bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Drought trend and its association with land surface temperature (LST) over homogeneous drought regions of India (2001–2019)
Authors: Choudhury Animesh 
Published: July 2024

AbstractDroughts pose significant challenges to food security, affecting millions of people and hectares of land in India. Despite their widespread impact, assessing drought patterns at a high spatial resolution remains a challenge, particularly in regions with poor data availability. Standardised Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) is one of the most widely accepted drought indices. The publicly available SPEI reanalysis dataset has a poor spatial resolution for regional drought studies. Land Surface Temperature (LST) has the potential to act as an effective proxy for SPEI and can be used for high-resolution drought studies. The study considered six homogeneous drought regions (NWH, CPR, NEI, NCP, NWI, and SPR) over India, and the recent trend in LST and SPEI over these regions was estimated using modified Mann-Kendell (MMK) trend and Sen’s slope estimator at monthly, seasonal, and annual time scales. The correlation between SPEI and LST was also checked at a 95% confidence level. Results indicate statistically significant decreasing annual LST trends in NWH (slope = −0.10), CPR (slope = −0.09), and NWI (slope = −0.11) regions, while increasing SPEI trends were observed in NWI (slope = 0.06) and NCP (slope = 0.01) regions during 2001–2019. Additionally, NCP (p = 0.025), CPR (p = 0.002), and NWI (p = 0.020) exhibited significantly decreasing LST trends during winter, with a notable post-monsoon decrease observed in NWI. Significant correlations between annual LST and SPEI were observed only in CPR (r =−0.527) and NWI (r = −0.601), with seasonal associations found predominantly in winter across CPR, NEI, NCP, and NWI regions. Notably, a significant correlation was observed in all months except July over NWI, with consistent correlations during most of the winter months in NWH, CPR, NCP, and NWI regions. The observed trends and correlations can provide valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders in formulating effective drought mitigation strategies.
Testing asymptomatic mental health patients for COVID-19 overburdens hospital resources
Authors: Olmedo Alirio , Okundolor Sonny , Mallet-Smith Sheila , Trotsky-Sirr Rebecca , Canamar Catherine P. 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
Background
Inpatient mental health facilities required COVID-19 testing for all patients, including asymptomatic ones, due to perceived high susceptibility.

Aim
This study examined how the policy affected patient care and hospital resources.

Method
A retrospective review was conducted on asymptomatic psychiatric patients admitted to the psychiatric emergency room between July and December 2020, analyzing COVID-19 test results, conversion rate, length of stay (LOS), and demographic variables.

Results
Among asymptomatic patients (N = 2020), 2.5% (n = 51) tested positive, with 7.8% (n = 4) experiencing mild symptoms. The average hospital length of stay was 8 days, with 90.2% discharged home and 9.8% transferred to outside mental health inpatient facilities. Chi-square testing found no significant differences in age, gender, or housing status between positive and negative patients (p’s > 0.05), except for a significant difference in positivity rates among Hispanic patients (p < 0.05).

Conclusion
The positivity rate among asymptomatic mental health patients was low. The policy of universal testing increased hospital spending and resource utilization, including unnecessary testing and hospital admissions, leading to longer stays. These findings underscore the need to assess the efficacy of COVID-19 testing policies and reconsider resource allocation based on evidence.
Rainfall projections under different climate scenarios over the Kaduna River Basin, Nigeria
Authors: Okafor Gloria Chinwendu , Ogbu Kingsley N. , Agyekum Jacob , Limantol Andrew Manoba , Larbi Isaac 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThis research aimed to assess changes in mean and extreme rainfall within the Kaduna River Basin (KRB), specifically examining the implications of two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs)—4.5 and 8.5 scenarios. Employing a quantile mapping technique, this study corrected inherent biases in four Regional Climate Models, enabling the examination of mean precipitation and six indices capturing extreme precipitation events for the 2050s. These findings were compared against a historical reference period spanning from 1981 to 2010, considering the basin's upstream and downstream segments. Results revealed an average annual rainfall reduction under scenarios 4.5 (21.39%) and 8.5 (20.51%) across the basin. This decline exhibited a more pronounced impact on monthly rainfall during the wet season (April to October) compared to the dry season (November to March). Notably, a substantial decrement in wet indices, excluding consecutive wet days (CWD), was foreseen in both seasons for the upstream and downstream areas, signalling an impending drier climate. The anticipated rise in consecutive dry days (CDD) is poised to manifest prominently downstream attributed to global warming-induced climate change brought on by increased anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. These findings accentuate a heterogeneous distribution of extreme rainfall, potentially leading to water scarcity issues throughout the KRB, especially impacting upstream users. Moreover, the projections hint at an increased risk of flash floods during intense wet periods. Consequently, this study advocates the implementation of targeted disaster risk management strategies within the KRB to address these foreseeable challenges.
The review of studies of Divya cave: the longest cave in Perm region (Russia)
Authors: Kazantseva A. S. , Krasikov A. V. , Kadebskaya O. I. 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThe work presented is a review of modern research conducted in Divya Cave—the longest cave in Perm Region, the first mention of which dates back to the 70’s of the eighteenth century. The cave provides the richest material for geologists, karstologists and speleologists, since it is a relic of an ancient aquifer, in which almost all types of secondary calcite formations found in caves are collected. The remote location of the cave from roads and settlements has never been an obstacle for explorers. The first plan of Divya cave was drawn up in 1949. Subsequently, a lot of speleologists kept exploring the cave, but not all passages were marked on the latest maps. Hydrogeological and hydrochemical research was done for the first time in 1948, 1956, 1962 and 1967. Numerous springs between the village of Divya and Divya cave were surveyed, water temperature and flow rates were measured and the hydrochemical indicators of water in the cave lakes were studied. Findings of cryogenic calcite in 1968 prompted further research related to the study of cave deposits, using isotopic analysis methods, taking into account their dating, to determine the migration of permafrost boundaries. From 2016 to 2020 the authors of this article conducted a number of studies in Divya cave itself and in the surrounding area, namely, they carried out instrumental and semi-instrumental topographic surveys of the cave and the surface, followed by the creation of a combined plan, and also determined the absolute marks of the earth’s surface, the entrance, the roof and the base of the cave and the new data on the length of the cave were obtained. For the first time, isotopic studies of atmospheric precipitation, surface channel runoff (the Kolva river) and groundwater emerging to the surface near Divya cave were carried out, and their relationship was determined. Data on the chemical composition of waters were supplemented. Samples of speleothems, including cryogenic calcite, were selected, their isotopic composition was studied and dating was carried out, which made it possible to obtain completely new information about interglacial periods. The modern data obtained allowed us to supplement previously known information about Divya cave.
Assessment of interfacial friction angles of sand-structural materials
Authors: Rahman S. M. Shazeebur , Raju Matiur Rahman , Haque Md. Foisal , Sajib Shahbo Rahman , Kabir Md. Humayun 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThis research evaluates the interfacial friction angles of sand-structural materials (i.e. concrete, steel, and wood) from direct shear and model pile tests data. Some variable parameters are considered for performing laboratory tests such as shearing rates (0.05, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 2.5 mm/min.), pile diameters (38.1, 76.2, and 101.6 mm), and normal stresses (27, 55, and 81 kPa). The validated shearing rates are found to be 8.7% and 4.3% in cases of direct shear and model pile tests respectively, which may represent a good accuracy of experimental tests. According to the direct shear test results, the interfacial sand-concrete and internal friction angles are equal at shearing rate of 2 mm/min. The interfacial friction angles are increased with the increment of pile diameters because of slip dilation impact of small diameter pile. The interfacial friction angle of sand-wood pile shows the higher value because of lower self-weight and stiffness of wood compared to the other structural materials. There is a scope for further research by conducting numerical analysis and deriving analytical formulations for obtaining explicit solution.
Does biodiversity affect Olive fly populations? Evidence from different understorey treatments
Authors: Stavrianakis Giorgos , Sentas Efstratios , Tscheulin Thomas , Kizos Thanasis 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThe agricultural industry is intensifying production methods to increase crop yields. Olive cultivation, the prevalent permanent crop in Europe and the Mediterranean area, involves intense practices with heavy agrochemical use. This significantly impacts agroecosystem biodiversity and its ecosystem services. In this study, we explore how biodiversity influences the adult olive fly (Bactrocera oleae (Rossi)) population in Lesvos Island, Greece, under different understorey management practices in olive groves. Our findings show that increased plant and arthropod abundance and diversity negatively affect the olive fly. The results suggest that maintaining undisturbed plant cover enhances olive grove biodiversity, ecosystem services, and biological control of the olive fly. Moreover, this practice is in line with Integrated Pest Management principles and Conservation Biological Control approach.
Influence of Regional Sea Ice Loss on the Arctic Stratospheric Polar Vortex
Authors: Xu Mian , Screen James A. , Tian Wenshou , Zhang Jiankai , Zhang Chongyang , Yu Hao 
Published: July 2024

AbstractBased on multi‐model large‐ensemble experiments provided by Polar Amplification Model Intercomparison Project (PAMIP), we investigate the influence of the projected sea ice loss in Barents‐Kara Seas (BKS) and Sea of Okhotsk (SOK) on the Arctic stratospheric polar vortex (SPV). Results show that future BKS sea ice reduction leads to a weakened SPV during November‐February by enhancing the upward‐propagating planetary wave 1, which is more pronounced during Quasi‐Biennial Oscillation (QBO) easterly than westerly phase. Through weakening the upward‐propagating planetary wave 2, future SOK sea ice reduction is favorable for a strengthened SPV during January‐April. Inter‐model spread in the magnitudes of SPV responses to BKS sea ice reduction can be largely explained by the divergent planetary wave responses, but less so for SOK sea ice reduction. Results from a linearized baroclinic model further validate the importance of the planetary‐scale wave responses in explaining the differing SPV responses to sea‐ice loss over the two regions.
Not Enough: Efforts to Diversify Biogeosciences Benefit Limited Segment of Society
Authors: Barnes Rebecca T. , Wolford Michelle A. , Almaraz Maya , Cardarelli Emily L. 
Published: July 2024

AbstractWe examined data from the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the world's largest earth and space science society, to characterize demographics of multiple milestones in a biogeoscientists' career. Geoscientists of color and White women make up a smaller proportion of those participating in activities critical to transitioning from student to professional (submitting manuscripts, getting published, and receiving review invitations) in comparison to White men. Gender parity for biogeoscientists appears within reach at earlier career stages, with 37% of AGU Biogeosciences members and 41% of Biogeosciences attendees at the Fall Meeting identifying as women in 2020. The demographics of those successfully completing activities required for career advancement, that is, publishing and reviewing with Journal of Geophysical Research and Global Biogeochemical Cycles, two biogeoscience journals, illustrate more progress is needed. A large majority of manuscripts were submitted by men (73%), many of which have no co‐authors that identify as women or non‐binary geoscientists. Further, our communities' bias of who we suggest as reviewers, results in 85% of the reviewer invites going to White geoscientists and 63% going to men. Thus, while representation of diverse communities has improved in some areas, barriers to publishing result in authorship not reflective of society: only 25% of accepted manuscripts were led by self‐identified geoscientists of color and fewer than 5% were led by women geoscientists of color. It is critical that efforts to diversify move beyond gender, to ensure that scientists of color are also afforded the access and opportunity needed to thrive as biogeoscientists.
Bias Adjustment of Long‐Term (1961–2020) Daily Precipitation for China
Authors: Zhao Yanni , Chen Rensheng , Yang Zhiwei , Liu Yiwen , Zhao Linlin , Yang Yong , Wang Lei 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThe observation errors in precipitation gauges contribute to diminished precision in precipitation data sets. To reduce the impact of these errors, the World Meteorological Organization Solid Precipitation Intercomparison Experiments recommended the Double Fence Intercomparison Reference as a reference standard for precipitation measurements. This study proposed a new rain, snow, and mixed precipitation adjustment method for national standard precipitation gauges, using DFIR‐measured precipitation as the standard values. This method was used to adjust for systematic errors, including wind‐induced errors, wetting loss, and trace precipitation, in precipitation data collected by 785 stations in China from 1961 to 2020. After bias adjustment, the annual precipitation increased by 6.1–177.9 mm (with an average of 52.7 mm), accounting for 3.3%–52.1% (8.9%) of the total precipitation. The average annual error‐adjustment amounts for wind‐induced error, wetting loss, and trace precipitation were 21.9 (3.6% of total precipitation), 26.6 (4.7%), and 4.2 mm (1.3%), respectively. The adjustment percentage in winter was higher than that in summer, with the high‐adjusted‐percentage regions predominantly located in areas with drought, high proportion of snowfall, and strong wind speeds. Additionally, the annual average error‐adjustment amounts for rain, snow, and mixed precipitation respectively accounted for 5.2%, 38.2%, and 17.1% of their corresponding total amounts, indicating the significance of bias adjustment, particularly for snow and mixed precipitation, in the northern and Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau regions. Therefore, bias adjustment is necessary to enhance the accuracy of the precipitation data set in China.
Combined Inhibition of PI3K and STAT3 signaling effectively inhibits bladder cancer growth
Authors: Peng Weidong , Zhang Haojie , Yin Mingwei , Kong Dejie , Kang Liping , Teng Xinkun , Wang Jingjing , Chu Zhimin , Sun Yating , Long Pengpeng , Cui Chengying , Lyu Bin , Zhang Jinzhi , Xiao Han , Wu Mingqing , Wang Yongqiang , Li Yang 
Published: July 2024

AbstractBladder cancer is characterized by aberrant activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI3K) signaling, underscoring the significance of directing therapeutic efforts toward the PI3K pathway as a promising strategy. In this study, we discovered that PI3K serves as a potent therapeutic target for bladder cancer through a high-throughput screening of inhibitory molecules. The PI3K inhibitor demonstrated a robust anti-tumor efficacy, validated both in vitro and in vivo settings. Nevertheless, the feedback activation of JAK1-STAT3 signaling reinstated cell and organoid survival, leading to resistance against the PI3K inhibitor. Mechanistically, the PI3K inhibitor suppresses PTPN11 expression, a negative regulator of the JAK-STAT pathway, thereby activating STAT3. Conversely, restoration of PTPN11 enhances the sensitivity of cancer cells to the PI3K inhibitor. Simultaneous inhibition of both PI3K and STAT3 with small-molecule inhibitors resulted in sustained tumor regression in patient-derived bladder cancer xenografts. These findings advocate for a combinational therapeutic approach targeting both PI3K and STAT3 pathways to achieve enduring cancer eradication in vitro and in vivo, underscoring their promising therapeutic efficacy for treating bladder cancer.
High-order brain interactions in ketamine during rest and task: a double-blinded cross-over design using portable EEG on male participants
Authors: Herzog Rubén , Barbey Florentine Marie , Islam Md Nurul , Rueda-Delgado Laura , Nolan Hugh , Prado Pavel , Krylova Marina , Izyurov Igor , Javaheripour Nooshin , Danyeli Lena Vera , Sen Zümrüt Duygu , Walter Martin , O’Donnell Patricio , Buhl Derek L. , Murphy Brian , Ibanez Agustin 
Published: July 2024

AbstractKetamine is a dissociative anesthetic that induces a shift in global consciousness states and related brain dynamics. Portable low-density EEG systems could be used to monitor these effects. However, previous evidence is almost null and lacks adequate methods to address global dynamics with a small number of electrodes. This study delves into brain high-order interactions (HOI) to explore the effects of ketamine using portable EEG. In a double-blinded cross-over design, 30 male adults (mean age = 25.57, SD = 3.74) were administered racemic ketamine and compared against saline infusion as a control. Both task-driven (auditory oddball paradigm) and resting-state EEG were recorded. HOI were computed using advanced multivariate information theory tools, allowing us to quantify nonlinear statistical dependencies between all possible electrode combinations. Ketamine induced an increase in redundancy in brain dynamics (copies of the same information that can be retrieved from 3 or more electrodes), most significantly in the alpha frequency band. Redundancy was more evident during resting state, associated with a shift in conscious states towards more dissociative tendencies. Furthermore, in the task-driven context (auditory oddball), the impact of ketamine on redundancy was more significant for predictable (standard stimuli) compared to deviant ones. Finally, associations were observed between ketamine’s HOI and experiences of derealization. Ketamine appears to increase redundancy and HOI across psychometric measures, suggesting these effects are correlated with alterations in consciousness towards dissociation. In comparisons with event-related potential (ERP) or standard functional connectivity metrics, HOI represent an innovative method to combine all signal spatial interactions obtained from low-density dry EEG in drug interventions, as it is the only approach that exploits all possible combinations between electrodes. This research emphasizes the potential of complexity measures coupled with portable EEG devices in monitoring shifts in consciousness, especially when paired with low-density configurations, paving the way for better understanding and monitoring of pharmacological-induced changes.
Olivar: towards automated variant aware primer design for multiplex tiled amplicon sequencing of pathogens
Authors: Wang Michael X. , Lou Esther G. , Sapoval Nicolae , Kim Eddie , Kalvapalle Prashant , Kille Bryce , Elworth R. A. Leo , Liu Yunxi , Fu Yilei , Stadler Lauren B. , Treangen Todd J. 
Published: July 2024

AbstractTiled amplicon sequencing has served as an essential tool for tracking the spread and evolution of pathogens. Over 15 million complete SARS-CoV-2 genomes are now publicly available, most sequenced and assembled via tiled amplicon sequencing. While computational tools for tiled amplicon design exist, they require downstream manual optimization both computationally and experimentally, which is slow and costly. Here we present Olivar, a first step towards a fully automated, variant-aware design of tiled amplicons for pathogen genomes. Olivar converts each nucleotide of the target genome into a numeric risk score, capturing undesired sequence features that should be avoided. In a direct comparison with PrimalScheme, we show that Olivar has fewer mismatches overlapping with primers and predicted PCR byproducts. We also compare Olivar head-to-head with ARTIC v4.1, the most widely used primer set for SARS-CoV-2 sequencing, and show Olivar yields similar read mapping rates (~90%) and better coverage to the manually designed ARTIC v4.1 amplicons. We also evaluate Olivar on real wastewater samples and found that Olivar has up to 3-fold higher mapping rates while retaining similar coverage. In summary, Olivar automates and accelerates the generation of tiled amplicons, even in situations of high mutation frequency and/or density. Olivar is available online as a web application at https://olivar.rice.edu and can be installed locally as a command line tool with Bioconda. Source code, installation guide, and usage are available at https://github.com/treangenlab/Olivar.
Overcoming laser phase noise for low-cost coherent optical communication
Authors: Fang Xiansong , Zhu Yixiao , Cai Xiang , Hu Weisheng , He Zhixue , Yu Shaohua , Zhang Fan 
Published: July 2024

AbstractArtificial-intelligence-generated content has driven explosive data traffic growth in data-center interconnects. Traditional direct detection solutions struggle with limited spectral efficiency and distance, prompting the shift to coherent optics for cost-sensitive short-reach links. One specific challenge is integrating low-cost lasers while overcoming severe phase noise on high-order modulation formats. Here, we propose a residual carrier modulation scheme for precise and efficient carrier frequency and phase recovery. The residual optical carrier can continuously track phase fluctuations without redundancy compared with discrete time-domain pilots, and address the digital-to-analog convertor resolution reduction issue of frequency-domain digital pilots. In proof-of-concept experiments, we transmit a net 1-Tb/s probabilistic-shaped 256-ary quadrature amplitude modulated (PS-256-QAM) signal using a 3 MHz distributed feedback (DFB) laser. Our scheme improves bitrate by 41% compared to conventional time-domain pilots, achieving a record laser linewidth sum and symbol duration product of 6.89 × 10−5. This approach supports MHz linewidth DFB lasers in low-cost coherent optical communications.