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  • 1
    Publication Date: 2024-02-07
    Description: This historical overview uses a political ecology approach to examine agricultural change over time in Northwest Cambodia. It focuses on key historical periods, actors, and processes that continue to shape power, land, and farming relations in the region, emphasizing the relevance of this history for contemporary investments in agricultural extension services and research as part of the Zero Hunger by 2030 policy agenda for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Agricultural extension projects need to engage critically with historically complex and dynamic power, land, and farming relations–not only as the basis of social relations but as central to understanding the contemporary manifestation of farmer decision making and practice. Initiatives such as the SDGs replicate long histories of externally driven power-relations that orient benefits from changed practices towards elites in urban centers or distant global actors. Efforts to realize zero hunger by 2030 are endangered by neglect for the path-dependency of power-land-farming relations, which stretch from the past into the present to structure farmer decision making and practices.
    Repository Name: EPIC Alfred Wegener Institut
    Type: Article , isiRev
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  • 2
    Publication Date: 2024-01-11
    Description: We study the marine terraces of the southern side of the Sibari Plain in Northern Calabria (Italy) through the use of traditional and quantitative analyses of the Digital Terrain Model (DTM). The main aim of the present work consists in the extensive use of GIS tools that were never used before in the area, and in checking the applicability of this procedure. The terraced surfaces identified using photo interpretation and those recognized semi-automatically through the GIS tools were compared to finally produce a consensus map. In the final map, we identified 272 terraced surfaces and 62 morphological features associated with inner margins (i.e. paleoshorelines). The main map shows a well-developed flight of seven orders of marine terraces with elevation ranging from 45 to 360 m asl and age ranging from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5a to 11.
    Description: Published
    Description: 2243983
    Description: OST3 Vicino alla faglia
    Description: JCR Journal
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 3
    Publication Date: 2024-04-08
    Description: We present a new 1:25,000-scale geological map of the lower Belice River valley, the area struck by the M 〉 5.0 devastating 1968 seismic sequence, whose seismic source and seismotectonic framework are still controversial. The map, utilizing dating methods and traditional field survey approaches integrated by high-resolution topography, provides an unprecedented detail and precision on the spatial distribution and on the compressional growth geometries of the prominent sedimentary sequence. This map, supported by the first recognition of an on-shore Chibanian-Calabrian deposition and by identifying a flight of marine terraces, offers new insights on the long-lasting syn-depositional tectonic forces up to late-Pleistocene-Holocene times. Such tectonic forces may take part in the regional ongoing deformational phase, prompting detailed studies on the potential seismic sources affecting the area.
    Description: Published
    Description: 2242725
    Description: OST3 Vicino alla faglia
    Description: JCR Journal
    Keywords: Earthquake ; Active tectonics ; Biostratigraphy ; Quaternary deposit ; 04.04. Geology
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 4
    Publication Date: 2024-01-19
    Description: In this paper, the Multi-Temporal Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (MT-InSAR) technology is adopted to monitor the Line of Sight (LOS) displacement of Fushun West Opencast Coal Mine (FWOCM) and its surrounding areas in northeast China using Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images acquired from 2018 to 2022. The spatial-temporal evolution of urban subsidence and the south-slope landslide are both analyzed in detail. Comparison with ground measurements and cross-correlation analysis via cross wavelet transform with monthly precipitation data are also conducted, to analyze the influence factors of displacements in FWOCM. The monitoring results show that a subsidence basin appeared in the urban area near the eastern part of the north slope in 2018, with settlement center located at the intersection of E3000 and fault F1. The Qian Tai Shan (QTS) landslide on the south slope, which experienced rapid sliding during 2014 to 2016, presents seasonal deceleration and acceleration with precipitation, with the maximum displacement in vicinity of the Liushan paleochannel. The results of this paper have fully taken in account for the complications of large topographic relief, geological conditions, spatial distribution and temporal evolution characteristics of surface displacements in opencast mining area. The wide range and long time series dynamic monitoring of opencast mine are of great significance to ensure mine safety production and geological disaster prevention in the investigated mining area.
    Description: In press
    Description: OSA5: Energia e georisorse
    Description: JCR Journal
    Keywords: Multi-Temporal InSAR ; opencast mine ; landslide ; land subsidence ; cross wavelet transform
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 5
    Publication Date: 2024-03-25
    Description: Despite their protracted periods of inactivity, long-dormant volcanoes may be highly hazardous, as their reactivation can be characterized by violent explosive eruptions. An example of such volcanoes is the Colli Albani caldera, onto which deposits Rome Capital City is built, Italy. Its last volcanic activity was characterized by voluminous maar-forming phreatomagmatic eruptions dated between 36 and 25ka, but the volcano has produced several maar lake overflows during the Holocene till historical times. Presently, Colli Albani is affected by recurrent seismic events, anomalous heat flow, ground uplifts, hydrothermal circulation and gas emissions. For these reasons, the Italian Civil Protection has recently listed Colli Albani among the ten active volcanoes of Italy, but products for the evaluation of its volcanic hazards lacking. This work presents the first study on vent opening susceptibility mapping at Colli Albani. We explore the potential of an available geological dataset for building, through geographic information system analysis, an index that classifies areas at different vents opening susceptibility (low, moderate and high). Such result highlights as a solid geological mapping is a prerequisite for the volcanic hazard assessment, especially in remote or poorly studied long-dormant volcanoes such as caldera systems where the location of new vents could occur in different volcano sectors.
    Description: Published
    Description: 2215905
    Description: OSV1: Verso la previsione dei fenomeni vulcanici pericolosi
    Description: JCR Journal
    Keywords: Hazard map; ; vent opening susceptibility; ; Colli Albani volcano;
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 6
    Publication Date: 2024-05-09
    Description: The great potential of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) in monitoring ground deformation is widely recognized. As with other geophysical data, GNSS time series can be significantly noisy, hiding elusive ground deformation signals. Several denoising techniques have been proposed to improve the signal-to-noise ratio over the years. One of the most effective denoising techniques has been proved to be multi-resolution decomposition through the discrete wavelet transform. However, wavelet analysis requires long data sets to be effective, as well as long computation times, that hinder its use as a real or near real-time monitoring tool. We propose training by a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to perform the equivalent of wavelet analysis to overcome these limitations. Once trained, the CNN model provides answers within seconds, making it feasible as a real-time data analysis tool. Our Machine Learning algorithm is tested on daily GNSS time series collected in the Campi Flegrei caldera (Southern Italy), which is a highly volcanic risk area. Without significant gaps, the retrieved RMSE and R2 values vary in the ranges 0.65–0.98 and 0.06–0.52 cm, respectively. These results are encouraging, as they hint at the possibility of applying this methodology in more effective real-time monitoring solutions for active volcanoes.
    Description: Published
    Description: 2187271
    Description: OSV3: Sviluppo di nuovi sistemi osservazionali e di analisi ad alta sensibilità
    Description: JCR Journal
    Keywords: 04.03. Geodesy ; 04.08. Volcanology ; 05.06. Methods
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 7
    Publication Date: 2024-05-21
    Description: Misterbianco, located on the southern slope of Mt. Etna (eastern Sicily), was destroyed in the past by two catastrophic events that raised the old town to the ground. The first was the great eruption of 1669, whose lava front buried dozens of villages encountered along its path, entirely destroying the architectural heritage of Etna's southern flank. The second event was the disastrous 1693 Val di Noto earthquake, which caused major destruction throughout south-eastern Sicily, also damaging the few still standing buildings in the town. The GPR survey performed at this site, 350 years after the eruption, allowed a first attempt of planimetric reconstruction of the San Nicolò Church. Starting from the site history, we present the results of an integrated approach that involves history, volcanology and geophysics aimed at addressing future archaeological excavations for the protection of archaeological and monumental assets in a difficult setting as this volcanic environment.
    Description: Published
    Description: 42-50
    Description: JCR Journal
    Keywords: GPR, SfM,cultural heritage,Etna, 1669 eruption ; 04.02. Exploration geophysics
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 8
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    Taylor & Francis
    In:  EPIC3Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research, Taylor & Francis, 56(1), pp. 2350546-2350546, ISSN: 1523-0430
    Publication Date: 2024-06-14
    Description: Arctic landscapes are characterized by diverse water bodies, which are covered with ice for most of the year. Ice controls surface albedo, hydrological properties, gas exchange, and ecosystem services, but freezing processes differ between water bodies. We studied the influence of geomor-phology and meteorology on winter ice of water bodies in the Lena Delta, Siberia. Electrical conductivity (EC) and stable water isotopes of ice cores from four winters and six water bodies were measured at unprecedented resolution down to 2-cm increments, revealing differences in freezing systems. Open-system freezing shows near-constant isotopic and EC gradients in ice, whereas closed-system freezing shows decreasing isotopic composition with depth. Lena River ice displays three zones of isotopic composition within the ice, reflecting open-system freezing that records changing water sources over the winter. The isotope composition of ice covers in landscape units of different ages also reflects the individual water reservoir settings (i.e., Pleistocene vs. Holocene ground ice thaw). Ice growth models indicate that snow properties are a dominant determinant of ice growth over winter. Our findings provide novel insights into the winter hydro-chemistry of Arctic ice covers, including the influences of meteorology and water body geomor-phology on freezing rates and processes.
    Repository Name: EPIC Alfred Wegener Institut
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  • 9
    Publication Date: 2024-06-06
    Description: Sponges (Porifera) are one of the most ancient animals present on the planet. They are aquatic, filter-feeding sessile metazoans that rely on asexual and sexual reproduction. These animals have a long history on Earth and had plenty of time to develop different reproductive strategies. Here, we review different aspects of the physiology of reproduction in Porifera. This chapter is divided into six sections. In the first section, we present general features of sponge reproduction, such as factors that trigger the onset of their reproduction, as well as the periodicity of their reproductive cycles. The molecular basis of the hormonal control of gametogenesis is presented although sponges have no endocrine system. The second section deals with gametogenesis, 2including how sex and the germline are determined and maintained in this group, how oocytes and spermatozoa are formed and nourished, and how they behave once released. The third section reviews different topics about the reproductive mode. Here, we discuss the dichotomy in reproductive mode: oviparity vs. viviparity, the spatial distribution of the reproductive elements in the sponge tissue, the effect of symbiosis in reproduction (and vice-versa), and energetic trade-offs during reproduction. The fourth section describes fertilization, and we cover the factors controlling the spawning events and how the sperm are attracted and recognized by the egg. The diversity of developmental modes, the molecular control of sponge embryonic development, and the maternal-embryo relationship are discussed in the fifth section. Finally, in the sixth section, the types of asexual reproduction, factors influencing budding, gemmulation, hibernation, and gemmule development are described. Knowledge about the physiology of reproduction of sponges is still fragmentary and based on studies in very few species. Consequently, there are many generalizations that need further investigation. However, evidence-based on morphological, experimental, and molecular data demonstrates that their physiology is not very different from that of other metazoans
    Type: Book chapter , PeerReviewed
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  • 10
    Publication Date: 2023-10-24
    Description: he oceans cover roughly 2/3 of the Earth’s surface and are a fundamental ecosystem regulating climate, weather and representing a huge reservoir of biodiversity and natural resources . The preservation of the oceans is therefore not only relevant on an environmental perspective but also on an economical one. A sustainable approach is requested that cannot be simply achieved by improving technologies but calls for a shared new vision of common goods.Within such a complex and holistic problem, the role of satellite microwave remote sensing to observe marine ecosystem and to assist a sustainable development of human activities must be considered. In such a view the paper is meant. Accordingly, the key microwave sensor technologies are reviewed paying particular emphasis on those applications that can provide effective support to pursue some of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Three meaningful sectors are showcased:oil and gas, where microwave sensors can provide continuous fine-resolution monitoring of critical infrastructures; renewable energy, where microwave satellite remote sensing allows supporting the management of offshore wind farms during both feasibility and operational stages; plastic pollution, where microwave technologies that exploit signals of opportunity offer large-scale monitoring capability to provide marine litter maps of the oceans.
    Description: Published
    Description: 507–519
    Description: 4A. Oceanografia e clima
    Description: JCR Journal
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 11
    Publication Date: 2023-08-29
    Description: This study focuses on the changes in diet and mobility of people buried in the La Sassa cave (Latium, Central Italy) during the Copper and Bronze Ages to contribute to the understanding of the complex contemporary population dynamics in Central Italy. To that purpose, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses, strontium isotope analyses, and FT-IR evaluations were performed on human and faunal remains from this cave. The stable isotope analyses evidence a slight shift in diet between Copper and Bronze Age individuals, which becomes prominent in an individual, dating from a late phase, when the cave was mainly used as a cultic shelter. This diachronic study documents an increased dietary variability due to the introduction of novel resources in these protohistoric societies, possibly related to the southward spread of northern human groups into Central Italy. This contact between different cultures is also testified by the pottery typology found in the cave. The latter shows an increase in cultural intermingling starting during the beginning of the middle Bronze Age. The local mobility during this phase likely involved multiple communities scattered throughout an area of a few kilometers around the cave, which used the latter as a burial site both in the Copper and Bronze ages.
    Description: Published
    Description: e0288637
    Description: 6A. Geochimica per l'ambiente e geologia medica
    Description: 6SR VULCANI – Servizi e ricerca per la società
    Description: 7SR AMBIENTE – Servizi e ricerca per la società
    Description: JCR Journal
    Keywords: La Sassa cave (Central Italy) ; population dynamics ; nitrogen isotope ; strontium isotope
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 12
    Publication Date: 2023-03-10
    Description: In this study, the scattering mechanisms associated to internal waves (IWs) are investigated at L-band. IWs represent key geophysical factors for sea-air heat exchange and play a paramount role in the biological primary production and in the understanding of the evolution of climate ecosystem. In addition, a better understanding of IWs microwave scattering mechanisms can improve the modeling capability and, therefore, can boost the development on advanced synthetic aperture radar (SAR)-based added-value products to mitigate the risk for offshore drilling operations and aquaculture activities associated to IWs. The analysis of L-band multi-polarization SAR scattering of IWs under the influence of surface current straining is performed using a meaningful full-polarimetric Advanced Land Observing Satellite Phased Array type L-band 1 SAR data set collected over IWs observed under different imaging and wind conditions. Time and space co-located ancillary information is also available. Experimental results demonstrate that the non-polarized scattering mechanisms constitute a significant contribution to the total IW backscattering, especially in the case of surface current gradients owing to IWs (about 48–57%). It is also found that the non-polarized scattering contribution associated to IW concentrates along the wave crests, i.e. it is at least 60% larger than the one observed along the wave troughs. In addition, considering the IW traveling directions relative to that of the wind, the non-polarized scattering contribution associated to IWs is more remarkable at upwind direction while it is less significant at down/crosswind directions. The non-polarized scattering mechanisms also calls for a modulation induced by IWs which is much more significant,i.e. at least three times, that the one that characterizes the polarized scattering mechanism.
    Description: Published
    Description: 1943–1959
    Description: 4A. Oceanografia e clima
    Description: JCR Journal
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  • 13
    Publication Date: 2023-03-10
    Description: This study focused on the analysis of the time variability of the morphology of the Drygalski ice tongue (DIT), Antarctica, using – for the first time – satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. A time series of Sentinel-1 interferometric wide swath SAR imagery collected from 2016 to 2021 is considered and an unsupervised methodology, based on a global threshold constant false alarm rate approach, is used to extract the boundary between the DIT and the surrounding ice-free/ice-infested sea water. The most prominent rifts/fractures identified on the extracted profiles and the ice front are selected to analyse the DIT time variability. The feature tracking allows deriving information on the morphological evolution of the DIT, including the annual displacement and average surface velocity. Experimental results show that the DIT ice front calls for a relatively stable motion trend towards the sea with an average surface velocity of about 670 m per year. Our outcomes show a fairly good agreement with similar studies appeared in the scientific literature, which are mostly based on optical imagery.
    Description: Published
    Description: 2581-2598
    Description: 5A. Ricerche polari e paleoclima
    Description: JCR Journal
    Keywords: Drygalski ice tongue ; Antarctica ; SAR ; Sentinel-1 ; ice edge extraction ; surface velocity
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 14
    Publication Date: 2023-03-10
    Description: In this study, the non-Bragg (NB) scattering due to breaking waves as measured by the C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is investigated using more than 300 Gaofen-3 (GF-3) SAR images, which were acquired in quad-polarization stripmap (QPS) mode, that is, co-polarization [vertical–vertical (VV) and horizontal–horizontal (HH)] and cross-polarization [vertical–horizontal (VH) and horizontal–vertical (HV)]. First, the quality of SAR-based wind estimation is checked against the Haiyang-2B (HY-2B) scatterometer and European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis (ERA-5), indicating a wind speed accuracy of 1.62 m s−1 root-mean-square error (RMSE) and a 0.89 correlation. Then, the SAR-derived wind and HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) sea surface current are used to simulate Bragg resonant roughness. The non-polarized (NP) wave breaking contribution σwb on co-polarized SAR-measured normalized radar cross section (NRCS) σ0 is studied, which is derived using two methods: an approach of the Bragg theory and empirical function. Numerical simulations are contrasted with actual SAR measurements: they show that the theoretical-based approach provides accurate enough simulations of the NP contribution, especially at the HH-polarization channel. To deeply understand the behavior of sea surface scattering under breaking conditions, the third-generation WAVEWATCH-III (WW3) model is used to simulate wake-breaking parameters, i.e. whitecap coverage (WCC), whitecap foam thickness (WCT) and whitecap breaking height (WCH), which are then collocated with SAR images. The difference between simulated co-polarized NRCS and the measured one versus sea surface dynamics parameters (i.e. SAR-derived wind speed, HYCOM sea surface speed, and WW3-simulated significant wave height) shows that NP enhances HH-polarized backscattering, while it damps the VV-polarized backscattering. In addition, the contribution of σwb could be ignored for WCC and WCT larger than 15 × 10−3 and 40 × 10−3 m, respectively. Moreover, the ratio reduces with the increasing WCH greater than 2.0 m; in particular, the ratio likely remains to be 0.1 as WCH is greater than 2.5 m. Generally, the HH-polarized backscattering is relatively sensitive with the wave-breaking parameters; however, this behavior has to be further studied utilizing buoy-measured wave breaking data.
    Description: Published
    Description: 1384–1408
    Description: 4A. Oceanografia e clima
    Description: JCR Journal
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  • 15
    Publication Date: 2023-12-28
    Description: The coastal landscape of the Kachchh Upland (KU) region (NW-India) changed over the last fewthousand years from a shallow marine gulf to a salty desert (1-4 meters asl). In this area,bordered to the south by the Northern Hill Range (NHR), the tectonic-climatic interactiontriggered the sea level fall from +2/4 m circa (6000-2000 BP) to zero. An ancient riverpattern deposited a tidally regulated delta area during the sea level fall that stopped 2000-3000 years ago due to tectonic activity and a dry climate.Deltaic-alluvial fans (DAF) in front of the NHR suggest that the KU’s tectonic activity led tofast landscape evolution. We explored such drastic changes by integrating scientificinformation from a multidisciplinary literature review, identifying terraces and DAFs, andinferring faults through landform recognition, quantitative morphometry, andfield surveys.Our interpretation, summarized in a map, provides new information on active processesalong the NHR.
    Description: Published
    Description: 2167617
    Description: OSA4: Ambiente marino, fascia costiera ed Oceanografia operativa
    Description: JCR Journal
    Keywords: Kachchh ; coastal landscapeevolution ; tectonic-climatic interaction ; 04.04. Geology
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  • 16
    Publication Date: 2024-01-18
    Description: On 29 June 2022, local observers reported the drainage of a 0.5 ha lake near Qikiqtaġruk (Kotzebue), Alaska, that prompted this collaborative study on the life cycle of a thermokarst lake in the Arctic. Prior to its drainage, the lake expanded from 0.13 ha in 1951 to 0.54 ha in 2021 at lateral rates that ranged from 0.25 to 0.35 m/year. During the drainage event, we estimate that 18,500 m3 of water drained from the lake into Kotzebue Sound, forming a 125-m-long thermo-erosional gully that incised 2 to 14 m in ice-rich permafrost. Between 29 June and 18 August 2022, the drainage gully expanded from 1 m to 〉10 m wide, mobilizing ~8,500 m3 of material through erosion and thaw. By reconstructing a pre-lake disturbance terrain model, we show that thaw subsidence occurs rapidly (0.78 m/year) upon transition from tundra to lake but that over a seventy-year period it slows to 0.12 m/year. The combination of multiple remote sensing tools and local environmental observations provided a rich data set that allowed us to assess rates of lake expansion relative to rates of sub-lake permafrost thaw subsidence as well as hypothesizing about the potential role of beavers in arctic lake drainage.
    Repository Name: EPIC Alfred Wegener Institut
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  • 17
    Publication Date: 2024-03-18
    Description: The subarctic forest tundra transition zone is one of the most vulnerable ecological regions worldwide and susceptible to climate change. Forest changes could lead to biodiversity losses when tundra areas become colonized. However, the impact of complex landscapes with barriers and channels for seed dispersal is highly understudied. Hence, we investigated potential tree aboveground biomass (AGB) change in mountainous central Chukotka (Siberia) with the individual-based spatially explicit vegetation model Larix vegetation simulator (LAVESI). In a climate sensitivity study, we simulate forest dynamics until 3000 CE for Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) with and without hypothetical cooling after 2300 CE to twentieth-century levels. The current state and spatiotemporal dynamics of tree AGB are validated against field and satellite-derived data. Our results suggest densification of existing tree stands and a lagged forest expansion depending on the distance to the current tree line (~39 percent of the total study area, RCP 8.5) under all considered climate scenarios. In scenarios with cooling after 2300 CE, forests stopped expanding and then gradually retreated to their pre-twenty-first-century position (~10 percent, RCP 8.5). However, forest remnants remain in the colonized area, leaving an imprint of forests in former tundra areas, which will likely have an adverse impact on tundra biodiversity.
    Repository Name: EPIC Alfred Wegener Institut
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  • 18
    Publication Date: 2023-09-21
    Description: The Central and South Atlantic represents a vast ocean area and is home to a diverse range of ecosystems and species. Nevertheless, and similar to the rest of the global south, the area is comparatively understudied yet exposed to increasing levels of multisectoral pressures. To counteract this, the level of scientific exploration in the Central and South Atlantic has increased in recent years and will likely continue to do so within the context of the United Nations (UN) Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Here, we compile the literature to investigate the distribution of previous scientific exploration of offshore (30 m+) ecosystems in the Central and South Atlantic, both within and beyond national jurisdiction, allowing us to synthesise overall patterns of biodiversity. Furthermore, through the lens of sustainable management, we have reviewed the existing anthropogenic activities and associated management measures relevant to the region. Through this exercise, we have identified key knowledge gaps and undersampled regions that represent priority areas for future research and commented on how these may be best incorporated into, or enhanced through, future management measures such as those in discussion at the UN Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction negotiations. This review represents a comprehensive summary for scientists and managers alike looking to understand the key topographical, biological, and legislative features of the Central and South Atlantic.
    Type: Book chapter , PeerReviewed
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  • 19
    Publication Date: 2024-02-07
    Description: Sinking marine aggregates have been studied for a long time to understand their role in carbon sequestration. Traditionally, sinking speed and respiration rates have been treated as independent variables, but two recent papers suggest that there is a connection albeit in contrasting directions. Here we collected recently formed (〈2 days old) aggregates from sediment traps mounted underneath mesocosms during two different experiments. The mesocosms were moored off Gran Canaria, Spain (~ 27.9 N; 15.4 E) in a coastal, sub-tropical and oligotrophic ecosystem. We determined the respiration rates of organisms (mainly heterotrophic prokaryotes) attached to aggregates sinking at different velocities. The average respiration rate of fast sinking aggregates (〉100 m d-1) was 0.12 d-1 ± 0.08 d-1 (SD). Slower sinking aggregates (〈50 m d-1) had on average higher (p 〈0.001) and more variable respiration rates (average 0.31 d-1 ± 0.16 d-1, SD). There was evidence that slower sinking aggregates had higher porosity than fast sinking aggregates, and we hypothesize that higher porosity increase the settlement area for bacteria and the respiration rate. These findings provide insights into the efficiency of the biological carbon pump and help resolve the apparent discrepancy in the recent studies of the correlation between respiration and sinking speed. © 2023 Spilling et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed , info:eu-repo/semantics/article
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  • 20
    Publication Date: 2024-02-07
    Description: Eutrophication-driven harmful algal blooms (HABs) can have secondary effects on larval fishes that rely on estuaries as nurseries. However, few studies worldwide have quantified these effects despite the global rise in eutrophication. This study presents a novel approach using biochemical body condition analyses to evaluate the impact of HABs on the growth and body condition of the larvae of an estuarine resident fish. Recurrent phytoplankton blooms of Heterosigma akashiwo occur in the warm-temperate Sundays Estuary on the southeast coast of South Africa. The response in body condition and assemblage structure on larval estuarine roundherring (Gilchristella aestuaria) was measured in conjunction with bloom conditions, water quality and zooplanktonic prey and predators. Larvae and early juveniles were sampled during varying intensity levels, duration and frequency of hypereutrophic blooms. This study demonstrated that extensive HABs could significantly impact larval roundherring, G. aestuaria, by decreasing larval nutritional condition and limiting their growth, resulting in poor grow-out into the juvenile phase. Poor condition and growth may likely affect recruitment success to adult populations, and since G. aestuaria is an important forage fish and zooplanktivore, poor recruitment will hold consequences for estuarine food webs.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed
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  • 21
    Publication Date: 2024-02-07
    Description: Long-term changes in the life history and behaviour of seabirds during the non-breeding season can reflect shifts in environmental conditions. However, long-term marine studies are scarce, particularly on southern hemisphere seabirds. Here, we used moult scores from 86 Brown Skuas (Stercorarius antarcticus lonnbergi), a large predatory seabird breeding on the Chatham Islands, Aotearoa/New Zealand to model both the timing and duration of primary feather moult. In addition, we analysed stable isotope values (δ13C and δ15N) from 62 modern (2014–16) and ten museum tail feathers. These data provide insights into the non-breeding behaviour of Brown Skua. Interestingly, our results show that the primary feather moult occurred prior to birds departing the colony, starting on average on 2 January ± 5 days (SE). The average start of primary feather moult occurred five days prior to the end of breeding (7 January ± 10 days (SD)) and 42 days before the birds departed the colony (13 February ± 11 days (SD)). The average duration of primary feather moult was 189 ± 14 days (SE). Importantly, low δ13C values in four females suggested that tail feather moult might also occur while skuas are at the colony. There was no difference in tail feather δ13C and δ15N values between any pairwise comparison of modern and museum years. However, values of δ15N from tail feathers sampled in 2014 were different from those sampled in 2015 and 2016. This large annual variation in δ15N values from tail feathers over such a short period makes long-term comparisons difficult to interpret, particularly between years with low sample sizes. While the stable isotope analyses of tail feathers are informative, we recommend future studies of skuas sample the primary coverts rather than tail feathers.
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  • 22
    Publication Date: 2024-02-07
    Description: Coarse woody habitat (CWH) is an important structural habitat in freshwater ecosystems. In natural lakes, CWH accumulates over centuries alongside the succession of littoral tree communities. Newly created gravel pit lakes have difficulties in accumulating CWH due to their young age. Additionally, CWH presence might be negatively affected by shoreline development, where wood is removed to facilitate recreational activities such as angling. We studied 26 gravel pit lakes with an age ≤ 55 yrs in Lower Saxony, Germany, to quantify CWH density and to understand the impact of environmental factors, including lake morphology, lake age, wind direction, abundance of riparian trees, and the presence or absence of fisheries management, on CWH density. We sampled small and large CWH in the littoral zone of the study lakes using a transect-based approach. Density of CWH was lower in German gravel pit lakes than in North American natural lakes. In gravel pit lakes, we detected increasing densities of small CWH with increasing numbers of large trees on the shore and with increasing littoral slopes in lakes managed for recreational fisheries. Large CWH density was positively affected by lake age, by the density of large trees on the shore and with wind from land, and again by steep littoral slopes in lakes managed for recreational fisheries. We recommend that recreational fisheries managers and individual anglers maintain CWH in shallow littoral zones to promote fish habitats in generally low-structured gravel pit lakes.
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  • 23
    Publication Date: 2024-02-07
    Description: Settlement crises in ancient cultures of Western Asia are commonly thought to be caused by climatic events such as severe droughts. However, the insufficient climate proxy situation in this region challenges the inference of clear relationships between climate and settlement dynamics. We investigate the Holocene climatic changes on the Varamin Plain in the context of the climatic history of Western Central Asia by using a transient comprehensive Earth System Model simulation (8 ka BP to pre-industrial), a high-resolution regional snapshot simulation and a synthesis of pollen-based climate reconstructions. In line with the reconstructions, the models reveal only slightly varying mean climatic conditions on the Varamin Plain but indicate substantial changes in seasonality during the Holocene. Increased precipitation during spring, combined with lower temperature and potentially stronger snow accumulation on the upstream Alborz mountains may have led to an increased water supply on the alluvial fan during the vegetation period and thus to more favourable conditions for agricultural production during the Mid-Holocene compared to modern times. According to the model, dry periods on the Central Iranian Plateau are related to particularly weak Westerly winds, fostering the subsidence in the mid-troposphere and hampering precipitation over the region. The model reveals that dry periods have spatially heterogenous manifestations, thus explaining why they do not appear in all proxy records in the wider study region. In fact, the climatic signal may depend on local environmental conditions. The interaction of the topography with the atmospheric circulation leads to additional spatial heterogeneity. Although our results provide several indications for a connection between climate and settlement dynamics, the small overall changes in moisture call into question whether climate is the main driver for settlement discontinuities on the Central Iranian Plateau. To shed further light on this issue, more high-resolution long-term proxy records are needed.
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  • 24
    Publication Date: 2024-02-07
    Description: Cambrian igneous rocks in the Takaka Terrane of New Zealand provide important constraints for geodynamic reconstructions of the Cambrian SE Gondwana margin. We provide field data and a comprehensive trace element and isotope dataset for such rocks from the upper Baton River area in northwest Nelson, New Zealand, including the first combined Hf-Nd isotope data for Takaka Terrane rocks. These submarine volcanic rocks, known as Mataki and Benson volcanics of the Devil River Volcanics Group, are both interbedded with Haupiri Group sediments, providing a previously not observed direct stratigraphic link between the two volcanic units. Incompatible element abundances of Mataki Volcanics display a full spectrum from subduction-modified back-arc-tholeiites to E-MORB type tholeiites. Initial Hf-Nd isotope compositions are coupled, spanning a range from MORB-like to OIB-like compositions. The MORB-like endmember (initial ϵNd +7 and ϵHf +13), taps moderately depleted asthenospheric mantle. If extrapolated to present-day composition, this depleted mantle endmember does not resemble modern Pacific-type mantle, suggesting formation in a back-arc basin separated from Pacific mantle by a continent-ward, intra-oceanic subduction zone. The enriched asthenospheric mantle endmember in the Mataki Volcanics may be an equivalent to the sources of Neoproterozic or middle Cambrian intra-continental flood basalts in central and SE-Australia.
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  • 25
    Publication Date: 2024-04-08
    Description: The Observing Air–Sea Interactions Strategy (OASIS) is a new United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development programme working to develop a practical, integrated approach for observing air–sea interactions globally for improved Earth system (including ecosystem) forecasts, CO2 uptake assessments called for by the Paris Agreement, and invaluable surface ocean information for decision makers. Our “Theory of Change” relies upon leveraged multi-disciplinary activities, partnerships, and capacity strengthening. Recommendations from 〉40 OceanObs’19 community papers and a series of workshops have been consolidated into three interlinked Grand Ideas for creating #1: a globally distributed network of mobile air–sea observing platforms built around an expanded array of long-term time-series stations; #2: a satellite network, with high spatial and temporal resolution, optimized for measuring air–sea fluxes; and #3: improved representation of air–sea coupling in a hierarchy of Earth system models. OASIS activities are organized across five Theme Teams: (1) Observing Network Design & Model Improvement; (2) Partnership & Capacity Strengthening; (3) UN Decade OASIS Actions; (4) Best Practices & Interoperability Experiments; and (5) Findable–Accessible–Interoperable–Reusable (FAIR) models, data, and OASIS products. Stakeholders, including researchers, are actively recruited to participate in Theme Teams to help promote a predicted, safe, clean, healthy, resilient, and productive ocean.
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  • 26
    Publication Date: 2022-10-14
    Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Houskeeper, H. F., Rosenthal, I. S., Cavanaugh, K. C., Pawlak, C., Trouille, L., Byrnes, J. E. K., Bell, T. W., & Cavanaugh, K. C. Automated satellite remote sensing of giant kelp at the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). Plos One, 17(1), (2022): e0257933, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257933.
    Description: Giant kelp populations that support productive and diverse coastal ecosystems at temperate and subpolar latitudes of both hemispheres are vulnerable to changing climate conditions as well as direct human impacts. Observations of giant kelp forests are spatially and temporally uneven, with disproportionate coverage in the northern hemisphere, despite the size and comparable density of southern hemisphere kelp forests. Satellite imagery enables the mapping of existing and historical giant kelp populations in understudied regions, but automating the detection of giant kelp using satellite imagery requires approaches that are robust to the optical complexity of the shallow, nearshore environment. We present and compare two approaches for automating the detection of giant kelp in satellite datasets: one based on crowd sourcing of satellite imagery classifications and another based on a decision tree paired with a spectral unmixing algorithm (automated using Google Earth Engine). Both approaches are applied to satellite imagery (Landsat) of the Falkland Islands or Islas Malvinas (FLK), an archipelago in the southern Atlantic Ocean that supports expansive giant kelp ecosystems. The performance of each method is evaluated by comparing the automated classifications with a subset of expert-annotated imagery (8 images spanning the majority of our continuous timeseries, cumulatively covering over 2,700 km of coastline, and including all relevant sensors). Using the remote sensing approaches evaluated herein, we present the first continuous timeseries of giant kelp observations in the FLK region using Landsat imagery spanning over three decades. We do not detect evidence of long-term change in the FLK region, although we observe a recent decline in total canopy area from 2017–2021. Using a nitrate model based on nearby ocean state measurements obtained from ships and incorporating satellite sea surface temperature products, we find that the area of giant kelp forests in the FLK region is positively correlated with the nitrate content observed during the prior year. Our results indicate that giant kelp classifications using citizen science are approximately consistent with classifications based on a state-of-the-art automated spectral approach. Despite differences in accuracy and sensitivity, both approaches find high interannual variability that impedes the detection of potential long-term changes in giant kelp canopy area, although recent canopy area declines are notable and should continue to be monitored carefully.
    Description: This work was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program (https://earthdata.nasa.gov/esds/competitive-programs/csesp) with grant #80NSSC18M0103 (awarded to JEKB), which also provided salary to HFH, and by the National Science Foundation through the Santa Barbara Coastal Long-Term Environmental Research (https://sbclter.msi.ucsb.edu) program with grants #OCE 0620276 and 1232779. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
    Repository Name: Woods Hole Open Access Server
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  • 27
    Publication Date: 2022-05-27
    Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Castellote, M., Mooney, A., Andrews, R., Deruiter, S., Lee, W.-J., Ferguson, M., & Wade, P. Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) acoustic foraging behavior and applications for long term monitoring. Plos One, 16(11), (2021): e0260485, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260485.
    Description: Cook Inlet, Alaska, is home to an endangered and declining population of 279 belugas (Delphinapterus leucas). Recovery efforts highlight a paucity of basic ecological knowledge, impeding the correct assessment of threats and the development of recovery actions. In particular, information on diet and foraging habitat is very limited for this population. Passive acoustic monitoring has proven to be an efficient approach to monitor beluga distribution and seasonal occurrence. Identifying acoustic foraging behavior could help address the current gap in information on diet and foraging habitat. To address this conservation challenge, eight belugas from a comparative, healthy population in Bristol Bay, Alaska, were instrumented with a multi-sensor tag (DTAG), a satellite tag, and a stomach temperature transmitter in August 2014 and May 2016. DTAG deployments provided 129.6 hours of data including foraging and social behavioral states. A total of 68 echolocation click trains ending in terminal buzzes were identified during successful prey chasing and capture, as well as during social interactions. Of these, 37 click trains were successfully processed to measure inter-click intervals (ICI) and ICI trend in their buzzing section. Terminal buzzes with short ICI (minimum ICI 〈8.98 ms) and consistently decreasing ICI trend (ICI increment range 〈1.49 ms) were exclusively associated with feeding behavior. This dual metric was applied to acoustic data from one acoustic mooring within the Cook Inlet beluga critical habitat as an example of the application of detecting feeding in long-term passive acoustic monitoring data. This approach allowed description of the relationship between beluga presence, feeding occurrence, and the timing of spawning runs by different species of anadromous fish. Results reflected a clear preference for the Susitna River delta during eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus), Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), and coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) salmon spawning run periods, with increased feeding occurrence at the peak of the Chinook and pink salmon runs.
    Description: Project funding was provided by Georgia Aquarium, the Marine Mammal Laboratory of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (MML/AFSC). Tagging was funded by the NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology’s Ocean Acoustics Program. DTAG data analysis was funded by the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission grant #16-239. Funding for collecting and analyzing Cook Inlet beluga acoustic data in Susitna Delta was provided by the National Marine Fisheries Service Section 6 Office to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This publication is partially funded by the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies (CICOES), University of Washington, under NOAA Cooperative Agreement NA15OAR4320063, Contribution No. 2021-1145.
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  • 28
    Publication Date: 2022-06-06
    Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ramirez, G. A., Mara, P., Sehein, T., Wegener, G., Chambers, C. R., Joye, S. B., Peterson, R. N., Philippe, A., Burgaud, G., Edgcomb, V. P., & Teske, A. P. Environmental factors shaping bacterial, archaeal and fungal community structure in hydrothermal sediments of Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California. Plos One, 16(9), (2021): e0256321, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256321.
    Description: The flanking regions of Guaymas Basin, a young marginal rift basin located in the Gulf of California, are covered with thick sediment layers that are hydrothermally altered due to magmatic intrusions. To explore environmental controls on microbial community structure in this complex environment, we analyzed site- and depth-related patterns of microbial community composition (bacteria, archaea, and fungi) in hydrothermally influenced sediments with different thermal conditions, geochemical regimes, and extent of microbial mats. We compared communities in hot hydrothermal sediments (75-100°C at ~40 cm depth) covered by orange-pigmented Beggiatoaceae mats in the Cathedral Hill area, temperate sediments (25-30°C at ~40 cm depth) covered by yellow sulfur precipitates and filamentous sulfur oxidizers at the Aceto Balsamico location, hot sediments (〉115°C at ~40 cm depth) with orange-pigmented mats surrounded by yellow and white mats at the Marker 14 location, and background, non-hydrothermal sediments (3.8°C at ~45 cm depth) overlain with ambient seawater. Whereas bacterial and archaeal communities are clearly structured by site-specific in-situ thermal gradients and geochemical conditions, fungal communities are generally structured by sediment depth. Unexpectedly, chytrid sequence biosignatures are ubiquitous in surficial sediments whereas deeper sediments contain diverse yeasts and filamentous fungi. In correlation analyses across different sites and sediment depths, fungal phylotypes correlate to each other to a much greater degree than Bacteria and Archaea do to each other or to fungi, further substantiating that site-specific in-situ thermal gradients and geochemical conditions that control bacteria and archaea do not extend to fungi.
    Description: This project was supported by collaborative NSF Biological Oceanography grants 1829903 and 1829680 “Hydrothermal fungi in the Guaymas Basin Hydrocarbon Ecosystem” to V. Edgcomb and A. Teske, respectively. Postdoc G. Ramirez and Graduate student C.R. Chambers were supported by NSF Molecular and Cellular Biology grant 1817381 “Next Generation Physiology” and by ARPA-E grant “Mining the Deep Sea for Microbial Ethano- and Propanogenesis”. Sampling in Guaymas Basin was supported by collaborative NSF Biological Oceanography grants 1357238 and 1357360 “Collaborative Research: Microbial carbon cycling and its interaction with sulfur and nitrogen transformations in Guaymas Basin hydrothermal sediments” to A. Teske and S. B. Joye, respectively.
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  • 29
    Publication Date: 2022-07-15
    Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Horb, M., Abu-Daya, A., Wlizla, M., Noble, A., & Guille, M. “Advances in genome editing tools.” In Xenopus, edited by Abraham Fainsod, Sally A. Moody, 207–221. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003050230-16.
    Description: This book focuses on the amphibian, Xenopus, one of the most commonly used model animals in the biological sciences. Over the past 50 years, the use of Xenopus has made possible many fundamental contributions to our knowledge in cell biology, developmental biology, molecular biology, and neurobiology. In recent years, with the completion of the genome sequence of the main two species and the application of genome editing techniques, Xenopus has emerged as a powerful system to study fundamental disease mechanisms and test treatment possibilities. Xenopus has proven an essential vertebrate model system for understanding fundamental cell and developmental biological mechanisms, for applying fundamental knowledge to pathological processes, for deciphering the function of human disease genes, and for understanding genome evolution. Key Features Provides historical context of the contributions of the model system Includes contributions from an international team of leading scholars Presents topics spanning cell biology, developmental biology, genomics, and disease model Describes recent experimental advances Incorporates richly illustrated diagrams and color images
    Description: The NXR is funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health (P40OD010997, R24OD030008, and R01HD084409). The EXRC is supported by grants from the Wellcome Trust (212942/Z/18/Z) and BBSRC (BB/R014841/1).
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  • 30
    Publication Date: 2022-12-06
    Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Houstin, A., Zitterbart, D., Winterl, A., Richter, S., Planas-Bielsa, V., Chevallier, D., Ancel, A., Fournier, J., Fabry, B., & Le Bohec, C. Biologging of emperor penguins-attachment techniques and associated deployment performance. PLoS One, 17(8), (2022): e0265849, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265849.
    Description: An increasing number of marine animals are equipped with biologgers, to study their physiology, behaviour and ecology, often for conservation purposes. To minimise the impacts of biologgers on the animals’ welfare, the Refinement principle from the Three Rs framework (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) urges to continuously test and evaluate new and updated biologging protocols. Here, we propose alternative and promising techniques for emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) capture and on-site logger deployment that aim to mitigate the potential negative impacts of logger deployment on these birds. We equipped adult emperor penguins for short-term (GPS, Time-Depth Recorder (TDR)) and long-term (i.e. planned for one year) deployments (ARGOS platforms, TDR), as well as juvenile emperor penguins for long-term deployments (ARGOS platforms) in the Weddell Sea area where they had not yet been studied. We describe and qualitatively evaluate our protocols for the attachment of biologgers on-site at the colony, the capture of the animals and the recovery of the devices after deployment. We report unprecedented recaptures of long-term equipped adult emperor penguins (50% of equipped individuals recaptured after 290 days). Our data demonstrate that the traditional technique of long-term attachment by gluing the biologgers directly to the back feathers causes excessive feather breakage and the loss of the devices after a few months. We therefore propose an alternative method of attachment for back-mounted devices. This technique led to successful year-round deployments on 37.5% of the equipped juveniles. Finally, we also disclose the first deployments of leg-bracelet mounted TDRs on emperor penguins. Our findings highlight the importance of monitoring potential impacts of biologger deployments on the animals and the need to continue to improve methods to minimize disturbance and enhance performance and results.
    Description: This study was funded by the Centre Scientifique de Monaco with additional support from the LIA-647 and RTPI-NUTRESS (CSM/CNRS¬-University of Strasbourg), by The Penzance Endowed Fund and The Grayce B. Kerr Fund in Support of Assistant Scientists and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) grants ZI1525/3-1 in the framework of the priority program “Antarctic research with comparative investigations in Arctic ice areas”. Logistics and field efforts were supported by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) within the framework of the program MARE.
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  • 31
    Publication Date: 2022-05-26
    Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Lagache, T., Hanson, A., Perez-Ortega, J. E., Fairhall, A., & Yuste, R. Tracking calcium dynamics from individual neurons in behaving animals. Plos Computational Biology, 17(10), (2021): e1009432, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009432.
    Description: Measuring the activity of neuronal populations with calcium imaging can capture emergent functional properties of neuronal circuits with single cell resolution. However, the motion of freely behaving animals, together with the intermittent detectability of calcium sensors, can hinder automatic monitoring of neuronal activity and their subsequent functional characterization. We report the development and open-source implementation of a multi-step cellular tracking algorithm (Elastic Motion Correction and Concatenation or EMC2) that compensates for the intermittent disappearance of moving neurons by integrating local deformation information from detectable neurons. We demonstrate the accuracy and versatility of our algorithm using calcium imaging data from two-photon volumetric microscopy in visual cortex of awake mice, and from confocal microscopy in behaving Hydra, which experiences major body deformation during its contractions. We quantify the performance of our algorithm using ground truth manual tracking of neurons, along with synthetic time-lapse sequences, covering a wide range of particle motions and detectability parameters. As a demonstration of the utility of the algorithm, we monitor for several days calcium activity of the same neurons in layer 2/3 of mouse visual cortex in vivo, finding significant turnover within the active neurons across days, with only few neurons that remained active across days. Also, combining automatic tracking of single neuron activity with statistical clustering, we characterize and map neuronal ensembles in behaving Hydra, finding three major non-overlapping ensembles of neurons (CB, RP1 and RP2) whose activity correlates with contractions and elongations. Our results show that the EMC2 algorithm can be used as a robust and versatile platform for neuronal tracking in behaving animals.
    Description: R.Y. was supported by the NSF (CRCNS 1822550), the NEI (R01EY011787), the NIMH (R01MH115900), and Vannevar Bush Faculty Award (ONR N000142012828). T.L. was supported by the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (https://www.frm.org/) and the Philippe Foundation (https://www.philippefoundation.org/). A.H. was supported by the NIMH (T32MH018870). J.P.-O. was supported by the CONACYT (CVU365863). ALF was supported by NSF (CRCNS 1822550), the Simons Foundation Collaboration for the Global Brain (542975SPI) and the Weill NeuroHub (https://www.weillneurohub.org/).
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  • 32
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    In:  EPIC3Third World Thematics A TWQ Journal, Taylor & Francis, 6(4-6), pp. 267-289, ISSN: 2379-9978
    Publication Date: 2024-02-07
    Repository Name: EPIC Alfred Wegener Institut
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  • 33
    Publication Date: 2022-09-23
    Description: Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) will be necessary to fulfil the hundreds of pledges to reach net-zero by 2050. As with any industry, standard methodologies and certification are crucial to guarantee successful and reliable activities. However, buyers and policymakers currently face challenges in evaluating the ecosystem of CDR certification. The issue is not with CDR, nor with individual certifications – some of which may be very robust – but with the lack of transparency in the overall ecosystem. To bring some clarity, we present a snapshot of the CDR certification and standards ecosystem for the year 2021–2022. We find a complex ecosystem with at least 30 standard developing organizations proposing at least 125 standard methodologies for carbon removal from 23 different CDR activities and selling 27 different versions of certification instruments in voluntary and compliance markets. This exercise reveals many more existing standards for nature-based than for engineering-based activities and more diversity from standards serving the voluntary rather than the compliance market. It also highlights a proliferation of standards for the same activity, and a plethora of activities without standards. The process revealed ambiguity on what constitutes carbon removal, with many standards certifying activities that remove CO2 already in the environment as well as activities that avoid or reduce new emissions by sequestering the carbon into reservoirs. This mapping highlights key gaps and potential starting points for reforms to strengthen the CDR certification industry; it also underscores the need for independent oversight.
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  • 34
    Publication Date: 2023-01-04
    Description: The prediction of a spatial variable is of particular importance when analyzing spatial data. The main objective of this study is to evaluate and compare the performance of several prediction-based methods in spatial prediction through a simulation study. The studied methods include ordinary Kriging (OK), along with several neural network methods including Multi-Layer Perceptron network (MLP), Ensemble Neural Networks (ENN), and Radial Basis Function (RBF) network. We simulated several spatial datasets with three different scenarios due to changes in data stationarity and isotropy. The performance of methods was evaluated using the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Concordance Correlation Coefficient (CCC) indexes. Although the results of the simulation study revealed that the performance of the neural network in spatial prediction is weaker than the Kriging method, but it can still be a good competitor for Kriging.
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  • 35
    Publication Date: 2024-01-08
    Description: Algae are the oldest representatives of the plant world with reserves exceeding hundreds of millions of tons in the world's oceans. Currently, a growing interest is placed toward the use of algae as feedstocks for obtaining numerous natural products. Algae are a rich source of polyphenols that possess intriguing structural diversity. Among the algal polyphenols, phlorotannins, which are unique to brown seaweeds, and have immense value as potent modulators of biochemical processes linked to chronic diseases. In algae, flavonoids remain under-explored compared to other categories of polyphenols. Both phlorotannins and flavonoids are inclusive of compounds indicating a wide structural diversity. The present paper reviews the literature on the ecological significance, biosynthesis, structural diversity, and bioactivity of seaweed phlorotannins and flavonoids. The potential implementation of these chemical entities in functional foods, cosmeceuticals, medicaments, and as templates in drug design are described in detail, and perspectives are provided to tackle what are perceived to be the most momentous challenges related to the utilization of phlorotannins and flavonoids. Moving beyond: industrial biotechnology applications, metabolic engineering, total synthesis, biomimetic synthesis, and chemical derivatization of phlorotannins and flavonoids could broaden the research perspectives contributing to the health and economic up-gradation.
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  • 36
    Publication Date: 2024-02-07
    Description: Coexistence of fish populations (= stocks) of the same species is a common phenomenon. In the Baltic Sea, two genetically divergent stocks of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), Western Baltic cod (WBC) and Eastern Baltic cod (EBC), coexist in the Arkona Sea. Although the relative proportions of WBC and EBC in this area are considered in the current stock assessments, the mixing dynamics and ecological mechanisms underlying coexistence are not well understood. In this study, a genetically validated otolith shape analysis was used to develop the most comprehensive time series of annual stock mixing data (1977–2019) for WBC and EBC. Spatio-temporal mixing analysis confirmed that the two stocks coexist in the Arkona Sea, albeit with fluctuating mixing proportions over the 43-year observation period. Depth-stratified analysis revealed a strong correlation between capture depth and stock mixing patterns, with high proportions of WBC in shallower waters (48–61% in 〈20m) and increasing proportions of EBC in deeper waters (50–86% in 40-70m). Consistent depth-specific mixing patterns indicate stable differences in depth distribution and habitat use of WBC and EBC that may thus underlie the long-term coexistence of the two stocks in the Arkona Sea. These differences were also reflected in significantly different proportions of WBC and EBC in fisheries applying passive gears in shallower waters (more WBC) and active gears in deeper waters (more EBC). This highlights the potential for fishing gear-specific exploitation of different stocks, and calls for stronger consideration of capture depth and gear type in stock assessments. This novel evidence provides the basis for improved approaches to research, monitoring and management of Baltic cod stocks.
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  • 37
    Publication Date: 2024-02-07
    Description: Strong anisotropy of seismic velocity in the Earth’scrust poses serious challenges for seismic imaging. Where in situ seismic properties are not available the anisotropy can be determined from velocity analysis of surface and borehole seismic profiles. This is well established for dense, long-offset reflection seismic data. However, it is unknown how applicable this approach is for sparse seismic reflection data with low fold and short offsets in anisotropic metamorphic rocks. Here we show that anisotropy parameters can be determined from a sparse 3D data set at the COSC-1 borehole site in the Swedish Caledonides and that the results agree well with the seismic anisotropy parameters determined from seismic laboratory measurements on core samples. Applying these anisotropy parameters during 3D seismic imaging improves the seismic image of the high amplitude reflections especially in the vicinity of the lower part of the borehole. Strong reflections in the resulting seismic data show good correlation with the borehole-derived lithology. Our results aid the interpretation and extrapolation of the seismic stratigraphy of the Lower Seve Nappe in Jämtland and other parts in the Caledonides.
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  • 38
    Publication Date: 2024-02-07
    Description: Wetlands physical and biological processes are fundamental to the distribution and structuring of organic matter in sediments. This study investigated spatial and temporal changes in organic matter sources in sediments within the Nylsvley Wetland, South Africa across two seasons, five sites and three wetland zones and identified pertinent contributors to sediment organic matter. Results showed distributions were uneven throughout the wetlands, with the seasonal zone having slightly high sediment organic matter in the cool-dry season and the permanent zone had high sediment organic matter in the hot-wet season, whereas the temporary zone had low SOM concentrations. Significant differences in nutrient concentrations were observed across wetland zones and seasons for Phosphorous, Potassium, Calcium and Magnesium, with the seasonal zone tending to be the most nutrient-rich in the cool-dry season, and with permanent zone nutrient levels rising substantially in the hot-wet season. Sediment δ13C differed significantly among wetland zones, whereas δ15N was statistically similar. Autochthonous plants were the main sources of organic matter in sediments overall across sites and zones. This study’s findings help to better understand the distribution of organic matter in wetland ecosystems and the role wetland zones play in the seasonal provisioning of allochthonous inputs.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed
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  • 39
    Publication Date: 2024-02-07
    Description: Using transient climate forcing based on simulations from the Alfred Wegener Institute Earth System Model (AWI-ESM), we simulate the evolution of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) from the last interglacial (125 ka, kiloyear before present) to 2100 AD with the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM). The impact of paleoclimate, especially Holocene climate, on the present and future evolution of the GrIS is explored. Our simulations of the past show close agreement with reconstructions with respect to the recent timing of the peaks in ice volume and the climate of Greenland. The maximum and minimum ice volume at around 18–17 ka and 6–5 ka lag the respective extremes in climate by several thousand years, implying that the ice volume response of the GrIS strongly lags climatic changes. Given that Greenland’s climate was getting colder from the Holocene Thermal Maximum (i.e., 8 ka) to the Pre-Industrial era, our simulation implies that the GrIS experienced growth from the mid-Holocene to the industrial era. Due to this background trend, the GrIS still gains mass until the second half of the 20th century, even though anthropogenic warming begins around 1850 AD. This is also in agreement with observational evidence showing mass loss of the GrIS does not begin earlier than the late 20th century. Our results highlight that the present evolution of the GrIS is not only controlled by the recent climate changes, but is also affected by paleoclimate, especially the relatively warm Holocene climate. We propose that the GrIS was not in equilibrium throughout the entire Holocene and that the slow response to Holocene climate needs to be represented in ice sheet simulations in order to predict ice mass loss, and therefore sea level rise, accurately.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed
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  • 40
    Publication Date: 2024-02-07
    Description: The southern boundary of the Cayman Trough in the Caribbean is marked by the Swan Islands transform fault (SITF), which also represents the ocean-continent transition of the Honduras continental margin. This is one of the few places globally where a transform continental margin is currently active. The CAYSEIS experiment acquired an ∼165-km-long seismic refraction and gravity profile (P01) running across this transform margin, and along the ridge-axis of the Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre (MCSC) to the north. This profile reveals not only the crustal structure of an actively evolving transform continental margin, that juxtaposes Mesozoic-age continental crust to the south against zero-age ultraslow spread oceanic crust to the north, but also the nature of the crust and uppermost mantle beneath the ridge-transform intersection (RTI). The traveltimes of arrivals recorded by ocean-bottom seismographs (OBSs) deployed along-profile have been inverse and forward modelled, in combination with gravity modelling, to reveal an ∼25-km-thick continental crust that has been continuously thinned over a distance of ∼65 km to ∼10 km adjacent to the SITF, where it is juxtaposed against ∼3-4-km-thick oceanic crust. This thinning is primarily accommodated within the lower crust. Since Moho reflections are only sparsely observed, and, even then, only by a few OBSs located on the continental margin, the 7.5 km s-1 velocity contour is used as a proxy to locate the crust-mantle boundary along-profile. Along the MCSC, the crust-mantle boundary appears to be a transition zone, at least at the seismic wavelengths used for CAYSEIS data acquisition. Although the traveltime inversion only directly constrains the upper crust at the SITF, gravity modelling suggests that it is underlain by a higher density (〉3000 kg m-3) region spanning the width (∼15 km) of its bathymetric expression, that may reflect a broad region of metasomatism, mantle hydration or melt-depleted lithospheric mantle. At the MCSC ridge-axis to the north, the oceanic crust appears to be forming in zones, where each zone is defined by the volume of its magma supply. The ridge tip adjacent to the SITF is currently in a magma rich phase of accretion. However, there is no evidence for melt leakage into the transform zone. The width and crustal structure of the SITF suggests its motion is currently predominantly orthogonal to spreading. Comparison to CAYSEIS Profile P04, located to the west and running across-margin and through 10 Ma MCSC oceanic crust, suggests that, at about this time, motion along the SITF had a left-lateral transtensional component, that accounts for its apparently broad seabed appearance westwards.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed
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  • 41
    Publication Date: 2024-02-14
    Description: Glacio-eustatic cycles lead to changes in sedimentation on all types of continental margins. There is, however, a paucity of sedimentation rate data over eustatic sea-level cycles in active subduction zones. During International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 375, coring of the upper ∼110 m of the northern Hikurangi Trough Site U1520 recovered a turbidite-dominated succession deposited during the last ∼45 kyrs (Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1–3). We present an age model integrating radiocarbon dates, tephrochronology, and δ18O stratigraphy, to evaluate the bed recurrence interval (RI) and sediment accumulation rate (SAR). Our analyses indicate mean bed RI varies from ∼322 yrs in MIS1, ∼49 yrs in MIS2, and ∼231 yrs in MIS3. Large (6-fold) and abrupt variations in SAR are recorded across MIS transitions, with rates of up to ∼10 m/kyr occurring during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and 〈1 m/kyr during MIS1 and 3. The pronounced variability in SAR, with extremely high rates during the LGM, even for a subduction zone, are the result of changes in regional sediment supply associated with climate-driven changes in terrestrial catchment erosion, and critical thresholds of eustatic sea-level change altering the degree of sediment bypassing the continental shelf and slope via submarine canyon systems.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed
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  • 42
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    Taylor & Francis
    Publication Date: 2024-05-23
    Description: The extent of our duties to mitigate climate change is commonly conceptualized in terms of temperature goals like the 1.5°C and the 2°C target and corresponding emissions budgets. While I do acknowledge the political advantages of any framework that is relatively easy to understand, I argue that this particular framework does not capture the true extent of our mitigation duties. Instead I argue for a more differentiated approach that is based on the well-known distinction between subsistence and luxury emissions. At the heart of this approach lies the argument that we have no budget of substantial, net-positive luxury emissions left. In a world in which dangerous climate change has begun, we must expect all further substantial, net-positive luxury emissions to cause harm. Since they lack the kind of justification needed for them to be nevertheless permissible, I conclude that we must stop emitting them with immediate effect. I also briefly discuss the difficult case of subsistence emissions and offer some first thoughts on the morality of a third category of emissions, what I call ‘transition emissions’.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed
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  • 43
    Publication Date: 2021-05-06
    Description: The effective management of the risks posed by natural and man-made hazards requires all relevant threats and their interactions to be considered. This paper proposes a three-level framework for multi-risk assessment that accounts for possible hazard and risk interactions. The first level is a flow chart that guides the user in deciding whether a multi-hazard and risk approach is required. The second level is a semi-quantitative approach to explore if a more detailed, quantitative assessment is needed. The third level is a detailed quantitative multi-risk analysis based on Bayesian networks. Examples that demonstrate the application of the method are presented.
    Description: Published
    Description: 59–74
    Description: 5T. Sismologia, geofisica e geologia per l'ingegneria sismica
    Description: N/A or not JCR
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 44
    Publication Date: 2021-01-25
    Description: Bagnoli-Coroglio is a Site of National Interest (SNI) facing the Pozzuoli Bay that has been the place of an industrial activity for more than a century (1854-1985). The modern coastal geology of this area results from the recent evolution of an antecedent volcanic landscape that originated after a caldera collapse following the eruption of Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (NYT) of Campi Flegrei (15 ka). After the NYT eruption, a shallow marine depression formed within the caldera collapse area that underwent progressive filling-up, due to volcaniclastic sediment input from the caldera borders, within a semi-enclosed source-to-sink system. The integrated interpretation of the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of the Bagnoli-Coroglio area and the high resolution reflection seismic profiles acquired off the Pozzuoli Bay suggests that the present-day coastal plain of Bagnoli-Fuorigrotta and conterminous continental shelf represent the latest infilling phase of the annular depression (caldera ‘collar’) between the structural border of the NYT caldera and the inner caldera resurgent dome. The stratigraphic architecture and morpho-bathymetry of the Bagnoli inner shelf provide a record of the complex interplay between eustatic sea level changes, volcano-tectonic (ground/seafloor) deformation, and supply of volcaniclastic sediments, with associated coastline shifts over the last millennia. © 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
    Description: Published
    Description: 529-549
    Description: 1T. Struttura della Terra
    Description: JCR Journal
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 45
    Publication Date: 2021-07-13
    Description: UAVs have become a useful tool for natural hazard monitoring. In volcanic areas, they allow wider observations of the eruptive behaviour, with no risk for the operator. The SfM technique enables obtaining orthoimages of lava flows and a DEM in a short time. These data are also useful to estimate lava flow volumes and the mass output rate characterizing an eruption. We present the results of ten UAV surveys made during and after the 30 May – 6 June 2019 eruption of Etna volcano, projecting the data in a time context back until 1999. Orthoimages taken on different days allowed monitoring the morpho-structural evolution of the fissures, capturing the lava flows propagation and the accumulation of pyroclastic deposits. From 1999 to 2018, there were nine flank-eruptions and dozens of summiteruptions, which for graphic simplicity have been grouped by year in the map. The resulting map represents the most updated of the recent lava flows of Etna
    Description: This study has benefited from funding provided by the APQ Sicilia and from funding provided by the Italian Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri – Dipartimento della Protezione Civile (DPC); Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia.
    Description: Published
    Description: 65-76
    Description: 6V. Pericolosità vulcanica e contributi alla stima del rischio
    Description: JCR Journal
    Keywords: Lava flow mapping ; volcanological monitoring ; Etna ; UAV ; SfM technique ; 04.08. Volcanology
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 46
    Publication Date: 2021-01-22
    Description: One of the main issues with naive Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) implementations is the lack of uniform accuracy in the computational domain. If not mastered correctly, this leads to non-physical predictions when dealing with large-domain hydraulic problems or with very fine resolutions. The present article addresses two recommended methodologies to achieve the best numerical accuracy with single-precision SPH implementations, using the GPUSPH engine as reference. A still water test case is examined using different approaches. Instead of operating with the physical particle positions, the use of positions relative to the neighbour-search grid leads to a homogeneous accuracy distribution throughout the domain, with a consequent improvement in energy conservation. Further improvements are attained by evolving the relative density variation in the fluid equations, instead of the physical density. This helps in bounding the numerical errors within the machine epsilon and prevents any spurious behaviour due to error accumulation.
    Description: Published
    Description: 774-787
    Description: 3IT. Calcolo scientifico
    Description: JCR Journal
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 47
    Publication Date: 2021-09-22
    Description: We document the tectonic and metamorphic evolution of thrust nappes of the eastern island of Elba. The area exposes a natural cross section of the Northern Apennines hinterland, from the metamorphic basement units to the overlying continent- and ocean-derived nappes. We integrated mapping, analysis of structures and microstructures, and the interpretation of drill core logs with lithostratigraphic, metamorphic, and geochronological constraints, producing a novel geological map of eastern Elba (1:5'000 scale). We show that the area experienced polyphase Oligocene - Pliocene contractional tectonics marked by in-sequence and out-of-sequence thrusting accompanied by folding and overprinted by faulting in the Pliocene. Magmatism occurred during contraction with post-magmatic thrusting ultimately coupling HP-LT and LP-HT units. Drill core logs allow for the first time the reconstruction of the N-dipping character of the Zuccale Fault, which represents the youngest (late Miocene - early Pliocene) large-scale structure in the area.
    Description: Published
    Description: 519-532
    Description: 1T. Struttura della Terra
    Description: JCR Journal
    Keywords: Geological Map ; Elba Island ; Northern Apennines ; Tectonic evolution ; 04.04. Geology ; 04.07. Tectonophysics
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 48
    Publication Date: 2022-03-16
    Description: Identification of the remnant traces of paleo-glaciers provides important proxies to understand the response of the environment to rapid climate changes. We present a 1:25,000 scale geomorphological map covering ∼12.5 km2 of the upper part of Mount Bistra (North Macedonia) on the basis of remote sensing analyses and geomorphological surveys. Particular attention is given to the description of glacial and periglacial landforms, to the reconstruction of single glacier shapes and to Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) value calculation. The results of the survey and the reconstructed ELAs indicate the occurrence of three glacial phases that led to the formation of frontal and lateral moraines. The age of these phases is tentatively attributed to the Late Pleistocene by comparing these ELAs with those of other Balkan mountains. This map is the first step of a wider project aimed at reconstructing the relation between climate change and geomorphic response in this area.
    Description: Paleoclimate variability in the Central Mediterranean: terrestrial and marine archive comparison INGV Progetti Ricerca Libera 2019 (Ilaria Isola); CaLLMA Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa fondi di Ateneo (Giovanni Zanchetta); La Terminazione I. Variazioni ambientali/paleoclimatiche intercorse nel periodo 25-11 ka and PRA 2020-2021 Università di Pisa (Adriano Ribolini).
    Description: Published
    Description: 401-412
    Description: 5A. Ricerche polari e paleoclima
    Description: JCR Journal
    Keywords: glacial geomorphology ; last glaciation ; Mavrovo ; North Macedonia
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 49
    Publication Date: 2021-10-07
    Description: This paper re-apprises the scant elephant remains belonging to a dwarf Palaeoloxodon of uncertain taxonomy collected during the 1980s from a cave on Favignana Island (Aegadian Archipelago, western Sicily). The elephant was recently 14C-dated to the Last Glacial Maximum (20,350–19,840 cal. BP), indicating that the Favignana elephant is likely the most recent insular endemic Palaeoloxodon species thus far reported from the Western Mediterranean. Dimensionally the remains are smaller than the late Middle- Late Pleistocene P. ex gr. P. mnaidriensis from Puntali Cave (Palermo), and similar in size to the P. ex gr. P. mnaidriensis individual from San Teodoro Cave (Messina) post-dating a flowstone U-Th dated to ca. 32 ka. Accordingly, the possibility that relict populations of Palaeoloxodon persisted on Sicily longer than previously believed remains an intriguing possibility. None the less, the available data do not clearly indicate whether or not the small dimensions and recent age of the Favignana elephant may reflect a Late Pleistocene colonisation of Favignana Island by small P. ex gr. P.mnaidriensis. Our palaeogeographic reconstruction of the Aegadian Islands does however demonstrate that Favignana was connected to Sicily during most of the Late Pleistocene, allowing elephants to disperse freely between Sicily and Favignana during the Last Glacial (MIS 4-MIS2).
    Description: Published
    Description: 2116-2134
    Description: 4A. Oceanografia e clima
    Description: JCR Journal
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 50
    Publication Date: 2021-12-02
    Description: The fracture of the Larsen C ice shelf, which has been continuously monitored since the final months of 2016, started to grow rapidly in 2017 and, in February 2017, only a 20 km ice strip kept a huge section of the shelf attached to the Antarctic Peninsula. The final collapse, expected in 2017, occurred indeed between July 10 and July 12, with a loss of an area of some 6,000 km2, corresponding to about 9–12% of the entire shelf. Following US National Ice Center (NIC) criteria, the calved iceberg was named ‘A-68’. Responding to the ASI ‘COSMO-SkyMed Open Call for Science Initiative’, this paper presents a study of the initial phase of iceberg A-68 melting process and drifting trajectory. The analysis covers a period of six months and makes use of a set of COSMO-SkyMed ScanSAR Huge images.
    Description: Published
    Description: 5850-5858
    Description: 5A. Ricerche polari e paleoclima
    Description: JCR Journal
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  • 51
    Publication Date: 2021-12-06
    Description: This study analyzes the ability of polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR) measurements to quantify post-earthquake damages. To achieve this goal, a twofold task is addressed: on one side a processing chain, which exploits multi-polarization SAR features, and a decision-tree classifier is proposed to quantify the levels of damage in earthquake-affected urbanized areas using dual-polarimetric (DP) SAR imagery. On the other side, a new damage index is developed that allows a fair spatial intercomparison of building-by-building information, collected via ground surveys on the damaged areas, and SAR-derived damage maps. The proposed rationale is showcased using measurements related to the Central-Italy Earthquake occurred in 2016 where both Sentinel-1 DP imagery and ground-based information are available. Experimental results demonstrate the soundness of the proposed approach. The main outcomes can be summarized as follows: a) DP features perform better than single-polarization ones; b) DP features exhibit a larger sensitivity to lower damage grades if compared to the single polarization (SP) feature; c) the accuracy of the estimated damage levels depends on the requested granularity in the damage maps; d) the accuracy obtained using DP features spans from 52% up to 71% when five and two damage classes are considered, respectively.
    Description: Published
    Description: 5971–5986
    Description: 3T. Fisica dei terremoti e Sorgente Sismica
    Description: JCR Journal
    Keywords: remote sensing ; earthquake damage ; SAR polarimetry
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 52
    Publication Date: 2022-05-27
    Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Brandt, P. D., Sturzenegger Varvayanis, S., Baas, T., Bolgioni, A. F., Alder, J., Petrie, K. A., Dominguez, I., Brown, A. M., Stayart, C. A., Singh, H., Van Wart, A., Chow, C. S., Mathur, A., Schreiber, B. M., Fruman, D. A., Bowden, B., Wiesen, C. A., Golightly, Y. M., Holmquist, C. E., Arneman, D., Hall, J. D., Hyman, L. E., Gould, K. L., Chalkley, R., Brennwald, P. J., Layton, R. L. A cross-institutional analysis of the effects of broadening trainee professional development on research productivity. Plos Biology, 19(7), (2021): e3000956, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000956.
    Description: PhD-trained scientists are essential contributors to the workforce in diverse employment sectors that include academia, industry, government, and nonprofit organizations. Hence, best practices for training the future biomedical workforce are of national concern. Complementing coursework and laboratory research training, many institutions now offer professional training that enables career exploration and develops a broad set of skills critical to various career paths. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded academic institutions to design innovative programming to enable this professional development through a mechanism known as Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST). Programming at the NIH BEST awardee institutions included career panels, skill-building workshops, job search workshops, site visits, and internships. Because doctoral training is lengthy and requires focused attention on dissertation research, an initial concern was that students participating in additional complementary training activities might exhibit an increased time to degree or diminished research productivity. Metrics were analyzed from 10 NIH BEST awardee institutions to address this concern, using time to degree and publication records as measures of efficiency and productivity. Comparing doctoral students who participated to those who did not, results revealed that across these diverse academic institutions, there were no differences in time to degree or manuscript output. Our findings support the policy that doctoral students should participate in career and professional development opportunities that are intended to prepare them for a variety of diverse and important careers in the workforce.
    Description: Funding sources included the Common Fund NIH Director’s Biomedical Research Workforce Innovation Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Award. The following institutional NIH BEST awards (alphabetical by institution) included: DP7OD020322 (Boston University; AFB, ID, BMS, LEH); DP7OD020316 (University of Chicago; CAS); DP7OD018425 (Cornell University; SSV); DP7OD018428 (Virginia Polytechnic Institute; AVW, BB); DP7OD020314 (Rutgers University; JA); DP7OD020315 (University of Rochester; TB); DP7OD018423 (Vanderbilt University; KAP, AMB, KLG, RC); DP7OD020321 (University of California, Irvine; HS, DAF); DP7OD020317 (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; PDB, PJB, RLL); DP7 OD018427 (Wayne State University; CSC, AM). National Institutes of Health (NIH) General Medical Sciences - Science of Science Policy Approach to Analyzing and Innovating the Biomedical Research Enterprise (SCISIPBIO) Award (GM-19-011) - 1R01GM140282-01 (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; RLL, PDB, PJB).
    Repository Name: Woods Hole Open Access Server
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  • 53
    Publication Date: 2022-05-27
    Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ashjian, C. J., Okkonen, S. R., Campbell, R. G., & Alatalo, P. Lingering Chukchi Sea sea ice and Chukchi Sea mean winds influence population age structure of euphausiids (krill) found in the bowhead whale feeding hotspot near Pt. Barrow, Alaska. Plos One, 16(7), (2021): e0254418, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254418.
    Description: Interannual variability in euphausiid (krill) abundance and population structure and associations of those measures with environmental drivers were investigated in an 11-year study conducted in late August–early September 2005–2015 in offshelf waters (bottom depth 〉 40 m) in Barrow Canyon and the Beaufort Sea just downstream of Distributed Biological Observatory site 5 (DBO5) near Pt. Barrow, Alaska. Statistically-significant positive correlations were observed among krill population structure (proportion of juveniles and adults), the volume of Late Season Melt Water (LMW), and late-spring Chukchi Sea sea ice extent. High proportions of juvenile and adult krill were seen in years with larger volumes of LMW and greater spring sea ice extents (2006, 2009, 2012–2014) while the converse, high proportions of furcilia, were seen in years with smaller volumes of LMW and lower spring sea ice extent (2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2015). These different life stage, sea ice and water mass regimes represent integrated advective responses to mean fall and/or spring Chukchi Sea winds, driven by prevailing atmospheric pressure distributions in the two sets of years. In years with high proportions of juveniles and adults, late-spring and preceding-fall winds were weak and variable while in years with high proportions of furcilia, late-spring and preceding-fall winds were strong, easterly and consistent. The interaction of krill life history with yearly differences in the northward transports of krill and water masses along with sea ice retreat determines the population structure of late-summer krill populations in the DBO5 region near Pt. Barrow. Years with higher proportions of mature krill may provide larger prey to the Pt. Barrow area bowhead whale prey hotspot. The characteristics of prey near Pt. Barrow is dependent on krill abundance and size, large-scale environmental forcing, and interannual variability in recruitment success of krill in the Bering Sea.
    Description: This research was supported by the National Science Foundation through grants PLR-1023331 (CJA), OPP-0436131 (CJA), PLR-1022139 (RGC), OPP-0436110 (RGC), PLR-1023446 (SRO), and OPP-043166 (SRO), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under cooperative agreement NA08OAR4320751 with the University of Alaska (SRO) and cooperative agreements NA17RJ1223 and NA09OAR4320129 with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (CJA), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management through Interagency Agreement 0106RU39923/M08PG20021 between the National Marine Fisheries Service and MMS/BOEM (CJA, RGC, SRO) and through the National Oceanographic Partnership Program award number N00014-08-1-0311 from the Office of Naval Research to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (CJA, SRO, RGC). Additional support was provided by the Coastal Marine Institute at the University of Alaska (SRO, RGC) and the James M. and Ruth P. Clark Arctic Research Initiative Fund at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (CJA). The participation of the K-12 teachers was supported by the National Science Foundation through the ARMADA program at the University of Rhode Island (2005, 2006) and through the POLARTrec program at the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (2012).
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  • 54
    Publication Date: 2022-05-26
    Description: © The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Andruszkiewicz, E. A., Yamahara, K. M., Closek, C. J., & Boehm, A. B. Quantitative PCR assays to detect whales, rockfish, and common murre environmental DNA in marine water samples of the Northeastern Pacific. Plos One, 15(12), (2020): e0242689, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0242689.
    Description: Monitoring aquatic species by identification of environmental DNA (eDNA) is becoming more common. To obtain quantitative eDNA datasets for individual species, organism-specific quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays are required. Here, we present detailed methodology of qPCR assay design and testing, including in silico, in vitro, and in vivo testing, and comment on the challenges associated with assay design and performance. We use the presented methodology to design assays for three important marine organisms common in the California Current Ecosystem (CCE): humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), shortbelly rockfish (Sebastes jordani), and common murre (Uria aalge). All three assays have excellent sensitivity and high efficiencies ranging from 92% to 99%. However, specificities of the assays varied from species-specific in the case of common murre, genus-specific for the shortbelly rockfish assay, and broadly whale-specific for the humpback whale assay, which cross-amplified with other two other whale species, including one in a different family. All assays detected their associated targets in complex environmental water samples.
    Description: This work is a contribution to the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON). The MBON project was supported by NASA grant NNX14AP62A ‘National Marine Sanctuaries as Sentinel Sites for a Demonstration Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON)’ funded under the National Ocean Partnership Program (NOPP RFP NOAA-NOS-IOOS-2014-2003803 in partnership between NOAA, BOEM, and NASA), and the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Program Office.
    Repository Name: Woods Hole Open Access Server
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  • 55
    Publication Date: 2022-05-26
    Description: © The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Shiotani, T., Mino, S., Sato, W., Nishikawa, S., Yonezawa, M., Sievert, S. M., & Sawabe, T. Nitrosophilus alvini gen. nov., sp. nov., a hydrogen-oxidizing chemolithoautotroph isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent in the East Pacific Rise, inferred by a genome-based taxonomy of the phylum "Campylobacterota". Plos One, 15(12), (2020): e0241366, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0241366.
    Description: A novel bacterium, strain EPR55-1T, was isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent on the East Pacific Rise. The cells were motile rods. Growth was observed at temperatures between 50 and 60°C (optimum, 60°C), at pH values between 5.4 and 8.6 (optimum, pH 6.6) and in the presence of 2.4–3.2% (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 2.4%). The isolate used molecular hydrogen as its sole electron donor, carbon dioxide as its sole carbon source, ammonium as its sole nitrogen source, and thiosulfate, sulfite (0.01 to 0.001%, w/v) or elemental sulfur as its sole sulfur source. Nitrate, nitrous oxide (33%, v/v), thiosulfate, molecular oxygen (0.1%, v/v) or elemental sulfur could serve as the sole electron acceptor to support growth. Phylogenetic analyses based on both 16S rRNA gene sequences and whole genome sequences indicated that strain EPR55-1T belonged to the family Nitratiruptoraceae of the class “Campylobacteria”, but it had the distinct phylogenetic relationship with the genus Nitratiruptor. On the basis of the physiological and molecular characteristics of the isolate, the name Nitrosophilus alvini gen. nov. sp. nov. is proposed, with EPR55-1T as the type strain (= JCM 32893T = KCTC 15925T). In addition, it is shown that “Nitratiruptor labii” should be transferred to the genus Nitrtosophilus; the name Nitrosophilus labii comb. nov. (JCM 34002T = DSM 111345T) is proposed for this organism. Furthermore, 16S rRNA gene-based and genome-based analyses showed that Cetia pacifica is phylogenetically associated with Caminibacter species. We therefore propose the reclassification of Cetia pacifica as Caminibacter pacificus comb. nov. (DSM 27783T = JCM 19563T). Additionally, AAI thresholds for genus classification and the reclassification of subordinate taxa within “Campylobacteria” are also evaluated, based on the analyses using publicly available genomes of all the campylobacterial species.
    Description: This study was partially supported by the JSPS KAKENHI (No. 12J03037 and No. 15H05991), the Takahashi Industrial and Economic Research Foundation, and US National Science Foundation grant OCE-1559198 and the WHOI Investment in Science Fund to S.M.S. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
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  • 56
    Publication Date: 2022-05-26
    Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Fire, S. E., Bogomolni, A., DiGiovanni, R. A., Jr., Early, G., Leighfield, T. A., Matassa, K., Miller, G. A., Moore, K. M. T., Moore, M., Niemeyer, M., Pugliares, K., Wang, Z., & Wenzel, F. W. An assessment of temporal, spatial and taxonomic trends in harmful algal toxin exposure in stranded marine mammals from the US New England coast. Plos One, 16(1),(2021): e0243570, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0243570.
    Description: Despite a long-documented history of severe harmful algal blooms (HABs) in New England coastal waters, corresponding HAB-associated marine mammal mortality events in this region are far less frequent or severe relative to other regions where HABs are common. This long-term survey of the HAB toxins saxitoxin (STX) and domoic acid (DA) demonstrates significant and widespread exposure of these toxins in New England marine mammals, across multiple geographic, temporal and taxonomic groups. Overall, 19% of the 458 animals tested positive for one or more toxins, with 15% and 7% testing positive for STX and DA, respectively. 74% of the 23 different species analyzed demonstrated evidence of toxin exposure. STX was most prevalent in Maine coastal waters, most frequently detected in common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), and most often detected during July and October. DA was most prevalent in animals sampled in offshore locations and in bycaught animals, and most frequently detected in mysticetes, with humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) testing positive at the highest rates. Feces and urine appeared to be the sample matrices most useful for determining the presence of toxins in an exposed animal, with feces samples having the highest concentrations of STX or DA. No relationship was found between the bloom season of toxin-producing phytoplankton and toxin detection rates, however STX was more likely to be present in July and October. No relationship between marine mammal dietary preference and frequency of toxin detection was observed. These findings are an important part of a framework for assessing future marine mammal morbidity and mortality events, as well as monitoring ecosystem health using marine mammals as sentinel organisms for predicting coastal ocean changes.
    Description: S.F. - NOAA John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program #NA16NMF4390151 S.F. - NOAA John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program #NA17NMF4390082 S.F. - Florida Tech Department of Biological Sciences S.F. - Florida Tech John H. Evans Library Open Access Subvention Fund. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
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  • 57
    Publication Date: 2022-05-27
    Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Leray, M., Wilkins, L. G. E., Apprill, A., Bik, H. M., Clever, F., Connolly, S. R., De Leon, M. E., Duffy, J. E., Ezzat, L., Gignoux-Wolfsohn, S., Herre, E. A., Kaye, J. Z., Kline, D. I., Kueneman, J. G., McCormick, M. K., McMillan, W. O., O’Dea, A., Pereira, T. J., Petersen, J. M., Petticord, D. F., Torchin, M. E., Thurber, R. V., Videvall, E., Wcislo, W. T., Yuen, B., Eisen, J. A. . Natural experiments and long-term monitoring are critical to understand and predict marine host-microbe ecology and evolution. Plos Biology, 19(8), (2021): e3001322, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001322.
    Description: Marine multicellular organisms host a diverse collection of bacteria, archaea, microbial eukaryotes, and viruses that form their microbiome. Such host-associated microbes can significantly influence the host’s physiological capacities; however, the identity and functional role(s) of key members of the microbiome (“core microbiome”) in most marine hosts coexisting in natural settings remain obscure. Also unclear is how dynamic interactions between hosts and the immense standing pool of microbial genetic variation will affect marine ecosystems’ capacity to adjust to environmental changes. Here, we argue that significantly advancing our understanding of how host-associated microbes shape marine hosts’ plastic and adaptive responses to environmental change requires (i) recognizing that individual host–microbe systems do not exist in an ecological or evolutionary vacuum and (ii) expanding the field toward long-term, multidisciplinary research on entire communities of hosts and microbes. Natural experiments, such as time-calibrated geological events associated with well-characterized environmental gradients, provide unique ecological and evolutionary contexts to address this challenge. We focus here particularly on mutualistic interactions between hosts and microbes, but note that many of the same lessons and approaches would apply to other types of interactions.
    Description: Financial support for the workshop was provided by grant GBMF5603 (https://doi.org/10.37807/GBMF5603) from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (W.T. Wcislo, J.A. Eisen, co-PIs), and additional funding from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Office of the Provost of the Smithsonian Institution (W.T. Wcislo, J.P. Meganigal, and R.C. Fleischer, co-PIs). JP was supported by a WWTF VRG Grant and the ERC Starting Grant 'EvoLucin'. LGEW has received funding from the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (2014-2020) under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 101025649. AO was supported by the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (SENACYT, Panamá). A. Apprill was supported by NSF award OCE-1938147. D.I. Kline, M. Leray, S.R. Connolly, and M.E. Torchin were supported by a Rohr Family Foundation grant for the Rohr Reef Resilience Project, for which this is contribution #2. This is contribution #85 from the Smithsonian’s MarineGEO and Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network. T
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  • 58
    Publication Date: 2023-03-13
    Description: Freshening of the oceans is a predicted outcome of climate change. Marine phytoplankton organisms are in general affected by salinity changes and, given their key role in oceanic food webs and geochemical cycles, it is important to investigate the response of phytoplankton species to salinity changes. Diatom species of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia can form massive and, at times, toxic blooms, because several Pseudo-nitzschia species produce the neurotoxin domoic acid. Domoic acid can cause amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans and harm animals in the marine food web. The species Pseudonitzschia seriata can produce domoic acid in cold-water areas, like the Arctic. Hence, it is relevant to investigate the response of P. seriata to different salinity levels. Three strains of P. seriata were exposed to four different salinity levels (15, 20, 30 and 40). None of the strains grew at salinity 15, and maximum growth rates were found at salinity 30. All three strains contained toxins at salinities 20–40, with the highest cellular content occurring at salinity 20. The peak in toxin content was related to a significantly lower growth rate. However, the higher toxin content overrode the lower growth rate, ultimately resulting in a higher toxin potential at salinity 20. In addition to domoic acid, all strains contained isodomoic acid C in surprisingly high amounts, similar to the domoic acid content.
    Repository Name: EPIC Alfred Wegener Institut
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  • 59
    Publication Date: 2023-03-13
    Description: It is well known that modern resting cysts with morphologies matching those of species of the fossil genus Spiniferites germinate into motile cells of the genus Gonyaulax. Different Spiniferites species have been connected to a single Gonyaulax species, raising the question of whether they are over-classified. Through germination experiments of cysts with the morphological features of four species of Spiniferites, viz. S. bentorii, S. hyperacanthus, S. ramosus and S. scabratus, we established cyst-theca relationships. Cysts with the morphology of S. bentorii gave rise to vegetative, motile cells of Gonyaulax nezaniae sp. nov., which is characterized by two stout antapical spines. Cysts with S. hyperacanthus and S. ramosus morphologies germinated into Gonyaulax whaseongensis and G. spinifera, respectively. Cysts with S. scabratus morphology lacked a ventral pore and were attributed to Gonyaulax cf. spinifera. Gene sequences for SSU, LSU and/or ITS-5.8S rRNA were obtained from these four species, and from cysts with the morphology of Spiniferites belerius, S. mirabilis, S. lazus, Spiniferites cf. bentorii and Tectatodinium pellitum. The maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses based on LSU and SSU rRNA gene sequences revealed that cysts assignable to Spiniferites formed a polyphyletic group, intermingled with Tectatodinium, Bitectatodinium, Ataxiodinium and Impagidinium, whereas Gonyaulax species appeared as monophyletic. From our results we inferred the phylogenetic positions of S. bentorii, S. mirabilis, S. lazus, S. scabratus, Tectatodinium pellitum and Gonyaulax digitale for the first time, supporting the idea that Spiniferites species are not over-classified and each of them may correspond to different Gonyaulax species.
    Repository Name: EPIC Alfred Wegener Institut
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  • 60
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Objectives N-Terminal pro Brain Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP) is a diagnostic marker for heart failure and a prognostic factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to examine the association of socioeconomic position (SEP) with NT-proBNP while assessing sex-differences and the impact of CVD risk factors and prevalent CVD on the association. Methods Baseline data of 4598 participants aged 45–75 years of the Heinz Nixdorf Recall Study were used. Income and education were used as SEP indicators. Age- and sex-adjusted linear regression models were fitted to calculate effect size estimates and 95% confidence intervals (95%-CIs) for the total effect of SEP indicators on NT-proBNP, while potential mediation was assessed by additionally accounting for traditional CVD risk factors (i.e., systolic blood pressure, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, diabetes, anti-hypertensive medication, lipid-lowering medication, BMI, current smoking). Education and income were included separately in the models. Results With an age- and sex-adjusted average change in NT-proBNP of -6.47% (95%-CI: -9.91; -2.91) per 1000€, the association between income and NT-proBNP was more pronounced compared to using education as a SEP indicator (-0.80% [95%-CI: -1.92; 0.32] per year of education). Sex-stratified results indicated stronger associations in men (-8.43% [95%-CI: -13.21; -3.38] per 1000€; -1.63% [95%-CI: -3.23; -0.001] per year of education) compared to women (-5.10% [95%-CI: -9.82; -0.01] per 1000€; -1.04% [95%-CI: -2.59; 0.50] per year of education). After adjusting for CVD risk factors some of the observed effect size estimates were attenuated, while the overall association between SEP indicators and NT-proBNP was still indicated. The exclusion of participants with prevalent coronary heart disease or stroke did not lead to a substantial change in the observed associations. Conclusions In the present study associations of education and income with NT-proBNP were observed in a population-based study sample. Only parts of the association were explained by traditional CVD risk factors, while there were substantial sex-differences in the strength of the observed association. Overt coronary heart disease or stroke did not seem to trigger the associations.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
    Topics: Medicine , Natural Sciences in General
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  • 61
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: The maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) is an induced ovulator. Though the mechanism of ovulation induction remains unknown, it is suspected to be urinary chemical signals excreted by males. This study assessed volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in weekly urine samples across 5 months from 13 maned wolves (6 intact males, 1 neutered male, 6 females) with the goal of identifying VOCs that are differentially expressed across sex, reproductive status, and pairing status. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used to extract and separate VOCs that were identified via spectral matching with authentic standards, with spectral libraries, or with new software that further matches molecular fragment structures with mass spectral peaks. Two VOCs were present across all 317 urine samples: 2,5-dimethyl pyrazine and 2-methyl-6-(1-propenyl)-pyrazine. Fifteen VOCs differed significantly (Adj. P 〈 0.001 and |log2 fold change| 〉2.0) between intact males and females. Using partial least squares-discriminant analysis, the compounds with the highest importance to the sex classification were delta-decalactone, delta-dodecalactone, and bis(prenyl) sulfide. Sixty-two VOCs differed between intact males and the neutered male. Important classifier compounds were 3-ethyl 2,5-dimethyl pyrazine, 2-methyl-6-(1-propenyl)-pyrazine, and tetrahydro-2-isopentyl-5-propyl furan. Several VOCs established as important here have been implicated in reproductive communication in other mammals. This study is the most robust examination of differential expression in the maned wolf thus far and provides the most comprehensive analysis of maned wolf urinary VOCs to date, increasing the sample size substantially over previous chemical communication studies in this species. New data analysis software allowed for the identification of compounds in the hormone-producing mevalonate pathway which were previously unreported in maned wolf urine. Several putative semiochemicals were identified as good candidates for behavioral bioassays to determine their role in maned wolf reproduction, and specifically in ovulation induction.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
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  • 62
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Background Patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) are at an increased risk of developing immobility related complications. Physiotherapists are challenged to employ preventive and rehabilitative strategies to combat these effects. Passive limb range of motion (PROM) exercises- a part of early mobilization-aid in maintaining joint range of motion and functional muscle strength and forms a part of treatment for patients in ICU. However, there is a lack of evidence on practice of PROM exercises on patients admitted to ICU in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study aimed at exploring practices regarding the same in UAE. Methods This survey, conducted from January 2021 to February 2021 in College of Physiotherapy, Sharjah University studied practice of physiotherapists in the intensive care units. Physiotherapists currently working in ICU completed an online questionnaire composed of forty-two questions about physiotherapy service provision, assessment and intervention in the intensive care units. Results 33 physiotherapists completed the survey. 66.6% of respondents routinely assessed PROM for all the patients in ICU referred for physiotherapy. 84.8% of them assessed all the joints. More than half of the respondents (57.8%) reported that they administered PROM regularly to all the patients. According to 63.6% respondents, maintaining joint range of motion was the main reason for performing PROM. Responses pertaining to sets and repetitions of PROM were variable ranging from 1–6 sets and from 3 to 30 repetitions. Personal experience, resources/financial consideration and research findings were found to have influence on the practice. Conclusions PROM was found to be one of the frequently used mobilization techniques administered by physiotherapists in the intensive care units and was mostly performed after assessment. Maintaining joint range of motion was the main aim for performing PROM. Variability was found in the sets and repetitions of PROM administered. Various factors influenced the practice of PROM.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
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  • 63
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: The role the mammary epithelial circadian clock plays in gland development and lactation is unknown. We hypothesized that mammary epithelial clocks function to regulate mammogenesis and lactogenesis, and propose the core clock transcription factor BMAL1:CLOCK regulates genes that control mammary epithelial development and milk synthesis. Our objective was to identify transcriptional targets of BMAL1 in undifferentiated (UNDIFF) and lactogen differentiated (DIFF) mammary epithelial cells (HC11) using ChIP-seq. Ensembl gene IDs with the nearest transcriptional start site to ChIP-seq peaks were explored as potential targets, and represented 846 protein coding genes common to UNDIFF and DIFF cells and 2773 unique to DIFF samples. Genes with overlapping peaks between samples (1343) enriched cell-cell adhesion, membrane transporters and lipid metabolism categories. To functionally verify targets, an HC11 line with Bmal1 gene knocked out (BMAL1-KO) using CRISPR-CAS was created. BMAL1-KO cultures had lower cell densities over an eight-day growth curve, which was associated with increased (p
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  • 64
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Objectives N-benzoyl-DL-arginine peptidase (trypsin-like peptidase) is specifically produced by certain strains of periodontitis-associated bacteria. We aimed to examine the effectiveness of an objectively quantified trypsin-like peptidase activity assay (TLP-AA) for detecting severe periodontitis. Methods The study population included 347 adults (108 men and 239 women; average age, 43.3 years) who underwent a full-mouth periodontal examination. Specimens for the TLP-AA were obtained using tongue swabs. Using a color reader, the TLP-AA results were obtained as a* values, with higher positive a* values indicating an increased intense enzymatic activity. The predictive validity of the TLP-AA results for severe periodontitis was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and the periodontitis case definition provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/American Academy of Periodontology as the gold standard. Furthermore, multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to predict severe periodontitis using the TLP-AA results and health characteristics, as the exposure variables. Results Severe periodontitis was observed in 5.2% of the participants. TLP-AA had high diagnostic accuracy for severe periodontitis, with an area under the curve of 0.83 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.75–0.92). The cut-off score for the a* value that best differentiated individuals with severe periodontitis was 0.09, with a sensitivity of 83% and specificity of 77%. Multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed that the TLP-AA results were significantly associated with severe periodontitis after adjusting for health characteristics (adjusted odds ratios: 1.90 [95% CI: 1.37–2.62] for the a* value). Conclusions Objectively quantified TLP-AA results are potentially useful for detecting severe periodontitis in epidemiological surveillance.
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  • 65
    Publication Date: 2021-08-10
    Description: Ultradian glucocorticoid rhythms are highly conserved across mammalian species, however, their functional significance is not yet fully understood. Here we demonstrate that pulsatile corticosterone replacement in adrenalectomised rats induces a dynamic pattern of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) binding at ~3,000 genomic sites in liver at the pulse peak, subsequently not found during the pulse nadir. In contrast, constant corticosterone replacement induced prolonged binding at the majority of these sites. Additionally, each pattern further induced markedly different transcriptional responses. During pulsatile treatment, intragenic occupancy by active RNA polymerase II exhibited pulsatile dynamics with transient changes in enrichment, either decreased or increased depending on the gene, which mostly returned to baseline during the inter-pulse interval. In contrast, constant corticosterone exposure induced prolonged effects on RNA polymerase II occupancy at the majority of gene targets, thus acting as a sustained regulatory signal for both transactivation and repression of glucocorticoid target genes. The nett effect of these differences were consequently seen in the liver transcriptome as RNA-seq analysis indicated that despite the same overall amount of corticosterone infused, twice the number of transcripts were regulated by constant corticosterone infusion, when compared to pulsatile. Target genes that were found to be differentially regulated in a pattern-dependent manner were enriched in functional pathways including carbohydrate, cholesterol, glucose and fat metabolism as well as inflammation, suggesting a functional role for dysregulated glucocorticoid rhythms in the development of metabolic dysfunction.
    Print ISSN: 1553-7390
    Electronic ISSN: 1553-7404
    Topics: Biology
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  • 66
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Introduction Suicidality is a risk of a person committing suicide often characterized by suicidal ideation, intent or attempts. Despite the high burden of suicidality among individuals living with HIV and HAIDS, there is paucity of data on the impact of suicidality on clinical (such as CD4 counts and HIV disease progression) and behavioural outcomes (such as adherence to HIV Medications). Cross-sectional investigations of these associations are often complicated by bidirectional causal relationships and hence the need for longitudinal study designs. We conducted a cohort study to determine the impact of suicidality on clinical and behavioural outcomes among adults living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda. Materials and methods We conducted the study among 1099 ART naïve adults living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda. Data were collected at three time points: baseline, 6 and 12 months. Multiple regression and discrete time survival models were used to determine the relationship between suicidality and indices of HIV outcomes. Results Majority of the participants were female and the participant mean age was 35 years. Most of them (73%) had primary or no formal education. The proportion of participants with suicidality decreased from 2.9% at baseline to roughly 1% both at month 6 and month 12. Of the investigated clinical and behavioural outcomes, baseline suicidality only had a negative impact on missing a dose of ART where the odds of missing a dose of ART were 8.25 (95% CI 2.45–27.71, p〉0.01) times higher for participants with suicidality compared to those without suicidality. The following outcomes were not significantly impacted by baseline suicidality: HIV clinical stage, CD4 count and risky sexual behaviour. Conclusions The fact that baseline suicidality significantly negatively impacted ART adherence calls for the incorporation of psychosocial interventions to target indices of psychological distress such as suicidality to improve HIV related outcomes.
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  • 67
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Background The COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the US has been immensely successful in vaccinating those who are receptive, further increases in vaccination rates however will require more innovative approaches to reach those who remain hesitant. Developing vaccination strategies that are modelled on what people want could further increase uptake. Methods and findings To inform COVID-19 vaccine distribution strategies that are aligned with public preferences we conducted a discrete choice experiment among the US public (N = 2,895) between March 15 to March 22, 2021. We applied sampling weights, evaluated mean preferences using mixed logit models, and identified latent class preference subgroups. On average, the public prioritized ease, preferring single to two dose vaccinations (mean preference: -0.29; 95%CI: -0.37 to -0.20), vaccinating once rather than annually (mean preference: -0.79; 95%CI: -0.89 to -0.70) and reducing waiting times at vaccination sites. Vaccine enforcement reduced overall vaccine acceptance (mean preference -0.20; 95%CI: -0.30 to -0.10), with a trend of increasing resistance to enforcement with increasing vaccine hesitancy. Latent class analysis identified four distinct preference phenotypes: the first prioritized inherent “vaccine features” (46.1%), the second were concerned about vaccine “service delivery” (8.8%), a third group desired “social proof” of vaccine safety and were susceptible to enforcement (13.2%), and the fourth group were “indifferent” to vaccine and service delivery features and resisted enforcement (31.9%). Conclusions This study identifies several critical insights for the COVID-19 public health response. First, identifying preference segments is essential to ensure that vaccination services meet the needs of diverse population subgroups. Second, making vaccination easy and promoting autonomy by simplifying services and offering the public choices (where feasible) may increase uptake in those who remain deliberative. And, third vaccine mandates have the potential to increase vaccination rates in susceptible groups but may simultaneously promote control aversion and resistance in those who are most hesitant.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
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  • 68
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Introduction The single-leg heel raise test (SLHR) is commonly used in clinical settings to approximate plantar flexor strength, yet this is neither validated nor supported physiologically. The purposes of this study were to: determine (1) associations between SLHR repetitions, maximal plantar flexor strength, and reductions in strength; and (2) whether sex differences exist in performance of the SLHR. Methods Twenty-eight young, healthy participants (14 males,14 females, 19–30 years) performed repeated single-leg heel raises to task failure. Pre- and post-task measures included maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVIC), and voluntary activation and contractile properties of the plantar flexor muscles, assessed using peripheral electrical stimulation of the tibial nerve. Surface electromyography was recorded for the medial and lateral gastrocnemius, soleus, and anterior tibialis muscles. Results The SLHR resulted in 20.5% reductions in MVIC torque (p
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  • 69
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Stream temperature science and management is rapidly shifting from single-metric driven approaches to multi-metric, thermal regime characterizations of streamscapes. Given considerable investments in recovery of cold-water fisheries (e.g., Pacific salmon and other declining native species), understanding where cold water is likely to persist, and how cold-water thermal regimes vary, is critical for conservation. California’s unique position at the southern end of cold-water ecosystems in the northern hemisphere, variable geography and hydrology, and extensive flow regulation requires a systematic approach to thermal regime classification. We used publicly available, long-term (〉 8 years) stream temperature data from 77 sites across California to model their thermal regimes, calculate three temperature metrics, and use the metrics to classify each regime with an agglomerative nesting algorithm. Then, we assessed the variation in each class and considered underlying physical or anthropogenic factors that could explain differences between classes. Finally, we considered how different classes might fit existing criteria for cool- or cold-water thermal regimes, and how those differences complicate efforts to manage stream temperature through regulation. Our results demonstrate that cool- and cold-water thermal regimes vary spatially across California. Several salient findings emerge from this study. Groundwater-dominated streams are a ubiquitous, but as yet, poorly explored class of thermal regimes. Further, flow regulation below dams imposes serial discontinuities, including artificial thermal regimes on downstream ecosystems. Finally, and contrary to what is often assumed, California reservoirs do not contain sufficient cold-water storage to replicate desirable, reach-scale thermal regimes. While barriers to cold-water conservation are considerable and the trajectory of cold-water species towards extinction is dire, protecting reaches that demonstrate resilience to climate warming remains worthwhile.
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  • 70
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: This paper investigated the appropriate specifications of Engel curves for non-food expenditure categories and estimated the deprivation indices of non-food needs in rural areas using a semi parametric examination of the presence of saturation points. The study used the extended partial linear model (EPLM) and adopted two estimation methods—the double residual estimator and differencing estimator—to obtain flexible shapes across different expenditure categories and estimate equivalence scales. We drew on data of the Egyptian Household Income, Expenditure, and Consumption Survey (HIEC). Our paper provides empirical evidence that the rankings of most non-food expenditure categories is of rank three at most. Rural households showed high economies of scale in non-food consumption, with child’s needs accounting for only 10% of adult’s non-food needs. Based on semi-parametrically estimated consumption behavior, the tendency of non-food expenditure categories to saturate did not emerge. While based on parametrically estimated consumption behavior, rural areas exhibited higher deprivation indices in terms of health and education expenditure categories, which indicates the need to design specific programs economically targeting such vulnerable households.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
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  • 71
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Menzerath’s law is a quantitative linguistic law which states that, on average, the longer is a linguistic construct, the shorter are its constituents. In contrast, Menzerath-Altmann’s law (MAL) is a precise mathematical power-law-exponential formula which expresses the expected length of the linguistic construct conditioned on the number of its constituents. In this paper, we investigate the anatomy of MAL for constructs being word tokens and constituents being syllables, measuring its length in graphemes. First, we derive the exact form of MAL for texts generated by the memoryless source with three emitted symbols, which can be interpreted as a monkey typing model or a null model. We show that this null model complies with Menzerath’s law, revealing that Menzerath’s law itself can hardly be a criterion of complexity in communication. This observation does not apply to the more precise Menzerath-Altmann’s law, which predicts an inverted regime for sufficiently range constructs, i.e., the longer is a word, the longer are its syllables. To support this claim, we analyze MAL on data from 21 languages, consisting of texts from the Standardized Project Gutenberg. We show the presence of the inverted regime, not exhibited by the null model, and we demonstrate robustness of our results. We also report the complicated distribution of syllable sizes with respect to their position in the word, which might be related with the emerging MAL. Altogether, our results indicate that Menzerath’s law—in terms of correlations—is a spurious observation, while complex patterns and efficiency dynamics should be rather attributed to specific forms of Menzerath-Altmann’s law.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
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  • 72
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Temperate grassland soils store significant amounts of carbon (C). Estimating how much livestock grazing and manuring can influence grassland soil organic carbon (SOC) is key to improve greenhouse gas grassland budgets. The Rothamsted Carbon (RothC) model, although originally developed and parameterized to model the turnover of organic C in arable topsoil, has been widely used, with varied success, to estimate SOC changes in grassland under different climates, soils, and management conditions. In this paper, we hypothesise that RothC-based SOC predictions in managed grasslands under temperate moist climatic conditions can be improved by incorporating small modifications to the model based on existing field data from diverse experimental locations in Europe. For this, we described and evaluated changes at the level of: (1) the soil water function of RothC, (2) entry pools accounting for the degradability of the exogenous organic matter (EOM) applied (e.g., ruminant excreta), (3) the month-on-month change in the quality of C inputs coming from plant residues (i.e above-, below-ground plant residue and rhizodeposits), and (4) the livestock trampling effect (i.e., poaching damage) as a common problem in areas with higher annual precipitation. In order to evaluate the potential utility of these changes, we performed a simple sensitivity analysis and tested the model predictions against averaged data from four grassland experiments in Europe. Our evaluation showed that the default model’s performance was 78% and whereas some of the modifications seemed to improve RothC SOC predictions (model performance of 95% and 86% for soil water function and plant residues, respectively), others did not lead to any/or almost any improvement (model performance of 80 and 46% for the change in the C input quality and livestock trampling, respectively). We concluded that, whereas adding more complexity to the RothC model by adding the livestock trampling would actually not improve the model, adding the modified soil water function and plant residue components, and at a lesser extent residues quality, could improve predictability of the RothC in managed grasslands under temperate moist climatic conditions.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
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  • 73
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: The success of unmanned car, an emerging tool of transportation with so many advantages, depends to a large extent on its user acceptability. Potential designers are both the decision makers of driverless car design and the users of driverless cars. This study aims to explore the influencing factors of the potential designers’ intention to use unmanned cars. Based on the theory of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this study further expanded the TAM by incorporating perceived trust, perceived enjoyment and self-efficacy, so as to explain and predict potential designers’ intention to use unmanned cars. The questionnaire is determined through theoretical literature, pre-tests, etc., and the Structural Equation Model is used to analyze the data of 202 valid survey samples to investigate the influencing factors of the willingness to use unmanned vehicles. The results show that potential designers’ intention to use unmanned cars is positively affected by perceived trust, perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, and perceived trust has a positive effect on perceived ease of use, self-efficacy and perceived ease of use also have a positive effect on perceived usefulness. The findings of this study can provide designers and developers of unmanned cars, policy makers and implementers with guidance in the follow-up design, policy formulation and advertising of unmanned cars.
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  • 74
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Global value chains are formed through value-added trade, and some regions promote economic integration by concluding regional trade agreements to promote these chains. However, it has not been established to quantitatively assess the scope and extent of economic integration involving various sectors in multiple countries. In this study, we used the World Input–Output Database to create a cross-border sector-wise network of trade in value-added (international value-added network) covering the period of 2000–2014 and evaluated them using network science methods. By applying Infomap to the international value-added network, we confirmed two regional communities: Europe and the Pacific Rim. We applied Helmholtz–Hodge decomposition to the value-added flows within the region into potential and circular flows, and clarified the annual evolution of the potential and circular relationships between countries and sectors. The circular flow component of the decomposition was used to define an economic integration index. Findings confirmed that the degree of economic integration in Europe declined sharply after the economic crisis in 2009 to a level lower than that in the Pacific Rim. The European economic integration index recovered in 2011 but again fell below that of the Pacific Rim in 2013. Moreover, sectoral economic integration indices suggest what Europe depends on Russia in natural resources makes the European economic integration index unstable. On the other hand, the indices of the Pacific Rim suggest the steady economic integration index of the Pacific Rim captures the stable global value chains from natural resources to construction and manufactures of motor vehicles and high-tech products.
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  • 75
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Background COPD and asthma exacerbations result in many emergency department admissions. Not all treatments are successful, often leading to hospital readmissions. Aims We sought to develop predictive models for exacerbation treatment outcome in a cohort of exacerbating asthma and COPD patients presenting to the emergency department. Methods Treatment failure was defined as the need for additional systemic corticosteroids (SCS) and/or antibiotics, hospital readmissison or death within 30 days of initial emergency department visit. We performed univariate analysis comparing characteristics of patients either given or not given SCS at exacerbation and of patients who succeeded versus failed treatment. Patient demographics, medications and exacerbation symptoms, physiology and biology were available. We developed multivariate random forest models to identify predictors of SCS prescription and for predicting treatment failure. Results Data were available for 81 patients, 43 (53%) of whom failed treatment. 64 (79%) of patients were given SCS. A random forest model using presence of wheeze at exacerbation and blood eosinophil percentage predicted SCS prescription with area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) 0.69. An 11 variable random forest model (which included medication, previous exacerbations, symptoms and quality of life scores) could predict treatment failure with AUC 0.81. A random forest model using just the two best predictors of treatment failure, namely, visual analogue scale for breathlessness and sputum purulence, predicted treatment failure with AUC 0.68. Conclusion Prediction of exacerbation treatment outcome can be achieved via supervised machine learning combining different predictors at exacerbation. Validation of our predictive models in separate, larger patient cohorts is required.
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  • 76
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Introduction The concept of death is abstract, complex and has a number of meanings. Thus, its understanding and the approach taken to it depend, to a large extent, on aspects such as age, culture, training and religion. Nursing students have regular contact with the process of death and so it is of great interest to understand the attitudes they have towards it. As we live in a plural society it is even more interesting to not only understand the attitudes of Spanish students but, also, those of students coming from other countries. In the present article, we seek to identify and compare the attitudes held by nursing degree students at Hekima-Santé University (Senegal) and the University of Huelva (Spain) about end of life processes. The study identifies elements that condition attitudes and coping with death, whilst considering curricular differences with regards to specific end of life training. Method A descriptive, cross-sectional and multi-center study was conducted. The overall sample (N = 142) was divided into groups: Hekima-Santé University (Dakar, Senegal) and the University of Huelva (Huelva, Spain). The measurement instruments used were an ad-hoc questionnaire and Bugen´s Coping with Death Scale. Results Statistically significant differences (p = 0.005, 95%CI) were found in relation to overall Bugen Scale scores. We can confirm that specialized end of life training (University of Huelva, Spain) did not lead to better coping when compared with a population whose academic curriculum did not provide specific training and who engaged in more religious practices (Hekima-Santé University, Senegal). Conclusions In cultures where religion not only influences the spiritual dimension of the individual, but acts in the ethical and moral system and consequently in the economic, educational and family sphere, the accompaniment at the end of life transcends the formative plane. Considering the plural society in which we live, the training that integrates the Degree in Nursing with regard to the care of the final process, must be multidimensional in which spirituality and faith are integrated, working emotional and attentional skills, as well as cultural competence strategies in this process.
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  • 77
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Introduction Absenteeism of frontline health workers in public sector facilities is widespread in low-income countries. There is little quantitative evidence on how health worker absenteeism influences patient treatment seeking behavior, though low public sector utilization and heavy reliance on the informal sector are well documented in low-income settings. Methods Using a unique panel dataset covering health facilities and households over a 10-month period in Uganda, we investigate the extent to which health worker absenteeism (defined as zero health workers present at a health facility) impacts patient care seeking behavior, testing, and treatment. Results We find high rates of health worker absenteeism at public sector health facilities, with most of the absenteeism occurring at lower level public health clinics. On average, no health worker was present in 42% of all days monitored in lowest level public health clinics, whereas this number was less than 5% in high level public hospitals and private facilities. In our preferred empirical model with household fixed effects, we find that health worker absenteeism reduces the odds that a patient seeks care in the public sector (OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.44–0.95) and receives malaria testing (OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.53–0.99) and increases the odds of paying out-of-pocket for treatment (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.10–1.80). The estimated differences in care-seeking are larger for children under-five than for the overall study population. Conclusions The impact of health worker absenteeism on the quality of care received as well as the financial burden faced by households in sub-Saharan Africa is substantial.
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  • 78
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Malaria is still a global health problem. Plasmodium is a single-cell protozoan parasite that causes malaria and is transmitted to humans through the female Anopheles mosquito. The previous study showed that Sonchus arvensis L. callus has antiplasmodial activity. Several treatments are needed for callus quality improvement for antimalarial compound production. This study aimed to examine the effect of dolomite [CaMg(CO3)2] on growth (morpho-anatomical structure and biomass), secondary metabolite production, and in vitro antiplasmodial activity of S. arvensis L. callus. In this study, leaf explants were grown in Murashige and Skoog medium with a combination of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D, one mg/L) and 6-benzyl amino purine (BAP, 0.5 mg/L) with dolomite (50, 75, 100, 150, and 200 mg/L). The 21 days callus ethanolic and methanolic extract were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and thin-layer chromatography (TLC). The antiplasmodial test was performed on a blood culture infected with Plasmodium falciparum strain 3D7 using the Rieckmann method. The results showed that dolomite significantly affected callus growth, metabolite profile, and in vitro antiplasmodial activity. Dolomite (150 mg/L) showed the highest biomass (0.590 ± 0.136 g fresh weight and 0.074 ± 0.008 g dry weight). GC-MS analysis detected four compounds from callus ethanolic extract. Pelargonic acid, decanoic acid, and hexadecanoic acid were major compounds. One new terpenoid compound is based on TLC analysis. S. arvensis L. callus has antiplasmodial activity with the IC50 value of 5.037 μg/mL. It was three times lower than leaf methanolic extract and five times lower than leaf ethanolic extract.
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  • 79
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) systems and their control have gained attraction recently as they approximate nonlinear systems with higher order than ordinary linear systems. On the other hand, time delay is an inherent part of various real-life applications. A supervisory control structure is proposed in this paper for LPV systems subject to time delays. In the proposed control structure, a supervisor selects the most suitable controller from a bank of controllers; which desires to enhance the performance of closed-loop system in contrast with using a single robust controller. The analysis is based on the celebrated Smith predictor for time delay compensation and we provide a sufficient condition to assure the stability of the closed-loop switched system in terms of dwell time. Simulations on blood pressure control of hypertension patients in postoperative scenario are used to exemplify the effectiveness of the utilized technique. The operating region of the system is partitioned into five smaller operating regions to construct corresponding robust controllers and perform hysteresis switching amongst them. Simulation results witnessed that the proposed control scheme demonstrated a pressure undershoot less than the desired value of 10 mmHg while the Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) remains within ±5 mmHg of the desired value.
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  • 80
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Background Assessing fitness to drive and predicting driving cessation remains a challenge for primary care physicians using standard screening procedures. The objective of this study was to prospectively evaluate the properties of neuropsychological screening tests, including the Trail Making Test (TMT), Clock Drawing Test (CDT), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Useful Field of View (UFOV), and Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, in predicting driving cessation for health reasons in drivers older than 70 years of age. Design and methods This prospective cohort study, with a median follow-up of 4 years for drivers of 70 years old or older with an active driving license in Switzerland, included 441 participants from a driving refresher course dedicated to volunteer senior drivers. Cases were drivers reported in the national driving registry who lost their license following a health-related accident, who were reported as unfit to drive by their physician or voluntarily ceased driving for health reasons. Survival analysis was used to measure the hazard ratio of driving cessation by adjusting for age and sex and to evaluate the predictive value of combining 3 or more positive tests in predicting driving cessation during a 4-year follow-up. Results A total of 1738 person-years were followed-up in the cohort, with 19 (4.3%) having ceased driving for health reasons. We found that participants with a TMT-A 〈 54 sec and TMT-B 〈 150 sec at baseline had a significantly lower cumulative hazard of driving cessation in 4 years than those with slower performance (adjusted HR 3, 95% CI: 1.16–7.78, p = 0.023). Participants who performed a CDT ≥ 5 had a significantly lower cumulative hazard of driving cessation (adjusted HR 2.89, 95% CI: 1.01–7.71, p = 0.033). Similarly, an MoCA score ≥ 26, TUG test
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
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  • 81
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Host genetic background is a significant driver of the variability in neurological responses to viral infection. Here, we leverage the genetically diverse Collaborative Cross (CC) mouse resource to better understand how chronic infection by Theiler’s Murine Encephalomyelitis Virus (TMEV) elicits diverse clinical and morphologic changes in the central nervous system (CNS). We characterized the TMEV-induced clinical phenotype responses, and associated lesion distributions in the CNS, in six CC mouse strains over a 90 day infection period. We observed varying degrees of motor impairment in these strains, as measured by delayed righting reflex, paresis, paralysis, seizures, limb clasping, ruffling, and encephalitis phenotypes. All strains developed neuroparenchymal necrosis and mineralization in the brain, primarily localized to the hippocampal regions. Two of the six strains presented with axonal degeneration with myelin loss of the nerve roots in the lumbar spinal cord. Moreover, we statistically correlated lesion distribution with overall frequencies of clinical phenotypes and phenotype progression to better understand how and where TMEV targets the CNS, based on genetic background. Specifically, we assessed lesion distribution in relation to the clinical progression of these phenotypes from early to late TMEV disease, finding significant relationships between progression and lesion distribution. Finally, we identified quantitative trait loci associated with frequency of lesions in a particular brain region, revealing several loci of interest for future study: lysosomal trafficking regulator (Lyst) and nidogen 1 (Nid1). Together, these results indicate that the genetic background influences the type and severity of clinical phenotypes, phenotypic resilience to TMEV, and the lesion distribution across strains.
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  • 82
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: In the field of Differential Evolution (DE), a number of measures have been used to enhance algorithm. However, most of the measures need revision for fitting ensemble of different combinations of DE operators—ensemble DE algorithm. Meanwhile, although ensemble DE algorithm may show better performance than each of its constituent algorithms, there still exists the possibility of further improvement on performance with the help of revised measures. In this paper, we manage to implement measures into Ensemble of Differential Evolution Variants (EDEV). Firstly, we extend the collecting range of optional external archive of JADE—one of the constituent algorithm in EDEV. Then, we revise and implement the Event-Triggered Impulsive (ETI) control. Finally, Linear Population Size Reduction (LPSR) is used by us. Then, we obtain Improved Ensemble of Differential Evolution Variants (IEDEV). In our experiments, good performers in the CEC competitions on real parameter single objective optimization among population-based metaheuristics, state-of-the-art DE algorithms, or up-to-date DE algorithms are involved. Experiments show that our IEDEV is very competitive.
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  • 83
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Against the background of the speed-accuracy trade-off, we explored whether the Pace of Life can be used to identify heterogeneity in the strategy to place more weight on either fast or accurate accomplishments. The Pace of Life approaches an individual’s exposure to time and is an intensively studied concept in the evolutionary biology research. Albeit overall rarely, it is increasingly used to understand human behavior and may fulfill many criteria of a personal trait. In a controlled laboratory environment, we measured the participants’ Pace of Life, as well as their performance on a real-effort task. In the real-effort task, the participants had to encode words, whereby each word encoded correctly was associated with a monetary reward. We found that individuals with a faster Pace of Life accomplished more tasks in total. At the same time, they were less accurate and made more mistakes (in absolute terms) than those with a slower Pace of Life. Thus, the Pace of Life seems to be useful to identify an individual’s stance on the speed-accuracy continuum. In our specific task, placing more weight on speed instead of accuracy paid off: Individuals with a faster Pace of Life were ultimately more successful (with regard to their monetary revenue).
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  • 84
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Predatory mites in the family Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) are of great importance as biological control agents of pest mites and other arthropods. Correct identification of species is crucial to implement effective biological control of target pests. Here, we provide re-descriptions of seven phytoseiid mite species collected from citrus orchards in Florida. The several important morphological features including dorsal setae lengths, dorsal solenostomes, shape of calyx of spermatheca, chelicera dentition, measurements, and shape of macrosetae on legs currently used to discriminate phytoseiid species were missing in the original descriptions and re-descriptions of these species. Additionally, we observed the presence of a previously unnoted taxonomically important character on Proprioseius meridionalis Chant. Therefore, the re-description was essential for further diagnosis of this species. Accordingly, the validity of the presence/absence of this structure as a diagnostic character to separate species groups in the genus Proprioseius should be re-considered. Furthermore, Typhlodromalus peregrinus, a species for which a series of morphological variations are reported in previous descriptions, is re-described and illustrated from Clermont, Florida, a location very close (10 km) to its type location (Minneola), and the leaves of type host citrus. The macrosetae StIV was knobbed apically in all our specimens of T. peregrinus indicating invalidity of sharp-pointed or knobbed StIV to separate this species from a closely related species, T. aripo De Leon. These re-descriptions and species are important to utilizing authentic and promising candidates for biological control.
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  • 85
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: How are eyes and head adapted to meet the demands of visual exploration in different tasks and environments? In two studies, we measured the horizontal movements of the eyes (using mobile eye tracking in Studies 1 and 2) and the head (using inertial sensors in Study 2) while participants completed a walking task and a search and retrieval task in a large, outdoor environment. We found that the spread of visual exploration was greater while searching compared with walking, and this was primarily driven by increased movement of the head as opposed to the eyes. The contributions of the head to gaze shifts of different eccentricities was greater when searching compared to when walking. Findings are discussed with respect to understanding visual exploration as a motor action with multiple degrees of freedom.
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  • 86
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Background We hypothesized that a decrease in frequency of controlled breaths during biphasic positive airway pressure (BIVENT), associated with an increase in spontaneous breaths, whether pressure support (PSV)-assisted or not, would mitigate lung and diaphragm damage in mild experimental acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Materials and methods Wistar rats received Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide intratracheally. After 24 hours, animals were randomly assigned to: 1) BIVENT-100+PSV0%: airway pressure (Phigh) adjusted to VT = 6 mL/kg and frequency of controlled breaths (f) = 100 bpm; 2) BIVENT-50+PSV0%: Phigh adjusted to VT = 6 mL/kg and f = 50 bpm; 3) BIVENT-50+PSV50% (PSV set to half the Phigh reference value, i.e., PSV50%); or 4) BIVENT-50+PSV100% (PSV equal to Phigh reference value, i.e., PSV100%). Positive end-expiratory pressure (Plow) was equal to 5 cmH2O. Nonventilated animals were used for lung and diaphragm histology and molecular biology analysis. Results BIVENT-50+PSV0%, compared to BIVENT-100+PSV0%, reduced the diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) score, the expression of amphiregulin (marker of alveolar stretch) and muscle atrophy F-box (marker of diaphragm atrophy). In BIVENT-50 groups, the increase in PSV (BIVENT-50+PSV50% versus BIVENT-50+PSV100%) yielded better lung mechanics and less alveolar collapse, interstitial edema, cumulative DAD score, as well as gene expressions associated with lung inflammation, epithelial and endothelial cell damage in lung tissue, and muscle ring finger protein 1 (marker of muscle proteolysis) in diaphragm. Transpulmonary peak pressure (Ppeak,L) and pressure–time product per minute (PTPmin) at Phigh were associated with lung damage, while increased spontaneous breathing at Plow did not promote lung injury. Conclusion In the ARDS model used herein, during BIVENT, the level of PSV and the phase of the respiratory cycle in which the inspiratory effort occurs affected lung and diaphragm damage. Partitioning of inspiratory effort and transpulmonary pressure in spontaneous breaths at Plow and Phigh is required to minimize VILI.
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  • 87
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Small RNAs (sRNAs) encompass a great variety of molecules of different kinds, such as microRNAs, small interfering RNAs, Piwi-associated RNA, among others. These sRNAs have a wide range of activities, which include gene regulation, protection against virus, transposable element silencing, and have been identified as a key actor in determining the development of the cell. Small RNA sequencing is thus routinely used to assess the expression of the diversity of sRNAs, usually in the context of differentially expression, where two conditions are compared. Tools that detect differentially expressed microRNAs are numerous, because microRNAs are well documented, and the associated genes are well defined. However, tools are lacking to detect other types of sRNAs, which are less studied, and whose precursor RNA is not well characterized. We present here a new method, called srnadiff, which finds all kinds of differentially expressed sRNAs. To the extent of our knowledge, srnadiff is the first tool that detects differentially expressed sRNAs without the use of external information, such as genomic annotation or additional sequences of sRNAs.
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  • 88
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: In order to eliminate COVID-19, many countries provided vaccinations. However, success depends on peoples’ knowledge levels and rates of acceptance. But, previous research on this topic is currently lacking in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study aimed at to investigate Bangladeshi peoples’ knowledge, acceptance, and perception of challenges regarding COVID-19 vaccines. Quantitative data were collected using an online survey (n = 1975) and face-to-face interviews (n = 2200) with a pre-tested structured questionnaire. In addition, seven open-ended interviews were conducted with health experts regarding challenges of vaccination. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the association between explanatory and dependent variables. Effect size was estimated to understand the magnitude of relationship between two variables. Of 4175 respondents, 92.6% knew about COVID-19 vaccines, while only 37.4% believed vaccines to be effective in controlling COVID-19. Nearly 46% of respondents believed that COVID-19 vaccines have side-effects, and 16.4% of respondents believed that side-effects could be life-threatening. Only 60.5% of respondents indicated that they would receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Out of 1650 respondents (39.5%) who did not intend to receive the vaccine, 948 (57.4%) believed that they would be naturally protected. Regressions results indicated that men had higher rates of knowledge regarding the vaccine. In addition, rural respondents demonstrated lower knowledge regarding the vaccine. Furthermore, education had a significant association with knowledge of COVID-19 vaccines. Respondents with university education had more knowledge regarding the vaccine (Odds ratio, OR = 29.99; 95% confidence interval, CI 11.40–78.90, effect size 1.88; p = 0.01) and correct dosage (OR 27.34; 95% CI 15.25–49.00, effect size 1.83; p = 0.01). However, women (OR 1.16; 95% CI 0.96–1.40, effect size 0.08) and rural (OR 1.24; 95% CI 1.07–1.44, effect size 0.12; p = 0.01) respondents were more enthusiastic regarding receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Higher educated respondents showed higher probability of receiving the vaccine. Those who believed in the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine were 11.57 times more interested (OR 11.57; 95% CI 8.92–15.01, effect size 1.35; p = 0.01) in receiving the vaccine. Open-ended interviews identified several challenges toward successful COVID-19 vaccination. Mass awareness creation, uninterrupted supply, equitable distribution, and sectoral coordination were suggested to achieve at least 70% immunization across the country.
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  • 89
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Introduction Burnout syndrome is common among medical students, but findings about the gender differences in burnout are not consistent. The aim of this study was to assess high risk of burnout syndrome among medical students at one University in Serbia, by gender. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac in 2014. The Maslach Burnout Inventory—Student Survey was used for assessment of burnout level. A questionnaire on basic socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, marital status, habits, etc.) and academic performance (year of study, cumulative total average grade, length of study, housing, study financing, etc.) was used. The study included a total of 760 medical students (760/836 medical students; participation rate: 90.9%). Logistic regression analysis was used to determine odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results Significant gender differences were detected in prevalence of high risk of burnout syndrome (male students– 19.0% vs. female students– 12.8%, p = 0.024). A significant independent predictor of high risk for burnout syndrome in male medical students was study year (p for trend = 0.011), while in female medical students–study year (p for trend = 0.002) and use of sedatives (adjusted OR = 5.74, 95% CI = 1.96–16.77, p = 0.001). Conclusion Our results indicate the need to assess the risk of burnout syndrome at the very beginning of medical studies, in order to more effectively control the modifiable risk factors.
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  • 90
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Background Comorbidities are associated with increased mortality among patients receiving long-term kidney replacement therapy (KRT). However, it is not known whether primary kidney disease modifies the effect of comorbidities on KRT patients’ survival. Methods An incident cohort of all patients (n = 8696) entering chronic KRT in Finland in 2000–2017 was followed until death or end of 2017. All data were obtained from the Finnish Registry for Kidney Diseases. Information on comorbidities (coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, left ventricular hypertrophy, heart failure, cerebrovascular disease, malignancy, obesity, underweight, and hypertension) was collected at the start of KRT. The main outcome measure was relative risk of death according to comorbidities analyzed in six groups of primary kidney disease: type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes, glomerulonephritis (GN), polycystic kidney disease (PKD), nephrosclerosis, and other or unknown diagnoses. Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox regression were used for survival analyses. Results In the multivariable model, heart failure increased the risk of death threefold among PKD and GN patients, whereas in patients with other kidney diagnoses the increased risk was less than twofold. Obesity was associated with worse survival only among GN patients. Presence of three or more comorbidities increased the age- and sex-adjusted relative risk of death 4.5-fold in GN and PKD patients, but the increase was only 2.5-fold in patients in other diagnosis groups. Conclusions Primary kidney disease should be considered when assessing the effect of comorbidities on survival of KRT patients as it varies significantly according to type of primary kidney disease.
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  • 91
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: New-generation migrant workers in Chinese cities are struggling with a lack of urban resources, such as capital, skills, and relationships. To cope with the pressure of these resource constraints, new-generation migrant workers obtain urban development opportunities through resource bricolage. Based on a questionnaire survey of 365 new-generation migrant workers, we used a multiple regression analysis to study the mechanism underlying the effects of resource bricolage on the city integration of new-generation migrant workers. There were four findings: (1) resource bricolage had a significant positive effect on career growth and city integration; (2) career growth had a mediation effect on the relationship between resource bricolage and city integration; (3) environmental dynamism had a positive moderating effect on the relationship between resource bricolage and city integration for new-generation migrant workers; and (4) resource bricolage and environmental dynamism had a moderating effect on city integration through the mediation effect of career growth. The results suggest that resource bricolage promotes the career growth of new-generation migrant workers and further promotes their city integration, and that the environmental dynamism faced by workers is the external condition for promoting integration through resource bricolage. The study emphasizes the importance of resource bricolage in new-generation migrant workers’ city integration.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
    Topics: Medicine , Natural Sciences in General
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  • 92
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Vessel-based sonar systems that focus on the water column provide valuable information on the distribution of underwater marine organisms, but such data are expensive to collect and limited in their spatiotemporal coverage. Satellite data, however, are widely available across large regions and provide information on surface ocean conditions. If satellite data can be linked to subsurface sonar measurements, it may be possible to predict marine life over broader spatial regions with higher frequency using satellite observations. Here, we use random forest models to evaluate the potential for predicting a sonar-derived proxy for subsurface biomass as a function of satellite imagery in the California Current Ecosystem. We find that satellite data may be useful for prediction under some circumstances, but across a range of sonar frequencies and depths, overall model performance was low. Performance in spatial interpolation tasks exceeded performance in spatial and temporal extrapolation, suggesting that this approach is not yet reliable for forecasting or spatial extrapolation. We conclude with some potential limitations and extensions of this work.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
    Topics: Medicine , Natural Sciences in General
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  • 93
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: The area of tropical secondary forests is increasing rapidly, but data on the physical and biological structure of the canopies of these forests are limited. To obtain such data and to measure the ontogeny of canopy structure during tropical rainforest succession, we studied patch-scale (5 m2) canopy structure in three areas of 18–36 year-old secondary forest in Costa Rica, and compared the results to data from old-growth forest at the same site. All stands were sampled with a stratified random design with complete harvest from ground level to the top of the canopy from a modular portable tower. All canopies were organized into distinct high- and low-leaf-density layers (strata), and multiple strata developed quickly with increasing patch height. The relation of total Leaf Area Index (LAI, leaf area per area of ground) to patch canopy height, the existence of distinct high and low leaf- density layers (strata and free air spaces), the depth and LAI of the canopy strata and free air spaces, and the relation of the number of strata to patch canopy height were remarkably constant across the entire successional gradient. Trees were the most important contributor to LAI at all stages, while contribution of palm LAI increased through succession. We hypothesize that canopy physical structure at the patch scale is driven by light competition and discuss how this hypothesis could be tested. That canopy physical structure was relatively independent of the identity of the species present suggests that canopy physical structure may be conserved even as canopy floristics shift due to changing climate.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
    Topics: Medicine , Natural Sciences in General
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  • 94
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Print ISSN: 1553-734X
    Electronic ISSN: 1553-7358
    Topics: Biology , Computer Science
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  • 95
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Visual perception in football (“soccer” in the U.S.) is increasingly becoming a key area of interest for researchers and practitioners. This exploratory case study investigated a sub-set of visual perception, namely visual exploratory scanning. The aim of this study was to examine the scanning of four elite football midfield players in an 11 vs. 11 real-game environment using mobile eye-tracking technology. More specifically, we measured the duration and information (number of teammates and opponents) of the players’ scanning behavior. The results showed that the players’ scanning duration was influenced by the ball context and the action undertaken with the ball at the moment of scan initiation. Furthermore, fixations were found in only 2.3% of the scans. Additionally, the results revealed that the stop point is the most information-rich part of a scan and that the players had more opponents than teammates inside their video frame during scans. Practical applications and further research recommendations are presented.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
    Topics: Medicine , Natural Sciences in General
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  • 96
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Digital mobility assessment using wearable sensor systems has the potential to capture walking performance in a patient’s natural environment. It enables monitoring of health status and disease progression and evaluation of interventions in real-world situations. In contrast to laboratory settings, real-world walking occurs in non-conventional environments and under unconstrained and uncontrolled conditions. Despite the general understanding, there is a lack of agreed definitions about what constitutes real-world walking, impeding the comparison and interpretation of the acquired data across systems and studies. The goal of this study was to obtain expert-based consensus on specific aspects of real-world walking and to provide respective definitions in a common terminological framework. An adapted Delphi method was used to obtain agreed definitions related to real-world walking. In an online survey, 162 participants from a panel of academic, clinical and industrial experts with experience in the field of gait analysis were asked for agreement on previously specified definitions. Descriptive statistics was used to evaluate whether consent (〉 75% agreement as defined a priori) was reached. Of 162 experts invited to participate, 51 completed all rounds (31.5% response rate). We obtained consensus on all definitions (“Walking” 〉 90%, “Purposeful” 〉 75%, “Real-world” 〉 90%, “Walking bout” 〉 80%, “Walking speed” 〉 75%, “Turning” 〉 90% agreement) after two rounds. The identification of a consented set of real-world walking definitions has important implications for the development of assessment and analysis protocols, as well as for the reporting and comparison of digital mobility outcomes across studies and systems. The definitions will serve as a common framework for implementing digital and mobile technologies for gait assessment and are an important link for the transition from supervised to unsupervised gait assessment.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
    Topics: Medicine , Natural Sciences in General
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  • 97
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Introduction Hypertension (HT) is a major non-communicable disease worldwide and a growing global public health problem. Although several studies have investigated the independent associations of neck circumference (NC) and hypertension, no such studies have been conducted among the Thai population. Aim This study aims to identify risk factors associated with hypertension, which may be used to predict HT among asymptomatic adults residing in a remote rural community in central Thailand. Method 1,084 adults were included in this community-based cross-sectional study by a population-based total survey. The participants were included those who had been living in 6 villages in the rural community in the central area of Thailand. Anthropometric information, NC, body composition indexes such as waist circumference and blood pressure were measured. Logistic regression models were fitted to calculate the multi-variable adjusted prevalence and the association of NC with HT. Result The prevalence of HT among adults in the rural community was 27.7% (95% CI: 25.0–30.3). Of the 300 adults with HT, 164 participants (54.7%) were found within the unawareness HT category. We found that associated factors with HT were included larger neck circumference both continuous and categorical (≥ 37.5 in male, ≥ 32.5 in female), pre-existing diabetes mellitus, male, and higher body mass index. Conclusion Almost one-third of participants in the remote rural areas presented hypertension. NC was associated with HT independent from other risk factors. NC is a simple and useful anthropometric index to identify HT in rural Thai adults.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
    Topics: Medicine , Natural Sciences in General
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  • 98
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: This is a protocol of a review paper, and there is no abstract. This review is part of a doctoral project that aims to develop a discrete event simulation model to predict how many adolescents may become hypertensive in adulthood. We will use data from the Brazilian study of cardiovascular risks in adolescents, called ERICA (Portuguese acronym). This study may help promote adherence to disease prevention protocols.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
    Topics: Medicine , Natural Sciences in General
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  • 99
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infects one-quarter of the world’s population. Mtb and HIV coinfections enhance the comorbidity of tuberculosis (TB) and AIDS, accounting for one-third of all AIDS-associated mortalities. Humoral antibody to Mtb correlates with TB susceptibility, and engineering of Mtb antibodies may lead to new diagnostics and therapeutics. The characterization and validation of functional immunoglobulin (Ig) variable chain (IgV) sequences provide a necessary first step towards developing therapeutic antibodies against pathogens. The virulence-associated Mtb antigens SodA (Superoxide Dismutase), KatG (Catalase), PhoS1/PstS1 (regulatory factor), and GroES (heat shock protein) are potential therapeutic targets but lacked IgV sequence characterization. Putative IgV sequences were identified from the mRNA of hybridomas targeting these antigens and isotype-switched into a common immunoglobulin fragment crystallizable region (Fc region) backbone, subclass IgG2aκ. Antibodies were validated by demonstrating recombinant Ig assembly and secretion, followed by the determination of antigen-binding specificity using ELISA and immunoblot assay.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
    Topics: Medicine , Natural Sciences in General
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  • 100
    Publication Date: 2021-08-20
    Description: Evidence suggests that non-binary people have poorer mental and physical health outcomes, compared with people who identify within the gender binomial (man/woman). Research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health has been conducted worldwide in the last few months. It has however overlooked gender diversity. The aim of our study was to explore social and health-related factors associated with mental health (anxiety and depression) among people who do not identify with the man/woman binomial during COVID-19 lockdown in Spain. A cross-sectional study with online survey, aimed at the population residing in Spain during lockdown, was conducted. Data were collected between the 8th of April until the 28th of May 2020, the time period when lockdown was implemented in Spain. Mental health was measured using the Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale for anxiety, and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depression. The survey included the question: Which sex do you identify with? The options “Man”, “Woman”, “Non-binary” and “I do not identify” were given. People who answered one of the last two options were selected for this study. Multivariate regression logistic models were constructed to evaluate the associations between sociodemographic, social and health-related factors, anxiety and depression. Out of the 7125 people who participated in the survey, 72 (1%) identified as non-binary or to not identify with another category. People who do not identify with the man/woman binomial (non-binary/I do not identify) presented high proportions of anxiety (41.7%) and depression (30.6%). Poorer mental health was associated with social-employment variables (e.g., not working before the pandemic) and health-related variables (e.g., poor or regular self-rated health). These findings suggest that social inequities, already experienced by non-binary communities before the pandemic, may deepen due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
    Topics: Medicine , Natural Sciences in General
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