bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Modernization of the Energy Charter Treaty: Fulfilled or Broken Promises?
Authors: Verbeek Bart-Jaap 
Published: January 2023

On 24 June 2022, the Contracting Parties of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) finalized discussions on the modernization of the treaty. After fifteen rounds of negotiations, an agreement in principle was reached to be adopted by the Energy Charter Conference on 22 November 2022 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.1 The ECT, adopted in 1994, establishes a legal framework that aims to promote international cooperation in the energy sector.2 It has a membership of 53 countries primarily from Europe and Central Asia, as well as the European Union (EU) and the European Atomic Energy Community. In recent years, the ECT attracted widespread public attention due to its impact on states’ environmental and climate policies. Particularly, the treaty’s provisions on investment protection, with investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) at the centre, allow foreign investors in the energy sector to challenge adverse state action before international arbitration and claim compensation for measures affecting their business activities. Fossil fuel investors have increasingly used the ECT to challenge environmental and climate measures, such as phasing out coal-fired power generation, banning offshore oil drilling in coastal areas, and prohibiting gas fracking projects. Such cases have fuelled concerns regarding the abilities of governments to roll-out large-scale climate action. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that international investment agreements (IIAs) like the ECT could ‘be used by fossil-fuel companies to block national legislation aimed at phasing out the use of their assets’.3 With some of these damage claims running into billions of euros, the ECT enables fossil fuel investors to offload the costs and risks associated with their affected assets onto society at large in the face of necessary climate action. This would go, in the words of the editorial board of the Financial Times, against the ‘heart of the capitalist social contract’ and the ‘ability of markets to deal adequately with the challenge of climate change’.4
Acroagonines: Ugo Cerletti’s audacious attempt to place the neurophysiological effects of electroconvulsive therapy in vials
Authors: Sirgiovanni Elisabetta 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIn the years 1947–57, following a turbulent retirement, Ugo Cerletti, the father of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) (1938), invested his energies in a new audacious project conceived as an extension of his ECT research. Forced to leave the direction of the Sapienza University Clinic, he got funds from the National Research Council of Italy to carry out his experimental activities, and founded a ‘Center for the study of the physiopathology of Electro-shock’ in Rome. The Center was aimed at studying liquid substances extracted from electro-shocked animals’ brains that Cerletti named acroagonine and injected into human patients. Inspired by coeval literature, Cerletti believed that electroshock efficacy was due to stimulating some homeostatic processes in the brain, specifically in the meso-diencephalic area (i.e. involving neuroendocrine response in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis). Cerletti’s team wished not only to find these effects, but also to reproduce them. With this hypothesis, that proved ineffective, Cerletti anticipated intuitions on the neuroendocrine effects of ECT and the necessity for the development of psychopharmacology. In this article, I cross-combined previously unexplored archival materials stored at Sapienza University of Rome (‘ES Section’) with established bibliographic and archival sources.
Cardiovascular and renal profiles in rat offspring that do not undergo catch-up growth after exposure to maternal protein restriction
Authors: Wood-Bradley Ryan J. , Henry Sarah L. , Evans Roger G. , Bertram John F. , Cullen-McEwen Luise A. , Armitage James A. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractMaternal protein restriction is often associated with structural and functional sequelae in offspring, particularly affecting growth and renal-cardiovascular function. However, there is little understanding as to whether hypertension and kidney disease occur because of a primary nephron deficit or whether controlling postnatal growth can result in normal renal-cardiovascular phenotypes. To investigate this, female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either a low-protein (LP, 8.4% protein) or normal-protein (NP, 19.4% protein) diet prior to mating and until offspring were weaned at postnatal day (PN) 21. Offspring were then fed a non ‘growth’ (4.6% fat) which ensured that catch-up growth did not occur. Offspring growth was determined by weight and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Nephron number was determined at PN21 using the disector-fractionator method. Kidney function was measured at PN180 and PN360 using clearance methods. Blood pressure was measured at PN360 using radio-telemetry. Body weight was similar at PN1, but by PN21 LP offspring were 39% smaller than controls (Pdiet < 0.001). This difference was due to proportional changes in lean muscle, fat, and bone content. LP offspring remained smaller than NP offspring until PN360. In LP offspring, nephron number was 26% less in males and 17% less in females, than NP controls (Pdiet < 0.0004). Kidney function was similar across dietary groups and sexes at PN180 and PN360. Blood pressure was similar in LP and NP offspring at PN360. These findings suggest that remaining on a slow growth trajectory after exposure to a suboptimal intrauterine environment does not lead to the development of kidney dysfunction and hypertension.
The Development and Demonstration of the Portable Acousto‐Optic Spectrometer for Astrobiology in Cave Environments
Authors: Chanover N. J. , Uckert K. , Voelz D. G. , Boston P. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractPlanetary caves are desirable environments for the search for biosignatures corresponding to extant or extinct extraterrestrial life due to the protection they offer from surface‐level solar radiation and ionizing particles. Near‐infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy is one of a multitude of techniques that, when taken together, can provide a comprehensive understanding of the geomicrobiology in planetary subsurface regions. To that end, we developed two portable NIR spectrometers that employ acousto‐optic tunable filters and demonstrated them in three geochemically distinct cave environments. The instruments were deployed both as stand‐alone spectrometers positioned against the targets manually and as a component of an instrument payload mounted on a quadruped robot capable of vertical excursions of several meters. In situ measurements of calcium carbonates, sulfates, metal oxides, and microbial colonies and mats revealed spectral signatures that enable a distinction between the targets of interest and the underlying substrates. The ruggedness and portability of the instruments, and their low size, weight, and power, spectral agility, and active illumination make AOTF‐based spectrometers ideally suited for studies of planetary caves.
Evaluation of Consistency Among MODIS Land Surface Temperature Products for Monitoring Surface Warming Trend Over the Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Yang Mengjiao , Zhao Wei , Cai Junfei , Yang Yujia , Fu Hao 
Published: January 2023

AbstractModerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra and Aqua daily land surface temperature (LST) products are important data sets for global warming monitoring. To reveal the consistency and differences between MODIS Terra and Aqua daily LST products for monitoring LST trends, this study used these two products to extract the mean annual surface temperature (MAST) of the Tibetan Plateau from 2003 to 2020. Then, nine MAST combinations were constructed for daytime, nighttime, and daily average conditions separately with Terra and Aqua MAST series, including Terra only, Aqua only, and the integrated one. Finally, the Mann‐Kendall trend test was applied to these series and obtained the spatiotemporal variability. The results indicated that there was high spatial consistency of the multi‐year averaged MAST of different combinations at daytime/nighttime/daily average scales. Meanwhile, there are quite similar temporal trends in terms of spatial distribution and change rate. The MAST changes are dominated by warming trends, and the areas and change rates of the significant changing pixels at different elevations, vegetation cover ranges, and land cover types presented similar distribution patterns. Although there are some discrepancies in the detailed location for pixels with significant trends among different combinations, the proportion of the pixels with the same trends of daytime/nighttime/daily‐average groups is as high as 68.88%, 66.75%, and 71.76%, respectively. These findings reveal that different MODIS LST products have similar performance in monitoring LST trends, indicating that the detection can well reflect the variation of surface thermal environment regardless of which MODIS LST product is used.
Quantitative Impact of Organic Matter and Soil Moisture on Permafrost
Authors: Du Ran , Peng Xiaoqing , Frauenfeld Oliver W. , Jin Haodong , Wang Kun , Zhao Yaohua , Luo Dongliang , Mu Cuicui 
Published: January 2023

AbstractClimate warming causes permafrost degradation that not only leads to the release of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, but also to soil moisture increases due to ground ice melt. These processes are particularly prevalent in peat‐rich and ice‐rich permafrost regions. Peat is important because of its high organic matter content and soil moisture. Although previous work has focused on the importance of two factors, their precise quantitative impact on permafrost is still not clear. Here we apply the Geophysical Institute Permafrost Laboratory model and sensitivity experiments to quantify the role of organic matter and soil moisture on permafrost, with a case study focused on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. We verify that organic matter and soil moisture has a cooling effect in the warm season and an insulating effect in the cold season. The average thawing onset was delayed 10 days at 0.05–1.4 m depths, when organic matter content increases from 0% to 90%. Freezing onset occurs slightly earlier. Furthermore, active layer thickness (ALT) decreased by 0.40 m. Soil moisture has similar effect on permafrost as organic matter, but ALT changes have a higher magnitude, decreasing by 0.46 m. The results show that both organic matter and soil moisture have an insulating effect on permafrost. Further, the magnitude of impact is larger as organic matter or soil moisture increase. These results can be helpful in assessing permafrost carbon mitigation with climate change.
Correlates of immunity to Group A Streptococcus: a pathway to vaccine development
Authors: Frost Hannah , Excler Jean-Louis , Sriskandan Shiranee , Fulurija Alma 
Published: January 2023

AbstractUnderstanding immunity in humans to Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) is critical for the development of successful vaccines to prevent the morbidity and mortality attributed to Strep A infections. Despite decades of effort, no licensed vaccine against Strep A exists and immune correlates of protection are lacking; a major impediment to vaccine development. In the absence of a vaccine, we can take cues from the development of natural immunity to Strep A in humans to identify immune correlates of protection. The age stratification of incidence of acute Strep A infections, peaking in young children and waning in early adulthood, coincides with the development of specific immune responses. Therefore, understanding the immune mechanisms involved in natural protection from acute Strep A infection is critical to identifying immune correlates to inform vaccine development. This perspective summarises the findings from natural infection studies, existing assays of immunity to Strep A, and highlights the gaps in knowledge to guide the development of Strep A vaccines and associated correlates of protection.
Predicting cascading extinctions and efficient restoration strategies in plant–pollinator networks via generalized positive feedback loops
Authors: Fatemi Nasrollahi Fatemeh Sadat , Campbell Colin , Albert Réka 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe extinction of a species in a plant–pollinator mutualistic community can cause cascading effects and lead to major biodiversity loss. The ecologically important task of predicting the severity of the cascading effects is made challenging by the complex network of interactions among the species. In this work, we analyze an ensemble of models of communities of plant and pollinator species. These models describe the mutualistic inter-species interactions by Boolean threshold functions. We show that identifying generalized positive feedback loops can help pinpoint the species whose extinction leads to catastrophic and substantial damage to the whole community. We compare these results with the damage percentage caused by the loss of species identified as important by previously studied structural measures and show that positive feedback loops and the information gained from them can identify certain crucial species that the other measures fail to find. We also suggest mitigation measures for two specific purposes: (1) prevent the damage to the community by protecting a subset of the species, and (2) restore the community after the damage by restoring a subset of species. Our analyses indicate that the generalized positive feedback loops predict the most efficient strategies to achieve these purposes. The correct identification of species in each category has important implications for conservation efforts and developing community management strategies.
Metallic lead (Pb) nanospheres discovered in Hadean and Eoarchean zircon crystals at Jack Hills
Authors: Kusiak Monika A. , Wirth Richard , Wilde Simon A. , Pidgeon Robert T. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractHere, we report small randomly-distributed crystalline lead (Pb) nanospheres occurring in detrital zircon grains obtained from a weakly metamorphosed Archean conglomerate at Jack Hills, Western Australia, making this the third known global example of this phenomenon. They form in zircon crystals ranging from Hadean (> 4 billion years—Ga) to Eoarchean (> 3.6 Ga) in age, but are absent from Paleoarchean (~ 3.4 Ga) crystals. Unlike previous discoveries of nanospheres in zircon from Precambrian gneisses in Antarctica and India, detrital zircon from Jack Hills shows no evidence of ever undergoing ultra-high temperature (UHT) metamorphism, either before or after deposition, therefore implying that nanospheres can form at temperatures lower than ca. 900 °C. The nanospheres are composed of radiogenic Pb released by the breakdown of uranium (U) and thorium (Th) and are present in zircon irrespective of its U, Th and water contents, its oxygen isotopic composition, and the degree of discordance due to Pb loss or gain. The nanospheres pre-date annealed cracks in the crystals, showing that, once formed, they effectively ‘freeze’ radiogenic Pb in the zircon structure, precluding any further interaction during subsequent geological processes. Both Pb nanoclusters and nanospheres are now reported from Jack Hills, and it appears likely the former is a precursor stage in the formation of the latter. Although the precise mechanism for this transition remains unresolved, a later thermal event is required, but this likely did not reach UHT conditions at Jack Hills.
Respiratory rhythm affects recalibration of body ownership
Authors: Kosuge Miku , Honma Motoyasu , Masaoka Yuri , Kosuge Shota , Nakayama Momoka , Kamijo Shotaro , Shikama Yusuke , Izumizaki Masahiko 
Published: January 2023

AbstractChange in body perception requires recalibration of various sensory inputs. However, it is less known how information other than sensations relates to the recalibration of body perception. Here, we focused on the relationship between respiration and cognition and investigated whether respiratory rhythms are related to the recalibration of hand perception. We built a visual feedback environment, in which a mannequin hand moved in conjunction with its own respiratory rhythm, and participants performed an experiment under conditions in congruency/incongruency for spatial and temporal factors. The temporal and spatial congruency between own respiratory rhythm and the mannequin hand markedly facilitated the phenomenon of hand ownership sense transfer to the mannequin hand, while incongruency had little effect on the change in hand ownership. The finding suggests that an internal model in the brain allows respiratory rhythms to be involved in the adaptation of the body’s neural representations.
Tumor-specific intracellular delivery: peptide-guided transport of a catalytic toxin
Authors: Allred Curtis A. , Gormley Claire , Venugopal Indu , Li Shunzi , McGuire Michael J. , Brown Kathlynn C. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThere continues to be a need for cancer-specific ligands that can deliver a wide variety of therapeutic cargos. Ligands demonstrating both tumor-specificity and the ability to mediate efficient cellular uptake of a therapeutic are critical to expand targeted therapies. We previously reported the selection of a peptide from a peptide library using a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell line as the target. Here we optimize our lead peptide by a series of chemical modifications including truncations, N-terminal capping, and changes in valency. The resultant 10 amino acid peptide has an affinity of <40 nM on four different NSCLC cell lines as a monomer and is stable in human serum for >48 h. The peptide rapidly internalizes upon cell binding and traffics to the lysosome. The peptide homes to a tumor in an animal model and is retained up to 72 h. Importantly, we demonstrate that the peptide can deliver the cytotoxic protein saporin specifically to cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, resulting in an effective anticancer agent.
Arabidopsis LSH10 transcription factor and OTLD1 histone deubiquitinase interact and transcriptionally regulate the same target genes
Authors: Vo Phan Mi Sa , Keren Ido , Tran Phu Tri , Lapidot Moshe , Citovsky Vitaly 
Published: January 2023

AbstractHistone ubiquitylation/deubiquitylation plays a major role in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression. In plants, OTLD1, a member of the ovarian tumor (OTU) deubiquitinase family, deubiquitylates histone 2B and represses the expression of genes involved in growth, cell expansion, and hormone signaling. OTLD1 lacks the intrinsic ability to bind DNA. How OTLD1, as well as most other known plant histone deubiquitinases, recognizes its target genes remains unknown. Here, we show that Arabidopsis transcription factor LSH10, a member of the ALOG protein family, interacts with OTLD1 in living plant cells. Loss-of-function LSH10 mutations relieve the OTLD1-promoted transcriptional repression of the target genes, resulting in their elevated expression, whereas recovery of the LSH10 function results in down-regulated transcription of the same genes. We show that LSH10 associates with the target gene chromatin as well as with DNA sequences in the promoter regions of the target genes. Furthermore, without LSH10, the degree of H2B monoubiquitylation in the target promoter chromatin increases. Hence, our data suggest that OTLD1-LSH10 acts as a co-repressor complex potentially representing a general mechanism for the specific function of plant histone deubiquitinases at their target chromatin.
Knowledge and Perceptions of Speech-Language Pathology Students Participating in a Feeding Training Program: A Pilot Study
Authors: Viccaro Sitler Elizabeth , Springer Carolyn 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThis study examined the knowledge and perceptions of speech-language pathology students working with older adults before and after their participation in a feeding training program. A secondary objective evaluated the feeding training program in terms of improving students' knowledge and skills. A repeated measures design was used to assess changes in perceptions and knowledge over time of students participating in a feeding training program assisting older adults at a skilled nursing facility. Twenty-four students in the communication sciences and disorders department from a university were recruited. Data were collected on the perceptions of working with older adults, knowledge of feeding and swallowing, and the evaluation of the program. Participants reported feeling less fearful of assisting older adults with feeding issues and appeared to acquire a higher level of knowledge in certain areas post-training. Analysis of the evaluation forms revealed that students were positive about their experience. The findings provide additional support that perceptions become more favorable following early exposure to older adults through participation in service-learning experiences. This study supplements the literature about the knowledge and perceptions of speech-language pathology students working with older adults. This information may be used to improve the quality of care for older adults in various settings.
Small area variations in four measures of poverty among Indian households: Econometric analysis of National Family Health Survey 2019–2021
Authors: Jain Anoop , Rajpal Sunil , Rana Md Juel , Kim Rockli , Subramanian S. V. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIndia has seen enormous reductions in poverty in the past few decades. However, much of this progress has been unequal throughout the country. This paper examined the 2019–2021 National Family Health Survey to examine small area variations in four measures of household poverty. Overall, the results show that clusters and states were the largest sources of variation for the four measures of poverty. These findings also show persistent within-district inequality when examining the bottom 10th wealth percentile, bottom 20th wealth percentile, and multidimensional poverty. Thus, these findings pinpoint the precise districts where between-cluster inequality in poverty is most prevalent. This can help guide policy makers in terms of targeting policies aimed at reducing poverty.
Korean imperatives at two different speech levels
Authors: Kim Mary Shin 
Published: January 2023

Abstract
Korean imperatives are differentiated by speech levels or levels of honorification. Accordingly, most research on
Korean imperatives examines them from the perspective of politeness and interpersonal relations. This study takes a different
approach, focusing on two types of non-honorific imperative turn design: one with the intimate speech level imperative
e/a and the other with the plain speech level imperative ela/ala. Close examination of the
forms in naturally occurring conversation provides a clearer picture of when and how the use of these imperatives is warranted by
specific interactional configurations and contexts in everyday Korean talk-in-interaction. This study shows that alternate
imperatives do not simply index politeness or social status, but are important resources for implementing separate action formats
that pursue divergent interactional trajectories.
Breaking the limits of purification: postselection enhances heat-bath algorithmic cooling
Authors: Goldberg Aaron Z , Heshami Khabat 
Published: January 2023

Abstract
Quantum technologies require pure states, which are often generated by extreme refrigeration. Heat-bath algorithmic cooling is the theoretically optimal refrigeration technique: it shuttles entropy from a multiparticle system to a thermal bath, thereby generating a quantum state with a high degree of purity. Here, we show how to surpass this hitherto-optimal technique by taking advantage of a single binary-outcome measurement. Our protocols can create arbitrary numbers of pure quantum states without any residual mixedness by using a recently discovered device known as a quantum switch to put two operations in superposition, with postselection certifying the complete purification.