bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Smart monitoring of road pavement deformations from UAV images by using machine learning
Authors: Ibrahim Heba Basyouni , Salah Mahmoud , Zarzoura Fawzi , El-Mewafi Mahmoud
Published: December 2023

Road pavement deformation monitoring is considered the main task for maintenance purposes, especially potholes and cracks, which are the most common types of road deformation surfaces. In order to make pavement inspections more effective, new types of remote sensing data that do not damage the pavement are being used more and more to find pavement distress. This article presents a proposed approach for extracting surface cracks from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images using machine learning, focusing on the data pre-treatment processes. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of decision tree classification (DT) in detecting cracks. The performance of the models is also evaluated. The performance evaluation approach is predicated on two primary criteria: model validation and testing. Also, the extent of the impact of post-classification operations, edge detection technology, and morphological processes on crack identification as well as classification accuracy, the digital orthomosaic was generated by the use of a technique commonly referred to as backward projection. To achieve this, the study uses a fusion of gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) attribute data and RGB images. Cracks are discovered using a classification tree (CT)-based classification approach with an overall classification rate of 86%. Ultimately, morphological processes using the closed image that was formed had a commendable level of accuracy, with an overall classification rate of 96%. The Canny edge detection algorithm has demonstrated its efficacy as a preferred method for detecting cracks from UAV images, providing invaluable decision support for actual road maintenance.
Effect of the thermal environment on mortality: analysis of longitudinal data from Cyprus (2009–2018)
Authors: Pantavou Katerina , Piovani Daniele , Bonovas Stefanos , Nikolopoulos Georgios K.
Published: December 2023

Exposure to a suboptimal outdoor thermal environment is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to examine the effect of the thermal environment on all-cause mortality in Cyprus. Daily mortality data were obtained from 2009 to 2018. Hourly meteorological data were retrieved from the ERA5-Land reanalysis database and air pollutant concentrations were obtained from the official air quality network of the Republic of Cyprus. Air temperature (Tair), the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET), and the universal thermal climate index (UTCI) were used to assess the thermal environment. Associations of Tair, PET, and UTCI with daily mortality were examined using negative binomial regression while adjusting for air quality. Mortality in the cold period (December to March) increased by 3.3% for each 1 °C decrease in Tair and by up to 1.8% for each 1 °C decrease in PET and UTCI (p value < 0.001). In the warm period (April to November), a 1 °C increase in Tair or in PET and UTCI was associated with an increase in mortality of up to 1.4% and 1.1% (p value < 0.001), respectively. The effect (increase in mortality) was more pronounced when the analysis focused on winter (3.6% per 1 °C decrease in Tair, 2.4% per 1 °C decrease in PET, and 2% per 1 °C decrease in UTCI) and summer (4.1% per 1 °C increase in Tair, 2.4% per 1 °C increase in PET, and 1.2% per 1 °C increase in UTCI). Males in cold periods and the elderly (older than 64 years) were more vulnerable. Awareness about the effects of the thermal environment on mortality, including those during the cold months of the year, should be enhanced.
Photocatalytic activity of Fe3O4–Fe2O3 particles supported on mordenite under visible light exposure for methylene blue degradation
Authors: Avilés-Monreal Raúl , Borbón-Nuñez Hugo A. , Farías M. H. , Castillón-Barraza Felipe
Published: December 2023

Dyes pollution is a serious environmental problem and heterogeneous catalysis has been proposed as a remediation method. In this study, a set of catalysts of synthetic mordenite with iron oxides was synthesized by a simple chemical co-precipitation method assisted by subsequent thermal treatment with an oxidation process. Physicochemical characterization of prepared materials was performed by a variety of techniques, including XRD, SEM, EDS, SBET, UV–Vis DR, and XPS. Photocatalytic methylene blue (MB) degradation by the synthesized catalyst was evaluated with visible light excitation. From the studied set of catalysts, the sample prepared with a thermal treatment at 100 °C in air atmosphere for 3 h was capable of degrading ~ 90% of MB after 120 min with visible light of λ = 420 nm exposition and a small portion of H2O2 added. The catalyst used three processes to degrade MB: (1) adsorption of organic residues in the mordenite matrix support for electrostatic interactions, (2) photocatalysis heterogeneous reaction with visible light and (3) Fenton reaction catalyst with a small portion to H2O2 by Fe3O4–Fe2O3 presence. The catalytic efficiency to dye degradation was improved by a simple and economical thermal treatment without changing reaction conditions like pH, temperature, dose, or other. Studied mordenite iron oxide catalysts can be retrieved and reused at least five times without noticeable degradation, taking advantage of their magnetic properties. These catalysts could be proposed an economical, simple, and non-toxic alternative for eliminating organic dye pollution using visible light or solar irradiation in wastewater remediation related to textile, food, and pharmaceutical industries.
God and the Problem of Evidential Ambiguity
Authors: Baker-Hytch Max
Published: December 2023

When it comes to what many of us think of as the deepest questions of existence, the answers can seem difficult to make out. This difficulty, or ambiguity, is the topic of this Element. The Element begins by offering a general account of what evidential ambiguity consists in and uses it to try to make sense of the idea that our world is religiously ambiguous in some sense. It goes on to consider the questions of how we ought to investigate the nature of ultimate reality and whether evidential ambiguity is itself a significant piece of evidence in the quest.
Spoken Threats from Production to Perception
Authors: Tompkinson James
Published: December 2023

Spoken threats are a common but linguistically complex language crime. Although threatening language has been examined from different linguistic perspectives, there is limited research which critically addresses how people perceive spoken threats and infer traits such as threat and intent from speakers' voices. There is also minimal linguistic research addressing differences between written and spoken threats. By specifically analysing threats delivered in both written and spoken modalities, as well as integrating perceptual phonetic analysis into discussions on spoken threats, this Element offers perspectives on these two under-researched areas. It highlights the dangers of assuming that the way in which someone sounds correlates with, for example, their intention to commit harm, and explores potential problems in assuming that written and spoken threats are equivalent to one another. The goal of the Element is to advance linguistic knowledge and understanding around spoken threats, as well as promote further research in the area.
Teaching English as an International Language
Authors: Selvi Ali Fuad , Galloway Nicola , Rose Heath
Published: December 2023

This Element offers a comprehensive account of the unprecedented spread of English as a global language by taking historical, sociolinguistic, and pedagogical perspectives. To realize this mission, it opens with an accessible discussion of the historical trajectory of the English language with qualitative and quantitative connections to its contemporary diversity in terms of forms, roles, functions, uses, users, and contexts of English as a global and multilingual franca. Built upon this synchronic-diachronic symbiosis, the discussion is complemented by an overview of major analytical paradigms and trends that promote systematical scrutiny of the English language and its sociolinguistic and educational implications. It ends by showcasing instructional practices, recommendations, reflective questions, and future directions for language educators to revamp their beliefs, commitments, and practices considering the changing needs and realities of the present-day global sociolinguistic ecology and individuals therein.
Negotiating Our Economic Future
Authors: Pigman Geoffrey Allen
Published: December 2023

Tariffs and trade barriers are rising and major diplomatic institutions that have promoted liberal trade for decades have come under attack as impending trade wars threaten global trade and global value chains for manufacturing weaken. And at the root of this crisis, argues Geoff Pigman, is accelerating technological change.

This book traces the impact of today's major technological transformations on global trade and the diplomacy that makes trade possible. Not only is global trade changing, in terms of what is traded and how, but diplomacy in the digital age is changing as well. Arguing that we must think differently about trade and diplomacy, this book proposes pragmatic policy approaches for the diplomatic management of a challenging and potentially dangerous future.
Cultural Economics
Authors: Hellmanzik Christiane
Published: December 2023

The cultural industries and their products and services make a significant contribution to the global economy and are seen as strategic sectors for sustainable economic growth. However, industries such as art, design, film, music, performing arts, publishing, television and radio, present particular challenges for economic analysis. They can be goods or services that are both public and private, protected by copyright and freely available, consumed and created, as well as susceptible to fashion and technological development.

In this fascinating introduction to the cultural economy, Christiane Hellmanzik examines the market for creative work and reveals the economic relationships between human creativity, intellectual property and technology. Through the careful use of case studies, the book explores the core economic considerations such as supply and demand, competition and pricing, alongside macro trends such as globalization, digitalization and the internet, which are changing the industry's business models.
Farming as Financial Asset
Authors: Ouma Stefan
Published: December 2023

Since the global financial crisis, the world has seen a stark rise in financial investment in farming and agricultural production. Indeed, finance has been identified as one of the main causes of the so-called 'global land rush'. In a world with a growing population that needs to be fed, the financial returns from agriculture are sold as safe bets. The debate that this has prompted has been frequently alarmist, with financiers blamed for rising land prices, corporate enclosures, the dispossession of smallholder farmers and the expansion of large-scale industrial agriculture.

Stefan Ouma speaks to these concerns via an ethnographic journey through the agrifocused asset management industry. His penetrating analysis of case studies taken from New Zealand and Tanzania allows him to put global finance 'in place', bringing into view the flesh-and-blood institutions, globe spanning social relations, everyday practices and place-based value struggles that are often absent in broad-brushed narratives on the 'financialization of agriculture'. The book closes with a key question for the Anthropocene: which form of finance forwhich kind of food future?
Finntopia
Authors: Dorling Danny , Koljonen Annika
Published: December 2023

The 2020 World Happiness Report ranked Finland, for the third year running, as the world's happiest country.

The 'Nordic Model' has long been touted as the aspiration for social and public policy in Europe and North America, but what is it about Finland that makes the country so successful and seemingly such a great place to live?

Is it simply the level of government spending on health, education and welfare? Is it that Finland has one of the lowest rates of social inequality and childhood poverty, and highest levels of literacy and education?

Finland clearly has problems of its own - for example, a high level of gun ownership and high rates of suicide - which can make Finns skeptical of their ranking, but its consistently high performance across a range of well-being indicators does raise fascinating questions.

In the quest for the best of all possible societies, Danny Dorling and Annika Koljonen explore what we might learn from Finnish success.
Bounded Rationality
Authors: Mallard Graham
Published: December 2023

Understanding how we take economic decisions and how we depart from rational choice theory has become increasingly important to understanding the workings of the economy at all levels. The concept of bounded rationality has been central to that endeavour and is used in economic models to shed light on real-life behaviour, which has led to specific policy implications that would otherwise have gone unappreciated.

This introduction presents the key concepts and approaches adopted in the field of bounded rationality. The exposition is non-technical and free from any mathematical expressions and workings. The focus throughout is primarily on the behaviour of individuals or organizations within given situations rather than on macroeconomic concerns. The book examines how the field has evolved since its beginnings and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of its current research programme, including its relationship with behavioural economics.

The book is excellent preparatory reading for degree-level courses in economics as well as specific courses in behavioural economics and philosophy of economics.

This introduction presents the key concepts and approaches adopted in the field of bounded rationality. The exposition is non-technical and free from any mathematical expressions and workings. The focus throughout is primarily on the behaviour of individuals or organizations within given situations rather than on macroeconomic concerns. The book examines how the field has evolved since its beginnings and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of its current research programme, including its relationship with behavioural economics.
Angrynomics
Authors: Lonergan Eric , Blyth Mark
Published: December 2023

Why are measures of stress and anxiety on the rise, when economists and politicians tell us we have never had it so good? While statistics tell us that the vast majority of people are getting steadily richer the world most of us experience day-in and day-out feels increasingly uncertain, unfair, and ever more expensive. In Angrynomics, Eric Lonergan and Mark Blyth explore the rising tide of anger, sometimes righteous and useful, sometimes destructive and ill-targeted, and propose radical new solutions for an increasingly polarized and confusing world. Angrynomics is for anyone wondering, where the hell do we go from here?
China's Hong Kong
Authors: Summers Tim
Published: December 2023

In 1997, Hong Kong became a special administrative region of China under the 'one country, two systems' framework. In this new edition, Tim Summers brings his analysis of the politics of Hong Kong fully up to date and discusses the ramifications for the city of the mass demonstrations of 2019-20 and the city's intensifying confrontational politics that have culminated in China's new national security law for Hong Kong.

In the process, Hong Kong has lost the sweet spot it occupied for four decades in a world of intensifying economic globalization and decent US-China relations, all the more so after Covid-19. Instead it finds itself at the frontline of US-China strategic rivalry. Summers explores how the city's future will be shaped by the interaction of these global tensions with Hong Kong's polarized local politics and its relationship with Beijing.
Political Football
Authors: Grant Wyn
Published: December 2023

Football has been largely exempt from the development of the regulatory state and has been left to govern itself. However, new media have raised the profile of the game and globalization has created new pressures as football clubs become pawns in the ambitions of states, consortia and wealthy individuals. Clubs offer an important sense of identity for fans, but the impersonality and distance of ownership can set up new tensions. In addition, corruption in the international governing body has been a significant problem and the sport's symbiotic relationship with gambling continues to be a concern.

Wyn Grant examines the political economy of football and its uneasy relationship with the market. There are no off-the-shelf solutions for regulation, he argues, but the complexities of the game and its economic size demand more attention from government.
The Magic Money Tree and Other Economic Tales
Authors: Forni Lorenzo
Published: December 2023

This lively and provocative look at the tension between economics and politics examines why so many mistakes in economic policy-making are made for political reasons and ignore the economic truths.

Using short-term economic gains to ensure electoral success, argues Lorenzo Forni, inevitably spells macroeconomic disaster. Using the state budget, trade policy and monetary policy to prop up labour markets and the wider economy in order to boost voter approval ratings, while ignoring budget constraints can only result in longer recessions and economic downturns. Which then can incur the painful austerity measures needed to bring the economy back into balance.

Forni looks at many unsustainable economic policies that have been implemented in parts of the world when the economic realities - there is no magic money tree! - would recommend a different and more prudent economic course.
Music, Dance and Franco-Italian Cultural Exchange, c.1700
Authors: Fader Don
Published: December 2023

Exposes the roots of eighteenth-century musical cosmopolitanism through an investigation of exchanges and collaborations between musicians and dancers from the two major national musical traditions in the early years of the century.
Ephemeral Print Culture in Early Modern England
Authors: Somers Tim
Published: December 2023

'Cheap' genres of print such as ballads, almanacs and playing cards were part of everyday life in seventeenth-century society - ubiquitous and disposable. Toward the end of the century, however, individuals began to preserve, arrange and display articles of cheap print within carefully curated collections. What motivated this sudden urge to preserve the ephemeral? This book answers that question by analysing the social, political and intellectual factors behind the formation of cheap print collections, how these collections were used by their owners, and what this activity can tell us about 'print culture' in the early modern period.

The book's central collector is John Bagford (1650-1715), a shoemaker who became a dealer of prints and other 'curiosities' to important collectors of the time such as Samuel Pepys, Hans Sloane and Robert Harley. Bagford's own rich and largely unstudied collection is a fascinating study in its own right and his position at the centre of commercial and intellectual networks opens up a whole world of collecting. This world encompasses later Stuart partisan political culture, when modern parties and the 'public sphere' first emerged; the 'New Science' and 'virtuoso culture' with its milieu of natural philosophers, antiquaries and artisans; the aural and visual landscape of marketplaces, streets and alehouses; and developing practices of record-keeping, life-writing and historical writing during the long eighteenth century.
National and Transnational Memories of the Kindertransport
Authors: Williams Amy , Niven Bill
Published: December 2023

The first transnational study of the memory of the Kindertransport and the first to explore how it is represented in museums, memorials, and commemorations.
Local elections do not increase local news demand
Authors: McCrain Joshua , Peterson Erik
Published: December 2023

Anemic demand for local news has contributed to an industry crisis. We consider whether local elections, which highlight the ability of local television stations and newspapers to provide information that is unavailable from national news outlets, increase local media use. While we show these elections are a time of increased attention to local politics in the news and among the public, we also find local media outlets do not benefit from this when considering behavioral news use measures. Relative to news outlets in cities without an election, local television remains substantively unchanged during local elections. Newspaper website traffic is largely stable, although it falls slightly the month after an election. In both cases these differences are small, even when considering close races and those happening off the federal election cycle. This shows limits on the ability of salient local political events to motivate local news use.
Lād “law”: a Bactrian loanword in the Nuristani languages
Authors: Halfmann Jakob
Published: December 2023

This article proposes a new etymology for the Nuristani word family of Katë lod ~ lot, Nuristani Kalasha lād, etc. It is argued that these are best understood as early borrowings from Bactrian λαδο “law”.
Percolation on irregular high-dimensional product graphs
Authors: Diskin Sahar , Erde Joshua , Kang Mihyun , Krivelevich Michael
Published: December 2023

We consider bond percolation on high-dimensional product graphs
$G=\square _{i=1}^tG^{(i)}$
, where
$\square$
denotes the Cartesian product. We call the
$G^{(i)}$
the base graphs and the product graph
$G$
the host graph. Very recently, Lichev (J. Graph Theory, 99(4):651–670, 2022) showed that, under a mild requirement on the isoperimetric properties of the base graphs, the component structure of the percolated graph
$G_p$
undergoes a phase transition when
$p$
is around
$\frac{1}{d}$
, where
$d$
is the average degree of the host graph.

In the supercritical regime, we strengthen Lichev’s result by showing that the giant component is in fact unique, with all other components of order
$o(|G|)$
, and determining the sharp asymptotic order of the giant. Furthermore, we answer two questions posed by Lichev (J. Graph Theory, 99(4):651–670, 2022): firstly, we provide a construction showing that the requirement of bounded degree is necessary for the likely emergence of a linear order component; secondly, we show that the isoperimetric requirement on the base graphs can be, in fact, super-exponentially small in the dimension. Finally, in the subcritical regime, we give an example showing that in the case of irregular high-dimensional product graphs, there can be a polynomially large component with high probability, very much unlike the quantitative behaviour seen in the Erdős-Rényi random graph and in the percolated hypercube, and in fact in any regular high-dimensional product graphs, as shown by the authors in a companion paper (Percolation on high-dimensional product graphs. arXiv:2209.03722, 2022).
Meeting Marginal Demands in New Welfare Governance? China’s Contracting of Welfare Services in the Sectors of Disability and HIV/AIDS
Authors: Qu Yuanyuan , Enjuto Martinez Regina , Howell Jude
Published: December 2023

Since 2013, China has rolled out a policy to contract welfare services to non-governmental forces. This has stimulated a growing body of research on the change of China’s welfare governance. This article focuses on a topic that needs to be added, which is the variation of contracting across different service sectors and the operation of the policy in meeting the needs of marginal people. Based on policy analyses and in-depth interviews, we examine services contracting in the sectors of disability and Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS). We found a lack of services provision for the marginal groups in the general contracting of public service. Between the two sectors, we found variations in their definition of welfare services, institutional settings, and specific contracting practices. We argue that while contracting is often seen as a new welfare governance mechanism, it fails to revitalise social services and reproduces welfare inequalities across different groups in China.
Insights into historic and genetic relationships of diverse common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) genotypes based on whole-genome profiling
Authors: Korpelainen Helena , Lindén Leena
Published: December 2023

Common lilac (Syringa vulgaris L.) is a popular landscaping plant. Our aim was to obtain a large set of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, to reveal the precise identities of the investigated S. vulgaris accessions, and to discover genetic relationships among them. The studied plant material included local Finnish, previously unidentified accessions, known reference cultivars, and so-called historical accessions i.e., old shrubs growing in historic cultural landscapes. We intended to verify cultivar names for some valuable local common lilac accessions and to provide insights into the history of common lilac cultivation in Finland. In the analyses, we used a set of 15,007 SNP markers. First, polymorphic information contents were calculated (mean 0.190, range 0.012–0.500 per marker). Then, to investigate genetic relationships among genotypes, a phylogenetic tree was constructed, and a principal coordinate analysis was conducted. A Bayesian analysis of population structure was performed to determine the number and distribution of genetic clusters among samples. Genetic marker data combined with existing historical and phenotypic knowledge revealed novel information on the unidentified cultivars and on the genetic relationships among studied accessions and solved the arrival and early history of common lilac in Finland. Overall, such comprehensive genomic characterization and deep understanding of genetic relationships of S. vulgaris can be used when utilizing present cultivars and developing new ones in future breeding programs.
Masters of the Land: Native Ship and Canal Building During the Spanish-Aztec War
Authors: Fabian Kristian J.
Published: December 2023

In 1520, during the midst of the conquest of Mexico, Spanish conquistadors and their Native allies embarked on a massive naval project—the construction of 13 brigantines and a canal—needed to help conquer the aquatic city of Tenochtitlan. In the dominant historical literature on the war, the Spanish tend to receive most, if not all, of the credit for the success of the nautical program. The contributions of their Native allies by contrast are little-known and oft-overlooked in the historiography. Drawing on Spanish and Indigenous sources, this article highlights the vital roles that Native peoples played in the naval episode, whether it be felling timbers, carving wood, transporting logs, or excavating the canal. In addition to labor services, it also considers the importance of Indigenous ecological and hydrological expertise, and demonstrates how such knowledge played a pivotal role in the overall success of the enterprise. I argue, ultimately, that these contributions made the Native peoples, and not the Spanish, the true masters of the amphibious operation. Along the way, this essay seeks to contribute to several important strands of scholarship, chiefly the New Conquest History, environmental histories of New Spain, and the burgeoning literature on Indigenous knowledge production in Spanish America.
Steamy Bubbles May Control Old Faithful’s Clock
Authors: Howlett Joseph
Published: December 2023

Scientists built a minigeyser to show why the natural wonder’s water surges so violently between eruptions.
Muon Flux Variations Measured by Low‐Cost Portable Cosmic Ray Detectors and Their Correlation With Space Weather Activity
Authors: Mubashir A. , Ashok A. , Bourgeois A. G. , Chien Y. T. , Connors M. , Potdevin E. , He X. , Martens P. , Mikler A. , Perera A. G. U. , Sadykov V. , Sarsour M. , Sharma D. , Tiwari C.
Published: December 2023

We present a comparison of the measured cosmic ray (CR) muon fluxes from two identical portable low‐cost detectors at different geolocations and their sensitivity to space weather events in real time. The first detector is installed at Mount Wilson Observatory, CA, USA (geomagnetic cutoff rigidity Rc ∼ 4.88 GV), and the second detector is running on the downtown campus of Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA, USA (Rc ∼ 3.65 GV). The variation of the detected muon fluxes is compared to the changes in the interplanetary solar wind parameters at the L1 Lagrange point and geomagnetic indexes. In particular, we have investigated the muon flux behavior during three major interplanetary shock events and geomagnetic disturbances that occurred during July and August of 2022. To validate the interpretation of the measured muon signals, we compare the muon fluxes to the measurement from the Oulu neutron monitor (NM, Rc ∼ 0.8 GV). The results of this analysis show that the muon detector installed at Mount Wilson Observatory demonstrates a stronger correlation with a high‐latitude NM. Both detectors typically observe a muon flux decrease during the arrival of interplanetary shocks and geomagnetic storms. Interestingly, the decrease could be observed several hours before the onset of the first considered interplanetary shocks at L1 at 2022‐07‐23 02:28:00 UT driven by the high‐speed Coronal Mass Ejection and related geomagnetic storm at 2022‐07‐23 03:59:00 UT. This effort represents an initial step toward establishing a global network of portable low‐cost CR muon detectors for monitoring the sensitivity of muon flux changes to space and terrestrial weather parameters.
Ion Density Climatology Based on FPMU Measurements on Board the International Space Station
Authors: Laranja Sophia R. , Fejer Bela G. , Ridenti Marco A. , Amorim J. , Swenson Charles M.
Published: December 2023

We performed, for the first time, a season‐dependent geomagnetically quiet‐time climatology of mid‐ and low‐latitude ion densities during low and moderate solar flux conditions using Floating Potential Measurement Unit (FPMU) observations aboard the International Space Station (ISS) from 2008 to 2019. Our daytime observations indicate that the main characteristics of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) at ∼400 km are consistent with those from other in situ and remote sensing probes. The FPMU daytime densities are also generally in good agreement with the corresponding results from the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI). However, the IRI does not reproduce the mid‐solar flux evening low‐latitude measured densities. In this period, the EIA exhibits strong longitude‐dependent crest‐to‐trough ratios and asymmetries due to the pre‐reversal enhancement (PRE) of the zonal electric field and thermospheric neutral winds. Our data also show strong structuring of the daytime and nighttime plasma densities. This includes a bulge, discussed for the first time here, in the EIA southern crest in the South Atlantic sector during the December solstice and equinox data, which we suggest being generated by the transport of plasma from the Weddell Sea anomaly (WSA). We also highlight and show the evolution of a midlatitude summer nighttime anomaly (MSNA) during the June solstice data in the North Atlantic sector. Our results give new insights into these two anomalies, where we show that they are stronger with increasing solar flux levels and that they last until the early morning. These latter results are not consistent with those from previous studies.
Joint Inversion of SPREE Receiver Functions and Surface Wave Dispersion Curves for 3‐D Crustal and Upper Mantle Structure Beneath the U.S. Midcontinent Rift
Authors: Aleqabi G. I. , Wysession M. E. , Wiens D. A. , Shen W. , Van der Lee S. , Darbyshire F. A. , Frederiksen A. W. , Stein S. , Jurdy D. , Revenaugh J.
Published: December 2023

Broadband seismograms from the EarthScope Transportable Array and Superior Province Rifting EarthScope Experiment (SPREE) deployments are used to map the crust and uppermost mantle structures beneath the failed Midcontinent Rift (MCR) of Minnesota/Wisconsin, USA. The results suggest the existence of a variable zone of mafic underplating that is up to 20 km thick (40–60 deep). We jointly invert receiver functions and Rayleigh wave dispersion curves to quantify the region's crustal and mantle shear‐wave velocity structure. Basin sediment thicknesses are mildly asymmetric about the rift axis, with thickest regions immediately beneath the rift. 3‐D modeling shows anomalous lower crust and crust‐mantle transitions beneath the MCR. Sub‐MCR crustal thicknesses are generally >50 km with lower crust Vs of 4.0–4.2 km/s. Away from the MCR, the crust is typically ∼40 km thick. Strong variations in apparent crustal thickness are found along the MCR, increasing significantly in places. An additional layer of shear velocities intermediate between typical lower crust and upper mantle velocities (4.1–4.6 km/s) exists beneath most of the MCR which is thickest beneath the rift axis and pinches out away from the rift. This structure corroborates previous proposals of the presence of an underplated layer near the Moho. Results cannot distinguish between different mechanisms of emplacement (e.g., mafic interfingering within a subsequently down‐dropped lower crust vs. development of a high‐density pyroxenitic residuum at the top of the mantle). Also observed are anomalously high (>4.7 km/s) sub‐rift shear‐wave velocities at ∼70–90‐km depths, suggesting the presence of cold, depleted upper mantle material.
Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Winter Diel Vertical Migration of Zooplankton and Nekton in the East China Shelf Seas Based on Multi‐Frequency Echosounder
Authors: Nie Lingyun , Li Jianchao , Liu Yang , Sun Peng , Ye Zhenjiang , Zhang Honghai , Zhu Liyan , Ma Shuyang , Zhang Wenchao , Tian Yongjun
Published: December 2023

The diel vertical migration (DVM) of plankton and nekton plays an important role in the energy flow and material cycling of marine ecosystems. Especially in shelf seas, seasonal environmental variations may distinguish DVM characteristics in winter mixed water from summer pattern. Therefore, to investigate the patterns and influencing factors of winter DVM in East China Shelf Seas (ECSS), we carried out comprehensive research based on high‐resolution multi‐frequency acoustic data during the winter of 2019/2020. The results showed that: (a) acoustic and zooplankton sampling data can effectively capture the widely existence of winter DVM of different biological community in ECSS and their spatio‐temporal variabilities. (b) In East China Sea, the migration was mainly dominated by the Gas‐bearing class (GB), which had fast migration speed, compared to the Yellow Sea where the migration was dominated by the Fluid‐like class (FL). In addition, GB descends earlier than FL. (c) For large scale factors, during the full moon, the GB will aggregate deeper and the FL shallower, compared to the new moon, and regional temperature is an important factor affecting the distribution of organisms at meridional direction; for small scale processes, cold and warm currents and ocean fronts can also affect migration behavior. In the muddy area with full moon and spring tide, GB and FL show different inconsistent migration compared to normal relatively consistent pattern. These results will help us to better understand the physiological, ecological and environmental elements that control winter DVM, facilitating the management of ecosystem‐based fisheries resources.
Abnormal patterns of sleep and waking behaviors are accompanied by neocortical oscillation disturbances in an Ank3 mouse model of epilepsy-bipolar disorder comorbidity
Authors: Villacres Juan E. , Riveira Nicholas , Kim Sohmee , Colgin Laura L. , Noebels Jeffrey L. , Lopez Angel Y.
Published: December 2023

ANK3 is a leading bipolar disorder (BD) candidate gene in humans and provides a unique opportunity for studying epilepsy-BD comorbidity. Previous studies showed that deletion of Ank3-1b, a BD-associated variant of Ank3 in mice leads to increased firing threshold and diminished action potential dynamic range of parvalbumin (PV) interneurons and absence epilepsy, thus providing a biological mechanism linking epilepsy and BD. To explore the behavioral overlap of these disorders, we characterized behavioral patterns of Ank3-1b KO mice during overnight home-cage activity and examined network activity during these behaviors using paired video and EEG recordings. Since PV interneurons contribute to the generation of high-frequency gamma oscillations, we anticipated changes in the power of neocortical EEG signals in the gamma frequency range (> 25 Hz) during behavioral states related to human BD symptoms, including abnormal sleep, hyperactivity, and repetitive behaviors. Ank3-1b KO mice exhibited an overall increase in slow gamma (~25-45 Hz) power compared to controls, and slow gamma power correlated with seizure phenotype severity across behaviors. During sleep, increased slow gamma power correlated with decreased time spent in the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep. Seizures were more common during REM sleep compared to non-REM (NREM) sleep. We also found that Ank3-1b KO mice were hyperactive and exhibited a repetitive behavior phenotype that co-occurred with increased slow gamma power. Our results identify a novel EEG biomarker associating Ank3 genetic variation with BD and epilepsy and suggest modulation of gamma oscillations as a potential therapeutic target.
Inflammasome activity is controlled by ZBTB16-dependent SUMOylation of ASC
Authors: Dong Danfeng , Du Yuzhang , Fei Xuefeng , Yang Hao , Li Xiaofang , Yang Xiaobao , Ma Junrui , Huang Shu , Ma Zhihui , Zheng Juanjuan , Chan David W. , Shi Liyun , Li Yunqi , Irving Aaron T. , Yuan Xiangliang , Liu Xiangfan , Ni Peihua , Hu Yiqun , Meng Guangxun , Peng Yibing , Sadler Anthony , Xu Dakang
Published: December 2023

Inflammasome activity is important for the immune response and is instrumental in numerous clinical conditions. Here we identify a mechanism that modulates the central Caspase-1 and NLR (Nod-like receptor) adaptor protein ASC (apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD). We show that the function of ASC in assembling the inflammasome is controlled by its modification with SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier) and identify that the nuclear ZBTB16 (zinc-finger and BTB domain-containing protein 16) promotes this SUMOylation. The physiological significance of this activity is demonstrated through the reduction of acute inflammatory pathogenesis caused by a constitutive hyperactive inflammasome by ablating ZBTB16 in a mouse model of Muckle-Wells syndrome. Together our findings identify an further mechanism by which ZBTB16-dependent control of ASC SUMOylation assembles the inflammasome to promote this pro-inflammatory response.
Deciphering driver regulators of cell fate decisions from single-cell transcriptomics data with CEFCON
Authors: Wang Peizhuo , Wen Xiao , Li Han , Lang Peng , Li Shuya , Lei Yipin , Shu Hantao , Gao Lin , Zhao Dan , Zeng Jianyang
Published: December 2023

Single-cell technologies enable the dynamic analyses of cell fate mapping. However, capturing the gene regulatory relationships and identifying the driver factors that control cell fate decisions are still challenging. We present CEFCON, a network-based framework that first uses a graph neural network with attention mechanism to infer a cell-lineage-specific gene regulatory network (GRN) from single-cell RNA-sequencing data, and then models cell fate dynamics through network control theory to identify driver regulators and the associated gene modules, revealing their critical biological processes related to cell states. Extensive benchmarking tests consistently demonstrated the superiority of CEFCON in GRN construction, driver regulator identification, and gene module identification over baseline methods. When applied to the mouse hematopoietic stem cell differentiation data, CEFCON successfully identified driver regulators for three developmental lineages, which offered useful insights into their differentiation from a network control perspective. Overall, CEFCON provides a valuable tool for studying the underlying mechanisms of cell fate decisions from single-cell RNA-seq data.
3D microprinting of inorganic porous materials by chemical linking-induced solidification of nanocrystals
Authors: Song Minju , Kim Yoonkyum , Baek Du San , Kim Ho Young , Gu Da Hwi , Li Haiyang , Cunning Benjamin V. , Yang Seong Eun , Heo Seung Hwae , Lee Seunghyun , Kim Minhyuk , Lim June Sung , Jeong Hu Young , Yoo Jung-Woo , Joo Sang Hoon , Ruoff Rodney S. , Kim Jin Young , Son Jae Sung
Published: December 2023

Three-dimensional (3D) microprinting is considered a next-generation manufacturing process for the production of microscale components; however, the narrow range of suitable materials, which include mainly polymers, is a critical issue that limits the application of this process to functional inorganic materials. Herein, we develop a generalised microscale 3D printing method for the production of purely inorganic nanocrystal-based porous materials. Our process is designed to solidify all-inorganic nanocrystals via immediate dispersibility control and surface linking-induced interconnection in the nonsolvent linker bath and thereby creates multibranched gel networks. The process works with various inorganic materials, including metals, semiconductors, magnets, oxides, and multi-materials, not requiring organic binders or stereolithographic equipment. Filaments with a diameter of sub-10 μm are printed into designed complex 3D microarchitectures, which exhibit full nanocrystal functionality and high specific surface areas as well as hierarchical porous structures. This approach provides the platform technology for designing functional inorganics-based porous materials.
JOINTLY: interpretable joint clustering of single-cell transcriptomes
Authors: Møller Andreas Fønss , Madsen Jesper Grud Skat
Published: December 2023

Single-cell and single-nucleus RNA-sequencing (sxRNA-seq) is increasingly being used to characterise the transcriptomic state of cell types at homeostasis, during development and in disease. However, this is a challenging task, as biological effects can be masked by technical variation. Here, we present JOINTLY, an algorithm enabling joint clustering of sxRNA-seq datasets across batches. JOINTLY performs on par or better than state-of-the-art batch integration methods in clustering tasks and outperforms other intrinsically interpretable methods. We demonstrate that JOINTLY is robust against over-correction while retaining subtle cell state differences between biological conditions and highlight how the interpretation of JOINTLY can be used to annotate cell types and identify active signalling programs across cell types and pseudo-time. Finally, we use JOINTLY to construct a reference atlas of white adipose tissue (WATLAS), an expandable and comprehensive community resource, in which we describe four adipocyte subpopulations and map compositional changes in obesity and between depots.
ANKS1A regulates LDL receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1)-mediated cerebrovascular clearance in brain endothelial cells
Authors: Lee Jiyeon , Lee Haeryung , Lee Hyein , Shin Miram , Shin Min-Gi , Seo Jinsoo , Lee Eun Jeong , Park Sun Ah , Park Soochul
Published: December 2023

Brain endothelial LDL receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) is involved in the clearance of Aβ peptides across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Here we show that endothelial deficiency of ankyrin repeat and SAM domain containing 1 A (ANKS1A) reduces both the cell surface levels of LRP1 and the Aβ clearance across the BBB. Association of ANKS1A with the NPXY motifs of LRP1 facilitates the transport of LRP1 from the endoplasmic reticulum toward the cell surface. ANKS1A deficiency in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model results in exacerbated Aβ pathology followed by cognitive impairments. These deficits are reversible by gene therapy with brain endothelial-specific ANKS1A. In addition, human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived BBBs (iBBBs) were generated from endothelial cells lacking ANKS1A or carrying the rs6930932 variant. Those iBBBs exhibit both reduced cell surface LRP1 and impaired Aβ clearance. Thus, our findings demonstrate that ANKS1A regulates LRP1-mediated Aβ clearance across the BBB.
Impact of the gut microbiome on immunological responses to COVID-19 vaccination in healthy controls and people living with HIV
Authors: Ray Shilpa , Narayanan Aswathy , Vesterbacka Jan , Blennow Ola , Chen Puran , Gao Yu , Gabarrini Giorgio , Ljunggren Hans-Gustaf , Buggert Marcus , Manoharan Lokeshwaran , Chen Margaret Sällberg , Aleman Soo , Sönnerborg Anders , Nowak Piotr
Published: December 2023

Although mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are generally safe and effective, in certain immunocompromised individuals they can elicit poor immunogenic responses. Among these individuals, people living with HIV (PLWH) have poor immunogenicity to several oral and parenteral vaccines. As the gut microbiome is known to affect vaccine immunogenicity, we investigated whether baseline gut microbiota predicts immune responses to the BNT162b2 mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in healthy controls and PLWH after two doses of BNT162b2. Individuals with high spike IgG titers and high spike-specific CD4+ T-cell responses against SARS-CoV-2 showed low α-diversity in the gut. Here, we investigated and presented initial evidence that the gut microbial composition influences the response to BNT162b2 in PLWH. From our predictive models, Bifidobacterium and Faecalibacterium appeared to be microbial markers of individuals with higher spike IgG titers, while Cloacibacillus was associated with low spike IgG titers. We therefore propose that microbiome modulation could optimize immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines.
Transcriptomic dynamics in the transition from ground to space are revealed by Virgin Galactic human-tended suborbital spaceflight
Authors: Ferl Robert J. , Zhou Mingqi , Strickland Hunter F. , Haveman Natasha J. , Callaham Jordan B. , Bandla Sirisha , Ambriz Daniel , Paul Anna-Lisa
Published: December 2023

The Virgin Galactic Unity 22 mission conducted the first astronaut-manipulated suborbital spaceflight experiment. The experiment examined the operationalization of Kennedy Space Center Fixation Tubes (KFTs) as a generalizable approach to preserving biology at various phases of suborbital flight. The biology chosen for this experiment was Arabidopsis thaliana, ecotype Col-0, because of the plant history of spaceflight experimentation within KFTs and wealth of comparative data from orbital experiments. KFTs were deployed as a wearable device, a leg pouch attached to the astronaut, which proved to be operationally effective during the course of the flight. Data from the inflight samples indicated that the microgravity period of the flight elicited the strongest transcriptomic responses as measured by the number of genes showing differential expression. Genes related to reactive oxygen species and stress, as well as genes associated with orbital spaceflight, were highly represented among the suborbital gene expression profile. In addition, gene families largely unaffected in orbital spaceflight were diversely regulated in suborbital flight, including stress-responsive transcription factors. The human-tended suborbital experiment demonstrated the operational effectiveness of the KFTs in suborbital flight and suggests that rapid transcriptomic responses are a part of the temporal dynamics at the beginning of physiological adaptation to spaceflight.