived importance and utility are evident in its regular inclusion in devotional compilations, which crossed the boundaries between lay and religious readers. The Office was present in all medieval deaths: as a focus for private contemplation, a site of public performance, a reassuring ritual, and a voice for the bereaved. Examining the images at the Office of the Dead and related written, visual, and material evidence, this book explores the relationship of these images to the text in which they are embedded and to the broader experiences of and aspirations for death.
Finance and the World Economy in Weimar Cinema
Authors: Lyons Owen
Published: February 2024

After the First World War, the effects of financial crisis could be felt in all corners of the newly formed Weimar Republic. The newly interconnected world economy was barely understood and yet it was increasingly made visible in the films of the time. The complexities of this system were reflected on screen to both the everyday spectator as well as a new class of financial workers who looked to popular depictions of speculation and crisis to make sense of their own place on the shifting ground of modern life. Finance and the World Economy in Weimar Cinema turns to the many underexamined depictions of finance capital that appear in the films of 1920s Germany. The representation of finance capital in these films is essential to our understanding of the culture of the Weimar Republic - particularly in the relation between finance and ideas of gender, nation and modernity. As visual records, these films reveal the stock exchange as a key space of modernity and coincide with the abstraction of finance as a vast labour of representation in its own right. In so doing, they introduce core visual tropes that have become essential to our understanding of finance and capitalism throughout the twentieth century.
Hospitals in Communities of the Late Medieval Rhineland
Authors: Barnhouse Lucy
Published: February 2024

From the mid-twelfth century onwards, the development of European hospitals was shaped by their claim to the legal status of religious institutions, with its attendant privileges and responsibilities. The questions of whom hospitals should serve and why they should do so have recurred - and been invested with moral weight - in successive centuries, though similarities between medieval and modern debates on the subject have often been overlooked. Hospitals' legal status as religious institutions could be tendentious and therefore had to be vigorously defended in order to protect hospitals' resources. This status could also, however, be invoked to impose limits on who could serve in and be served by hospitals. As recent scholarship demonstrates, disputes over whom hospitals should serve, and how, find parallels in other periods of history and current debates.
Shellac in Visual and Sonic Culture
Authors: Roy Elodie A.
Published: February 2024

This book charts the unsettled media cultures and deep time of shellac, retracing its journey from the visual to the sonic, and back again. Each chapter unveils a situated moment in the long history of shellac - travelling from its early visual culture to Emile Berliner's discovery of its auditory properties through to its recycling in contemporary art and design practices. Unforeseen correspondences between artefacts as diverse as mirrors, seals, gramophone discs and bombs are revealed. With its combinatory approach and commitment to material thinking, Shellac in Visual and Sonic Culture insists on moments of contact, encounter, and transformation. The book notably addresses the colonial unconscious underpinning the early transnational recording industry, highlighting the multiple gestures and forms of labour entombed within the production of the 78rpm disc. Roy explores shellac as a concrete substance, as well as the malleable stuff of which stories, histories and modern imaginings were made - and unmade.
Borderland Anxieties
Authors: Wilkinson Matthew
Published: February 2024

Borderland Anxieties explores the complex relationships between liberalization, gender and migration in Nagaland, a state in Northeast India that is emerging from decades of armed conflict. In the wake of Nagaland's conflict, liberalization and an 'opening up' of the state to new connections and flows take place alongside ongoing militarization, nationalist insurgency, and political unrest. Nagaland's complex peace-conflict continuum has encouraged a reordering of possibilities for men and for women in the state, but also, attempts to maintain fundamental social roles that are seen as defining an ethnic group, as foundations of identity, and for many as uncompromisable. In exploring the complex dynamics of peace, conflict, and tension in Nagaland, Borderland Anxieties offers a window to understanding how gender, politics and anxiety intersect in a borderland state experiencing rapid social, political, and economic changes.
Retrieval of Rotational Temperatures From the Arecibo Observatory Ebert‐Fastie Spectrometer and Their Inter‐Comparison With Co‐Located K‐Lidar and SABER Measurements
Authors: Sau Sukanta , Terra Pedrina , Brum Christiano G. M. , Vargas Fabio A. , Lautenbach Jens , Gurubaran S.
Published: February 2024

Rotational temperatures in the Mesosphere‐Lower Thermosphere region are estimated by utilizing the OH(6,2) Meinel band nightglow data obtained with an Ebert‐Fastie spectrometer (EFS) operated at Arecibo Observatory (AO), Puerto Rico (18.35°N, 66.75°W) during February‐April 2005. To validate the estimated rotational temperatures, a comparison with temperatures obtained from a co‐located Potassium Temperature Lidar (K‐Lidar) and overhead passes of the Sounding of the Atmosphere by Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument onboard NASA's Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite is performed. Two types of weighting functions are applied to the K‐Lidar temperature profiles to compare them with EFS temperatures. The first type has a fixed peak altitude and a fixed full width at half maximum (FWHM) for the whole night. In the second type, the peak altitude and FWHM vary with the local time. SABER measurements are utilized to estimate the OH(6,2) band peak altitudes and FWHMs as a function of local time and considerable temporal variations are observed in both the parameters. The average temperature differences between the EFS and K‐Lidar obtained with both types of weighting functions are comparable with previously published results from different latitude‐longitude sectors. We found that the temperature comparison improves when the time‐varying weighting functions are considered. Comparison between EFS, K‐Lidar, and SABER temperatures reveal that on average, SABER temperatures are lower than the other two instruments and K‐Lidar temperatures compare better with SABER in comparison to EFS. Such a detailed study using the AO EFS data has not been carried out previously.
A Simple Relationship Between the Magnitude and Spatial Extent of Global Surface Temperature Anomalies
Authors: Fried Caleb , Huybers Peter
Published: February 2024

Preparing for climate change requires an understanding of the degree to which global warming has regional implications. Here we document a strong relationship between the magnitude and extent of warming and explain its origin using a simple model based on binomial statistics. Applied to HadCRUT5 instrumental observations, the model shows that 96% of interannual variability in the proportion of regions experiencing anomalous warmth over the last century can be explained on the basis of the magnitude of global mean surface temperature (GMST) anomalies. The model performs similarly well when applied to a variety of unforced and forced model simulations and represents a general thermodynamic link between global and local warming on annual timescales. Our model predicts that, independent of the baseline that is chosen, 95% of the globe is expected to experience above‐average annual temperatures at 0.7°C of GMST warming, and 99% at 1.0°C of warming.
Hydrothermal Degassing Through the Karakoram Fault, Western Tibet: Insights Into Active Deformation Driven by Continental Strike‐Slip Faulting
Authors: Zhang Maoliang , Xie Xian‐Gang , Liu Wei , Liu Yi , Wang Linan , Sano Yuji , Lang Yun‐Chao , Liu Cong‐Qiang , Xu Sheng
Published: February 2024

The Karakoram fault (KKF) is an important strike‐slip boundary for accommodating deformation following the India‐Asia collision. However, whether the deformation is confined to the crust or whether it extends into the mantle remains highly debated. Here, we show that the KKF is overwhelmingly dominated by crustal degassing related to a 4He‐ and CO2‐rich fluid reservoir (for example, He contents up to ∼1.0–1.6 vol.%; 3He/4He = 0.027 ± 0.013 RA (1σ, n = 47); CO2/N2 up to 3.7–57.8). Crustal‐scale active deformation driven by strike‐slip faulting could mobilize 4He and CO2 from the fault zone rocks, which subsequently accumulate in the hydrothermal system. The KKF may have limited fluid connections to the mantle, and if any, the accumulated crustal fluids would efficiently dilute the uprising mantle fluids. In both cases, crustal deformation is evidently the first‐order response to strike‐slip faulting.
Roles of External Forcing and Internal Variability in Global Marine Heatwaves Change During 1982–2021
Authors: Dong Lu , Zeng Shijie , Song Fengfei , Wu Lixin , Shi Jian , Ding Yang , Lv Songxin
Published: February 2024

As discrete prolonged extreme warm water events, marine heatwaves (MHWs) have become more frequent, stronger and longer‐lasting during the past several decades. The relative contributions of external forcing and internal variability to these changes and their underlying drivers remain unclear. Here, analyses of 90 simulations in CESM2 reveal that external forcing dominates the increasing frequency by causing the mean warming of sea surface temperature (SST), accounting for 82% of the observed trends. Both the mean warming and increased variance of SST contribute to the longer‐lasting MHWs during 1982–2021, with external forcing contributing 38% of the increase in the SST variance for global average. Internal variability, especially the Inter‐decadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO), is closely associated with regional MHW changes. The observed negative IPO trend during 1982–2021 is related to increasing, strengthening and longer‐lasting MHW over Kuroshio Extension, but decreasing and shorter‐lasting MHW over the Northeast Pacific Coast.
Simultaneous Occurrence of Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances, Farley Buneman and Gradient Drift Instabilities Observed by the Zhongshan SuperDARN HF Radar
Authors: Hiyadutuje Alicreance , Habarulema John Bosco , Kosch Michael J. , Chen Xiangcai , Stephenson Judy A. E. , Matamba Tshimangadzo Merline
Published: February 2024

We show that Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (TIDs) may affect the Farley Buneman Instability (FBI) and Gradient Drift Instability (GDI) echoes referred to as the Near Range Echoes (NREs) in the SuperDARN radar backscatter from the lower part of the E‐region. TIDs and NREs are observed concomitantly by the Zhongshan SuperDARN radar (69.38°S, 76.38°E) in the far and near ranges, respectively. At the moment, there is no study about the effects of TIDs on the NREs caused by the FBI using the SuperDARN radars. The GDI are more likely to occur at a lower altitude while FBI occurs at a slightly higher altitude in the lower part of the ionospheric E‐region. We use the Spearman Correlation Coefficient (SCC) to show that a part of the NREs backscatter power could be statistically explained by the MSTIDs backscatter power received by the same radar. We also investigate the simultaneous occurrence rate of the NREs and MSTIDs during the 24th solar cycle. Seasonal variability shows that MSTIDs‐NREs events over Zhongshan mostly occur in summer and equinoxes during local night and morning. The majority of these events lasted between ∼4 and ∼8 hr. Most events disappeared early in the morning. Statistics of the Spearman correlation coefficient values show that ∼9% of NRE amplitude modulation could be due to the MSTIDs. There are almost equal numbers of negative and positive Spearman correlation coefficient values. The relative velocity between the E‐region NREs and the F‐region MSTIDs switching the electric field polarities between the crests and troughs could be the cause of those equal number of the Spearman correlation coefficient values. The orientation of the ionospheric current relative to the MSTID polarization electric field may also play a significant role in the reported Spearman correlation coefficient values. We argue that in some cases, the TIDs might have been close enough to the NREs altitude to modulate them directly by transporting the plasma up and down through shear or compression.
PEMEM Percentile: New Plasma Environment Specification Model for Surface Charging Risk Assessment
Authors: Dubyagin S. , Ganushkina N. , Sicard A. , Matéo‐Vélez J.‐C. , Monnin L. , Heynderickx D. , Jiggens P. , Deprez G. , Cipriani F.
Published: February 2024

The Plasma Environment Modeling in the Earth's Magnetosphere (PEMEM) is a European Space Agency activity supporting the development of a new specification model for the spacecraft surface charging risk assessment. This paper presents a description of the basic model version: the PEMEM percentile model. The model is intended to be used for space missions with near‐equatorial orbits. The model is based on the Van Allen Probes particle measurements inside the geostationary orbit. The model's primary input is a planned spacecraft trajectory. It outputs statistical characteristics of the plasma environment which are expected to be encountered during a mission lifetime. These characteristics include differential electron and proton flux percentiles for a set of energies (percentile spectra), and percentiles of the integrated electron flux. The model covers the energy range of 1–100 keV for electrons and 40 eV–51 keV for protons. Since extreme spacecraft charging usually occurs in the eclipse, the same characteristics can be separately output for the periods when the spacecraft is shadowed by the Earth.
Remote Estimates of Sea Surface Nitrate and Its Trends From Ocean Color in the Northwest Pacific
Authors: Chen Shuangling , Meng Yu , Shang Shaoling , Zheng Mei , Wang Yuntao , Chai Fei
Published: February 2024

Sea surface nitrate (SSN) plays an important role in assessing new production and phytoplankton growth in the ocean, yet it has been challenging to estimate SSN from satellites due to its complex and varying relationship with different environmental proxies. The different SSN trends in the northwest Pacific reported in previous studies call for more detailed research to examine the interannual variabilities in SSN. We addressed this problem by developing a stacking‐random‐forest based algorithm for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). It allows estimating SSN from daily sea surface temperature (SST) and Chlorophyll‐a concentration (Chl) at a spatial resolution of 4 km. For SSN ranging between 0.0005 and 25.88 μmol/kg (N = 3,452), the model had a root mean square difference of 1.34 μmol/kg (5.3%) and coefficient of determination of 0.92. Further independent validation and sensitivity tests demonstrated the validity of the algorithm in retrieving SSN. Using this novel data record, for the first time, we investigated the SSN interannual variabilities and trends from MODIS. Overall, the SSN showed a weak decreasing trend of −0.01 ± 0.007 μmol kg−1 yr−1 (p < 0.05) in the northwest Pacific in 2002–2020, associated with an increasing trend in SST (0.03 ± 0.01˚C yr−1 at p < 0.05) and insignificant trend (0.001 ± 0.001 mg m−3 yr−1 at p > 0.05) in Chl. The interannual variabilities of SSN were significantly correlated with the environmental proxies (SST, Chl) and the climate indices (Pacific Decadal Oscillation and North Pacific Gyre Oscillation). The SSN trends can be further restricted with more data available.
Observation of Near‐Inertial Waves Induced by Typhoon Lan in the Northwestern Pacific: Characteristics, Energy Fluxes and Impact on Diapycnal Mixing
Authors: Yuan Shengming , Yan Xiaomei , Zhang Linlin , Pang Chongguang , Hu Dunxin
Published: February 2024

Based on mooring observations from October 10 to 5 November 2017 at four stations in the Northwestern Pacific, the characteristics of four strong near‐inertial wave (NIW) packets generated by the typhoon Lan were examined. The wave‐packet analysis revealed that for the NIWs with larger horizontal wavelengths, as their interactions with the background currents were weakened, the observed frequency was close to the intrinsic frequency. The near‐inertial kinetic energy (NIKE) between two cyclonic eddies penetrated deeper (∼620 m) than that in a negative vorticity region. A ray‐tracing model suggested that it was the strong positive vorticity to the north that caused the northward propagating NIWs to be reflected, and then the reflected NIWs were accelerated to propagate downward at ∼70 m depth where the stratification was strongest. In these two cases, furthermore, the efficiency of the downward propagation of NIKE was at a comparable level of 21%–25%. Energy budget analysis indicated that about 5%–25% of the near‐inertial wind work was injected into the upper 50–200 m, approximately 6%–25% of which could be further radiated to the deeper ocean. On average, after the passage of the typhoon Lan, the dissipation rate increased by 3–8 times, and for the enhanced diapycnal mixing, ∼42% of the energy was provided by the typhoon‐induced strong NIWs.
Understanding the Role of Sharp Edges in the Propagation of Surface Gravity Waves
Authors: Hitzegrad Jan , Köster Sebastian , Windt Christian , Goseberg Nils
Published: February 2024

Ultra‐rough oceanic surfaces, such as oyster reefs, are characterized by densely‐packed, sharp‐edged roughness elements that induce high frictional resistance on the ambient flows. To effectively employ, for example, oyster reefs as a nature‐based solution in coastal protection, a detailed understanding of the frictional wave energy dissipation processes is necessary. This work reports on an experimental study in which six surrogates of very to ultra‐rough oceanic bed surfaces were subjected to regular waves. The influences of different sharpness' of roughness elements (bluntly‐shaped, sharp‐edged, and a combination thereof) and relative spacing between elements compared to the near‐bed horizontal excursion amplitude, λ/ab, on the wave attenuation have been investigated. Turbulence is 2–27 times larger for sharp‐edged surfaces and 1 to 18 times larger for mix surfaces than those of bluntly‐shaped surfaces. Maximum bed shear stresses, hydraulic roughness lengths, and wave friction factors are likewise significantly larger for sharp‐edged compared to bluntly‐shaped surfaces. These observations indicate that the sharp edges are crucial for frictional energy dissipation. Comparing the maximum bed shear stresses determined from wave height reductions to those determined from velocity measurements indicates that in addition to turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), periodic form‐induced stresses significantly contribute to the overall bed shear stresses. This study provides new insight into the frictional dissipation processes of oscillating flows encountering ultra‐rough surfaces.
Destratifying and Restratifying Instabilities During Down‐Front Wind Events: A Case Study in the Irminger Sea
Authors: Goldsworth F. W. , Johnson H. L. , Marshall D. P. , Le Bras I. A.
Published: February 2024

Observations indicate that symmetric instability is active in the East Greenland Current during strong northerly wind events. Theoretical considerations suggest that mesoscale baroclinic instability may also be enhanced during these events. An ensemble of idealized numerical ocean models forced with northerly winds shows that the short time‐scale response (from 10 days to 3 weeks) to the increased baroclinicity of the flow is the excitation of symmetric instability, which sets the potential vorticity of the flow to zero. The high latitude of the current means that the zero potential vorticity state has low stratification, and symmetric instability destratifies the water column. On longer time scales (greater than 4 weeks), baroclinic instability is excited and the associated slumping of isopycnals restratifies the water column. Eddy‐resolving models that fail to resolve the submesoscale should consider using submesoscale parameterizations to prevent the formation of overly stratified frontal systems following down‐front wind events. The mixed layer in the current deepens at a rate proportional to the square root of the time‐integrated wind stress. Peak water mass transformation rates vary linearly with the time‐integrated wind stress. Mixing rates saturate at high wind stresses during wind events of a fixed duration which means increasing the peak wind stress in an event leads to no extra mixing. Using ERA5 reanalysis data we estimate that between 0.9 Sv and 1.0 Sv of East Greenland Coastal Current Waters are produced by mixing with lighter surface waters during wintertime due to down‐front wind events. Similar amounts of East Greenland‐Irminger Current water are produced.
Accounting for Small-Scale Processes in Large-Scale Models
Authors: Liu Yangang , Kollias Pavlos
Published: February 2024

A new book explores how fast processes can be better represented in atmospheric models to improve weather and climate prediction.
Targeting OGG1 and PARG radiosensitises head and neck cancer cells to high-LET protons through complex DNA damage persistence
Authors: Fabbrizi Maria Rita , Nickson Catherine M. , Hughes Jonathan R. , Robinson Emily A. , Vaidya Karthik , Rubbi Carlos P. , Kacperek Andrzej , Bryant Helen E. , Helleday Thomas , Parsons Jason L.
Published: February 2024

Complex DNA damage (CDD), containing two or more DNA lesions within one or two DNA helical turns, is a signature of ionising radiation (IR) and contributes significantly to the therapeutic effect through cell killing. The levels and complexity of CDD increases with linear energy transfer (LET), however, the specific cellular response to this type of DNA damage and the critical proteins essential for repair of CDD is currently unclear. We performed an siRNA screen of ~240 DNA damage response proteins to identify those specifically involved in controlling cell survival in response to high-LET protons at the Bragg peak, compared to low-LET entrance dose protons which differ in the amount of CDD produced. From this, we subsequently validated that depletion of 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1) and poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) in HeLa and head and neck cancer cells leads to significantly increased cellular radiosensitivity specifically following high-LET protons, whilst no effect was observed after low-LET protons and X-rays. We subsequently confirmed that OGG1 and PARG are both required for efficient CDD repair post-irradiation with high-LET protons. Importantly, these results were also recapitulated using specific inhibitors for OGG1 (TH5487) and PARG (PDD00017273). Our results suggest OGG1 and PARG play a fundamental role in the cellular response to CDD and indicate that targeting these enzymes could represent a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of head and neck cancers following high-LET radiation.
Periplogenin attenuates LPS-mediated inflammatory osteolysis through the suppression of osteoclastogenesis via reducing the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways
Authors: Gan Kai , Lian Haoyu , Yang Tao , Huang Jian , Chen Junchun , Su Yuangang , Zhao Jinmin , Xu Jiake , Liu Qian
Published: February 2024

The key target for treating inflammatory osteolysis is osteoclasts. In an inflammatory environment, osteoclast differentiation increases, and bone resorption is enhanced. Periplogenin (Ppg) is a traditional Chinese medicine. It has anti-inflammatory and antitumor effects, but its impact on inflammatory osteolysis is unknown. This study found that Ppg prevented LPS-induced skull osteolysis by inhibiting the expression of inflammatory cytokines and osteoclast production. In vitro, Ppg blocked the RANKL-induced generation of osteoclasts, the development of pseudopodia bands, and bone resorption. Ppg also attenuated the expression of NFATc1, c-Fos, CTSK, and Atp6v0d2 proteins by inhibiting the NFATc1 signaling pathway. In addition, Ppg inhibited the expression of osteoclast-specific genes, including NFATc1, c-Fos, CTSK, Atp6v0d2, and Mmp9. Moreover, Ppg also inhibited NF-κB and MAPK pathways. In vivo, Ppg reduced the number of osteoclasts on the surface of the bone and suppressed LPS-induced osteolysis of the skull. These outcomes suggest that Ppg can serve as a new alternative therapy for treating inflammatory osteolysis by inhibiting inflammation and osteoclasts.
COVID-19 immune signatures in Uganda persist in HIV co-infection and diverge by pandemic phase
Authors: Cummings Matthew J. , Bakamutumaho Barnabas , Lutwama Julius J. , Owor Nicholas , Che Xiaoyu , Astorkia Maider , Postler Thomas S. , Kayiwa John , Kiconco Jocelyn , Muwanga Moses , Nsereko Christopher , Rwamutwe Emmanuel , Nayiga Irene , Kyebambe Stephen , Haumba Mercy , Bosa Henry Kyobe , Ocom Felix , Watyaba Benjamin , Kikaire Bernard , Tomoiaga Alin S. , Kisaka Stevens , Kiwanuka Noah , Lipkin W. Ian , O’Donnell Max R. ,   Collaboration for Clinical and Laboratory Characterization of COVID-19 in Uganda, Watyaba Benjamin , Kikaire Bernard , O’Donnell Max R.
Published: February 2024

Little is known about the pathobiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection in sub-Saharan Africa, where severe COVID-19 fatality rates are among the highest in the world and the immunological landscape is unique. In a prospective cohort study of 306 adults encompassing the entire clinical spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Uganda, we profile the peripheral blood proteome and transcriptome to characterize the immunopathology of COVID-19 across multiple phases of the pandemic. Beyond the prognostic importance of myeloid cell-driven immune activation and lymphopenia, we show that multifaceted impairment of host protein synthesis and redox imbalance define core biological signatures of severe COVID-19, with central roles for IL-7, IL-15, and lymphotoxin-α in COVID-19 respiratory failure. While prognostic signatures are generally consistent in SARS-CoV-2/HIV-coinfection, type I interferon responses uniquely scale with COVID-19 severity in persons living with HIV. Throughout the pandemic, COVID-19 severity peaked during phases dominated by A.23/A.23.1 and Delta B.1.617.2/AY variants. Independent of clinical severity, Delta phase COVID-19 is distinguished by exaggerated pro-inflammatory myeloid cell and inflammasome activation, NK and CD8+ T cell depletion, and impaired host protein synthesis. Combining these analyses with a contemporary Ugandan cohort of adults hospitalized with influenza and other severe acute respiratory infections, we show that activation of epidermal and platelet-derived growth factor pathways are distinct features of COVID-19, deepening translational understanding of mechanisms potentially underlying SARS-CoV-2-associated pulmonary fibrosis. Collectively, our findings provide biological rationale for use of broad and targeted immunotherapies for severe COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa, illustrate the relevance of local viral and host factors to SARS-CoV-2 immunopathology, and highlight underemphasized yet therapeutically exploitable immune pathways driving COVID-19 severity.
Time-integrated BMP signaling determines fate in a stem cell model for early human development
Authors: Teague Seth , Primavera Gillian , Chen Bohan , Liu Zong-Yuan , Yao LiAng , Freeburne Emily , Khan Hina , Jo Kyoung , Johnson Craig , Heemskerk Idse
Published: February 2024

How paracrine signals are interpreted to yield multiple cell fate decisions in a dynamic context during human development in vivo and in vitro remains poorly understood. Here we report an automated tracking method to follow signaling histories linked to cell fate in large numbers of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). Using an unbiased statistical approach, we discover that measured BMP signaling history correlates strongly with fate in individual cells. We find that BMP response in hPSCs varies more strongly in the duration of signaling than the level. However, both the level and duration of signaling activity control cell fate choices only by changing the time integral. Therefore, signaling duration and level are interchangeable in this context. In a stem cell model for patterning of the human embryo, we show that signaling histories predict the fate pattern and that the integral model correctly predicts changes in cell fate domains when signaling is perturbed. Our data suggest that mechanistically, BMP signaling is integrated by SOX2.
Genetic control of thermomorphogenesis in tomato inflorescences
Authors: Sun Shuai , Liu Zhiqiang , Wang Xiaotian , Song Jia , Fang Siyu , Kong Jisheng , Li Ren , Wang Huanzhong , Cui Xia
Published: February 2024

Understanding how plants alter their development and architecture in response to ambient temperature is crucial for breeding resilient crops. Here, we identify the quantitative trait locus qMULTIPLE INFLORESCENCE BRANCH 2 (qMIB2), which modulates inflorescence branching in response to high ambient temperature in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). The non-functional mib2 allele may have been selected in large-fruited varieties to ensure larger and more uniform fruits under varying temperatures. MIB2 gene encodes a homolog of the Arabidopsis thaliana transcription factor SPATULA; its expression is induced in meristems at high temperature. MIB2 directly binds to the promoter of its downstream gene CONSTANS-Like1 (SlCOL1) by recognizing the conserved G-box motif to activate SlCOL1 expression in reproductive meristems. Overexpressing SlCOL1 rescue the reduced inflorescence branching of mib2, suggesting how the MIB2–SlCOL1 module helps tomato inflorescences adapt to high temperature. Our findings reveal the molecular mechanism underlying inflorescence thermomorphogenesis and provide a target for breeding climate-resilient crops.
An alpha-helical lid guides the target DNA toward catalysis in CRISPR-Cas12a
Authors: Saha Aakash , Ahsan Mohd , Arantes Pablo R. , Schmitz Michael , Chanez Christelle , Jinek Martin , Palermo Giulia
Published: February 2024

CRISPR-Cas12a is a powerful RNA-guided genome-editing system that generates double-strand DNA breaks using its single RuvC nuclease domain by a sequential mechanism in which initial cleavage of the non-target strand is followed by target strand cleavage. How the spatially distant DNA target strand traverses toward the RuvC catalytic core is presently not understood. Here, continuous tens of microsecond-long molecular dynamics and free-energy simulations reveal that an α-helical lid, located within the RuvC domain, plays a pivotal role in the traversal of the DNA target strand by anchoring the crRNA:target strand duplex and guiding the target strand toward the RuvC core, as also corroborated by DNA cleavage experiments. In this mechanism, the REC2 domain pushes the crRNA:target strand duplex toward the core of the enzyme, while the Nuc domain aids the bending and accommodation of the target strand within the RuvC core by bending inward. Understanding of this critical process underlying Cas12a activity will enrich fundamental knowledge and facilitate further engineering strategies for genome editing.
Domain-inlaid Nme2Cas9 adenine base editors with improved activity and targeting scope
Authors: Bamidele Nathan , Zhang Han , Dong Xiaolong , Cheng Haoyang , Gaston Nicholas , Feinzig Hailey , Cao Hanbing , Kelly Karen , Watts Jonathan K. , Xie Jun , Gao Guangping , Sontheimer Erik J.
Published: February 2024

Nme2Cas9 has been established as a genome editing platform with compact size, high accuracy, and broad targeting range, including single-AAV-deliverable adenine base editors. Here, we engineer Nme2Cas9 to further increase the activity and targeting scope of compact Nme2Cas9 base editors. We first use domain insertion to position the deaminase domain nearer the displaced DNA strand in the target-bound complex. These domain-inlaid Nme2Cas9 variants exhibit shifted editing windows and increased activity in comparison to the N-terminally fused Nme2-ABE. We next expand the editing scope by swapping the Nme2Cas9 PAM-interacting domain with that of SmuCas9, which we had previously defined as recognizing a single-cytidine PAM. We then use these enhancements to introduce therapeutically relevant edits in a variety of cell types. Finally, we validate domain-inlaid Nme2-ABEs for single-AAV delivery in vivo.
Spatiotemporal and direct capturing global substrates of lysine-modifying enzymes in living cells
Authors: Hu Hao , Hu Wei , Guo An-Di , Zhai Linhui , Ma Song , Nie Hui-Jun , Zhou Bin-Shan , Liu Tianxian , Jia Xinglong , Liu Xing , Yao Xuebiao , Tan Minjia , Chen Xiao-Hua
Published: February 2024

Protein-modifying enzymes regulate the dynamics of myriad post-translational modification (PTM) substrates. Precise characterization of enzyme-substrate associations is essential for the molecular basis of cellular function and phenotype. Methods for direct capturing global substrates of protein-modifying enzymes in living cells are with many challenges, and yet largely unexplored. Here, we report a strategy to directly capture substrates of lysine-modifying enzymes via PTM-acceptor residue crosslinking in living cells, enabling global profiling of substrates of PTM-enzymes and validation of PTM-sites in a straightforward manner. By integrating enzymatic PTM-mechanisms, and genetically encoding residue-selective photo-crosslinker into PTM-enzymes, our strategy expands the substrate profiles of both bacterial and mammalian lysine acylation enzymes, including bacterial lysine acylases PatZ, YiaC, LplA, TmcA, and YjaB, as well as mammalian acyltransferases GCN5 and Tip60, leading to discovery of distinct yet functionally important substrates and acylation sites. The concept of direct capturing substrates of PTM-enzymes via residue crosslinking may extend to the other types of amino acid residues beyond lysine, which has the potential to facilitate the investigation of diverse types of PTMs and substrate-enzyme interactive proteomics.