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Background: Phages are critical components of the gut microbiome, influencing bacterial composition and function as predators, parasites, and modulators of bacterial phenotypes. Prophages, integrated forms of these phages, are prevalent in many bacterial genomes and play a role in bacterial adaptation and evolution. However, the diversity and stability of prophages within gut commensals, particularly in the genera Bacteroides and Phocaeicola, remain underexplored. This study aims to screen and characterize prophages in these genera, providing insights into their diversity, host range, and temporal dynamics in the human gut. Results: Using a combination of three bioinformatic tools—Cenote-Taker 3, Vibrant, and PHASTER—we conducted a comprehensive analysis of prophages in Bacteroides and Phocaeicola. Cenote-Taker 3 identified the most diverse set of prophages, with significant overlaps observed between the tools. After clustering high-quality prophages, we identified 22 unique viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs). Notably, comparisons between prophages identified in isolated bacterial genomes, metaviromes, and large public gut virome databases revealed a broader host range than initially observed in single isolates. Certain prophages were consistent across time points and individuals, suggesting temporal stability. All identified prophages belonged to the Caudoviricetes class and contained genes related to antibiotic resistance, toxin production, and metabolic processes. Conclusions: The combined use of multiple prophage detection tools allowed for a more comprehensive assessment of prophage diversity in Bacteroides and Phocaeicola. The identified prophages were not only prevalent but also exhibited broad host ranges and temporal stability. The presence of antibiotic resistance and toxin genes suggests that these prophages may significantly influence bacterial community structure and function in the gut, with potential implications for human health. These findings highlight the importance of using diverse detection tools to accurately assess prophage diversity and dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces a global land cover clustering using an unsupervised algorithm, incorporating the novel step of filtering data to retain only temporally stable pixels before applying K-means clustering. Unlike previous approaches that did not assess the pixel-level temporal stability, this method provides more reliable clustering results. The K-means identified 160 distinct clusters, with Cluster 13 Global Temporally Stable (Cluster 13-GTS) showing significant improvements in temporal stability. Compared to Cluster 13 Global (Cluster 13-G) from earlier research, Cluster 13-GTS reduced the coefficient of variation by up to 1% and increased the number of calibration locations from 23 to over 50. This study also validated these clusters using TOA reflectance from ground-truth measurements collected at the Radiometric Calibration Network (RadCalNet) Gobabeb (RCN-GONA) site, incorporating data from Landsat 8, Landsat 9, Sentinel-2A, and Sentinel-2B. The GONA Extended Pseudo Invariant Calibration Sites (EPICS) GONA-EPICS cluster used for the validation provided statistically comparable mean TOA reflectance to RCN-GONA, with a reduced chi-square test indicating minimal differences within the cluster's uncertainty range. Notably, the difference in reflectance between RCN-GONA and GONA-EPICS was less than 0.023 units across all the bands. Although GONA-EPICS exhibited slightly higher uncertainty (6.4% to 10.3%) compared to RCN-GONA site (<5%), it offered advantages such as 80 potential calibration points per Landsat cycle and reduced temporal instability, and it provided alternatives to reduce the reliance on single sites like traditional PICS or RCN-GONA, making it a valuable tool for calibration efforts. These findings highlight the potential of the newly developed EPICS for radiometric calibration and stability monitoring of optical satellite sensors. Distributed across diverse regions, these global targets increase the number of calibration points available for any sensor in any orbital cycle, reducing the reliance on traditional PICS and offering more robust targets for radiometric calibration efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High fatality rates in frequent rear-end crashes have underscored significant safety concerns in China. This study aims to explore the mechanisms and determinants of rear-end crashes, with a particular focus on the factors influencing crash severity during weekdays and weekends (W-W). Employing the Random Parameter Logit Model (RPLM) to account for variability in data, we analyzed W-W rear-end crashes on the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway in Jiangsu province from 2017 to 2019, considering three severity levels: no injury, minor injury, and severe injury. Our comprehensive analysis covered variables from temporal, roadway, vehicle, crash, and environmental categories, alongside calculating the marginal effects of each significant variable on crash severity. Findings reveal temporal instability over the three-year period and notable differences in W-W crash severity. Out of all variables, four displayed random parameter characteristics, indicating potential interactions that influence crash outcomes. Specifically, our results indicate that rear-end crashes involving three or more vehicles on bridges are more likely to result in casualties. Interchange segments typically saw no injuries in two-vehicle crashes. Speeding during winter or on sunny days significantly increases the risk of injuries and fatalities. Furthermore, rear-end crashes in interchange areas during winter are particularly prone to causing injuries. These findings offer guidance for the development of effective safety countermeasures targed at different pediods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Assessing the relationships between spatial and temporal structures and functions of plant communities is an effective way to understand the changing dynamics of plant communities in specific environments. In this study, we investigated the response of structural and functional stabilities of plant communities to stocking rate in the desert steppe over a 16-year grazing period as the research background. Methods: We used classical statistical methods to investigate the quantitative characteristics of plant communities over time (2014–2019) and space (2017–2019) at four stocking rates (control, CK, 0 sheep·ha–1·month–1; light grazing, LG, 0.15 sheep·ha–1·month–1; moderate grazing, MG, 0.30 sheep·ha–1·month–1; heavy grazing, HG, 0.45 sheep·ha–1·month–1) in the Stipa breviflora desert steppe of Inner Mongolia. We then examined the relationship between structural and functional stability of plant communities. Results: On the spatial scale, the structural stability of plant community was the highest in the LG treatment and the lowest in the MG treatment. The functional stability of plant community was the highest in the MG treatment and the lowest in the HG treatment. On the temporal scale, the structural stability of plant community was the highest in the MG treatment and the lowest in the LG treatment. The functional stability of plant community was the highest in the LG treatment and the lowest in the HG treatment. Affected by the stocking rate, the structural stability of plant community fluctuated more widely on the spatial scale and its functional stability varied more widely on the temporal scale. Nonetheless, the functional stability of the plant community is more responsive to the stocking rate. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that influenced by the disturbance of stocking rate, the structural stability of plant community is more significant than the functional stability in the desert grassland ecosystem, which lays a solid foundation for the study of ecosystem stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze a multi-period matching market where matching between agents is decided for each time period. To analyze this situation, we embed the situation into the framework of many-to-many matching with contracts where the contract includes the time period at which the matching occurs. While a general stability concept is already defined for the matching with contracts framework, in a multi-period matching model, a stable outcome may not exist when contracts exhibit complementarities across time periods. Thus, we define a weaker stability concept called temporal stability by taking into account the dynamic nature of the model. We provide sufficient conditions for the existence of a temporally stable outcome, including a corresponding substitutability condition, ordered substitutability, for the multi-period matching model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is impacting marine species, leading to shifts in their distribution to higher latitudes and to deeper locations. Parasite communities are dynamic systems influenced by biotic and abiotic factors, making them valuable tools for studying ecological processes of their hosts. This work aims to assess possible changes in parasite structure that occurred in the northern stock of Cynoscion guatucupa in the Argentine Sea, over approximately 25 years, by using parasites as tags in a region characterized as a hotspot of significant warming in recent decades. Parasite assemblages of adult and juvenile fish from two periods caught at two regions of the Argentine Sea were analyzed. Species richness remained relatively constant across samples, although four of the eight compared species from juvenile fish showed significant increases in prevalence, while for adults three species decreased. Differences in parasite assemblages were significant between periods, but not between regions, indicating that the stock structure has apparently remained stable in recent years, even under a warming process that, in turn, seems to have affected its parasite assemblages which however, continue showing homogeneous parasitological attributes throughout the habitats. Most results indicate that changes in parasite burdens are not related to the population density or geographic distribution of C. guatucupa, but to changes in temperature, salinity or in the density of top predators. Parasites seem to have felt the impact of global change before their host, thus, they can be considered early sentinels to monitor the stability and distribution of this important resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the temporal instability and non-transferability of the determinants affecting injury severities of pedestrians struck by motorcycles and non-motorcycles. Using the pedestrian-vehicle crash data in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, over three years (2017–2019), three possible crash injury severity categories (minor injury, severe injury, and fatal injury) are estimated using alternative models to account for unobserved heterogeneity. These are a random-parameters multinomial logit (RP-ML) model with heterogeneity in means and variances and a latent-class multinomial logit (LC-ML) model with class probability functions. Temporal instability and non-transferability in the effects of explanatory variables are confirmed using a series of likelihood ratio tests based on the two alternative models. Various variables are observed to determine pedestrian-injury severities, and the estimation results show significant temporal instability and non-transferability in both RP-ML and LC-ML models. However, several explanatory variables produce relatively temporally stable and transferable effects, providing valuable insights to implement effective countermeasures from a long-term perspective. Moreover, out-of-sample predictions are simulated to confirm the temporal instability and non-transferability. At the same time, the LC-ML models produce higher differences for temporal instability and lower differences for non-transferability compared to the RP-ML model. Understanding and depth comparing the estimation results, likelihood ratio tests, and out-of-sample predictions using alternative models is a promising direction for future research to explore how the observed and unobserved heterogeneity can be estimated in terms of temporal instability and non-transferability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calibrating optical sensors has become a priority to maintain data quality and ensure consistency among sensors from different agencies. Achieving and monitoring radiometric calibration often involves the identification of temporally stable targets on the Earth's surface. Although some locations across North Africa have traditionally been used as primary targets for calibration purposes, it is crucial to explore alternative options to account for potential changes in these sites over time. This study conducted a global assessment of pixel-level temporal stability using Landsat 8 OLI data, with the primary goal of identifying regions suitable for global radiometric calibration efforts. This work followed a two-stage approach, including the testing and selection of an effective combination of statistical tests to differentiate between temporally stable and unstable pixels and the generation of a worldwide mosaic of temporally stable pixels through a per-pixel statistical analysis employing a combination of Spearman's rho and Pettitt's test for assessing long-term trends and detecting change points. Notably, comparing the temporal mean top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflectance before and after applying the generated temporal filter to a site with documented unstable pixels revealed a substantial reduction in mean variation, up to 6%. In addition, slopes observed in the pre-filter mean TOA reflectance, ranging between −0.002 and −0.005, became zero or near-zero and statistically insignificant after the temporal filter was applied, demonstrating a reduction in total uncertainties by 3 to 4%. These findings evidence the potential of this work, placing it as a potential foundation in the continuous search to identify additional targets for global radiometric calibration efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, one of the most exploited molluscs in the world, has suffered from massive mortality in recent decades, and the occurrence mechanisms have not been well-characterized. In this study, to reveal the relationship of associated microbiota to the fitness of oysters, temporal dynamics of microbiota in the gill, hemolymph, and hepatopancreas of C. gigas during April 2018–January 2019 were investigated by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The microbiota in C. gigas exhibited tissue heterogeneity, of which Spirochaetaceae was dominant in the gill and hemolymph while Mycoplasmataceae enriched in the hepatopancreas. Co-occurrence network demonstrated that the gill microbiota exhibited higher inter-taxon connectivity while the hemolymph microbiota had more modules. The richness (Chao1 index) and diversity (Shannon index) of microbial community in each tissue showed no significant seasonal variations, except for the hepatopancreas having a higher richness in the autumn. Similarly, beta diversity analysis indicated a relatively stable microbiota in each tissue during the sampling period, showing relative abundance of the dominant taxa exhibiting temporal dynamics. Results indicate that the microbial community in C. gigas showed a tissue-specific stability with temporal dynamics in the composition, which might be essential for the tissue functioning and environmental adaption in oysters. This work provides a baseline microbiota in C. gigas and is helpful for the understanding of host-microbiota interaction in oysters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we explored the temporal stability of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), which has not been comprehensively reexamined since it was first published. Our three specific aims were to determine the utility of PAI indicators of basic protocol validity (inconsistent responses [ICN] and highly unusual/unlikely responses [INF]) in identifying suspect responding; calculate the stability coefficients for each PAI scale and subscale across 3-, 6-, and 9-week spans; and explore whether profile stability across four measurements could be prospectively predicted. We administered the PAI to a sample of undergraduates (N = 579) at four separate timepoints. ICN and INF effectively identified likely attriters and inconsistent responders. All PAI full scales and subscales evidenced good test–retest reliability, with some small exceptions. Finally, all PAI clinical scales were correlated with profile instability although many of these correlations were no longer significant when controlling for mean clinical elevation of the profile. We interpreted these results as evidence for the utility of PAI validity scales, the temporal reliability of the PAI, and the role of psychopathology in response variability over time. We also discussed some preliminary evidence that this variability can be prospectively predicted, suggesting that it in part reflects substantive changes rather than random error variance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The semi-Lagrangian Reproducing Kernel (SL RK) has been successfully applied to simulations of extreme deformation problems thanks to intensive advancements in meshfree methods in recent decades. The SL RK shape function is constructed centered at a material point with a fixed spatial radius, and therefore it is a time-dependent function. When the SL RK is introduced in the weak form of the equation of motion, the time derivatives of SL RK lead to convective terms in the semi-discrete equation, significantly reducing the computational efficiency and accuracy. This paper presents a novel approximation scheme in which displacement, velocity, and acceleration are approximated by the same SL RK at a time instant. Consequently, the proposed concurrent SL RK formulation avoids the need to compute the convective terms, offering an effective numerical solution for high-strain rate dynamic problems. Furthermore, an eigenvalue analysis is performed on the semi-discrete equation of motion to investigate the temporal stability of the concurrent SL RK formulation. A comprehensive study of the eigenvalue and critical time step is conducted to identify the effective parameters for the stability of the system. Several manufactured dynamic problems are studied to validate the analytical estimate. The estimated analytical eigenvalue and the critical time step are consistent with the numerical result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that biodiversity positively affects ecosystem functioning, leading to enhanced ecosystem stability. However, this knowledge is mainly based on analyses using single ecosystem functions, while studies focusing on the stability of ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) are rare. Taking advantage of a long‐term grassland biodiversity experiment, we studied the effect of plant diversity (1–60 species) on EMF over 5 years, its temporal stability, as well as multifunctional resistance and resilience to a 2‐year drought event. Using split‐plot treatments, we further tested whether a shared history of plants and soil influences the studied relationships. We calculated EMF based on functions related to plants and higher‐trophic levels. Plant diversity enhanced EMF in all studied years, and this effect strengthened over the study period. Moreover, plant diversity increased the temporal stability of EMF and fostered resistance to reoccurring drought events. Old plant communities with shared plant and soil history showed a stronger plant diversity–multifunctionality relationship and higher temporal stability of EMF than younger communities without shared histories. Our results highlight the importance of old and biodiverse plant communities for EMF and its stability to extreme climate events in a world increasingly threatened by global change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We recently showed that subjects can learn motion state-dependent changes to motor output (temporal force patterns) based on explicit visual feedback of the equivalent force field (i.e., without the physical perturbation). Here, we examined the spatiotemporal properties of this learning compared with learning based on physical perturbations. There were two human subject groups and two experimental paradigms. One group (n = 40) experienced physical perturbations (i.e., a velocity-dependent force field, vFF), whereas the second (n = 40) was given explicit visual feedback (EVF) of the force-velocity relationship. In the latter, subjects moved in force channels and we provided visual feedback of the lateral force exerted during the movement, as well as the required force pattern based on movement velocity. In the first paradigm (spatial generalization), following vFF or EVF training, generalization of learning was tested by requiring subjects to move to 14 untrained target locations (0- to ±135-around the trained location). In the second paradigm (temporal stability), following training, we examined the decay of learning over eight delay periods (0 to 90 s). Results showed that learning based on EVF did not generalize to untrained directions, whereas the generalization for the vFF was significant for targets - 45-away. In addition, the decay of learning for the EVF group was significantly faster than the FF group (a time constant of 2.72 ± 1.74 s vs. 12.53 ± 11.83 s). Collectively, our results suggest that recalibrating motor output based on explicit motion state information, in contrast to physical disturbances, uses learning mechanisms with limited spatiotemporal properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hand raising is a key student behavior in everyday teacher–student interactions. Using a longitudinal research design, we explored the stability of hand raising and its directional relations with student learner characteristics over time. We observed students' hand-raising behavior using video-recordings of 376 German high school students taken in multiple lessons during one school year. Results show that student hand raising seems to be a stable student behavior; nearly half of the variance observed is attributable to individual students, while less is attributable to lessons and classroom teachers. A latent cross-lagged panel analysis revealed reciprocal dynamics between hand-raising, cognitive, and motivational learner characteristics. Specifically, hand raising functioned as both an antecedent and an outcome of students' cognitive elaboration, while frequent hand raising at the beginning of the school year positively predicted changes in students' academic self-concept. Therefore, hand raising seems to be associated with opportunities that stimulate positive changes in students' cognitive and competence-related learning experiences. Educational Impact and Implications Statement: This study investigates student hand raising based on behavioral data from video-recordings of German high school classrooms during teacher-centered, whole-class discourse. Results contribute to a better understanding of how student hand raising is related to students' cognitive and competence-related learning experiences. Additionally, results highlight that students' hand-raising behavior is relatively stable throughout multiple lessons during the school year. Implications for teachers of how to support hand raising are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil moisture is important for understanding climate, water resources, water storage, and land use management. This study used Sentinel-2 (S-2) satellite optical data to retrieve surface soil moisture at a 10 m scale on grassland sites with low hydraulic conductivity soil in a climate dominated by heavy rainfall. Soil moisture was estimated after modifying the Optical Trapezoidal Model to account for mixed land cover in such conditions. The method uses data from a short-wave infra-red band, which is sensitive to soil moisture, and four vegetation indices from optical bands, which are sensitive to overlying vegetation. Scatter plots of these data from multiple, infrequent satellite passes are used to define the range of surface moisture conditions. The saturated and dry edges are clearly non-linear, regardless of the choice of vegetation index. Land cover masks are used to generate scatter plots from data only over grassland sites. The Enhanced Vegetation Index demonstrated advantages over other vegetation indices for surface moisture estimation over the entire range of grassland conditions. In poorly drained soils, the time lag between satellite surface moisture retrievals and in situ sensor soil moisture at depth must be part of the validation process. This was achieved by combining an approximate solution to the Richards' Equation, along with measurements of saturated and residual moisture from soil samples, to optimise the correlations between measurements from satellites and sensors at a 15 cm depth. Time lags of 2–4 days resulted in a reduction of the root mean square errors between volumetric soil moisture predicted from S-2 data and that measured by in situ sensors, from ~0.1 m3/m3 to <0.06 m3/m3. The surface moisture results for two grassland sites were analysed using statistical concepts based upon the temporal stability of soil water content, an ideal framework for the intermittent Sentinel-2 data in conditions of persistent cloud cover. The analysis could discriminate between different natural drainages and surface soil textures in grassland areas and could identify sub-surface artificial drainage channels. The techniques are transferable for land-use and agricultural management in diverse environmental conditions without the need for extensive and expensive in situ sensor networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Questions: Although the relationships between biodiversity and individual ecosystem functions under resource enrichment have been extensively studied, there is limited understanding of how resource‐induced changes affect ecosystem multifunctionality and its temporal stability, along with the underlying biological mechanisms. Location: Inner Mongolia, China. Methods: We investigated the impact of biodiversity mechanisms on ecosystem multifunctionality and its temporal stability through a 3‐year field experiment. This experiment involved augmenting growing season precipitation and nitrogen deposition, conducted in a typical steppe ecosystem of Inner Mongolia alongside regular mowing. Results: Our findings revealed that the addition of water (W) and nitrogen (N) had varying effects on ecosystem multifunctionality and its temporal stability. The combination of N and W additions enhanced ecosystem multifunctionality, whereas both W and N + W additions promoted the temporal stability of ecosystem multifunctionality. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that the community‐weighted mean height, in response to nitrogen addition, played a key role in enhancing ecosystem multifunctionality. By contrast, increased species asynchrony because of water addition and greater functional diversity in terms of leaf area contributed to heightened temporal stability of ecosystem multifunctionality. Furthermore, the positive effects of community‐weighted mean height on ecosystem multifunctionality exhibited a gradual increase with rising threshold levels. Conclusions: Our study provides the first evidence of the independent effects of selection, exemplified by community‐weighted mean and complementarity, represented by factors such as species richness, functional diversity and species asynchrony on both ecosystem multifunctionality and its temporal stability. This underscores how global change factors can directly influence ecosystem multifunctionality and its temporal stability while also indirectly modulating biodiversity effects in the short term. Overall, our findings underscore the vital role of biodiversity conservation in enhancing grassland management and the delivery of ecosystem services in the context of global change, particularly in regions subject to extensive mowing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stability of ecological communities over time, often quantified using their aggregated abundance or biomass, is thought to be influenced by species richness and the asynchrony of species abundance fluctuations. However, the relationship between community stability and the stability of ecosystem functioning provided by this community has been little explored, especially for functions involving several trophic levels such as plant pollination. Understanding the mechanisms driving community stability and how this should be related to the stability of ecosystem functions is important to predict the resilience of communities in front of the increasing threats to biodiversity.Using a 5‐year dataset across 13 Mediterranean shrublands and 12 plant species, we assessed the effect of pollinator richness and asynchrony as drivers of stability in plant visitation rates and plant reproductive success. Additionally, we analysed whether the effects of species richness and visitation rate on plant reproductive success were consistent over the years.The stability of plant visitation rates is driven by the asynchrony of pollinator species abundances, but the effect of pollinator species richness is only indirect, as richer communities also tend to have more asynchronous populations. In contrast, the stability of plant reproductive success is not related to the stability of pollinator visitation rates. A year‐by‐year analysis reveals that plants in the studied system are unlikely to be limited by pollinator abundance except in specific years, blurring any potential effect of visitation rate stability on reproductive success stability.Synthesis: We highlight the importance of asynchronous fluctuating species that are redundant in their function as an important factor for the stability of ecosystems. This is particularly important for pollinators with diverse responses to environmental fluctuations, as their asynchrony between years ensures stable levels of flower visitation rates. However, we warn that final ecosystem functions such as plant reproductive success, which depends not only on pollinators but on plant competition or resource availability, might be decoupled from first order ecosystem functions (i.e. visitation rates and pollen deposition) when pollination is not a limiting factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing evidence that land‐use management practices such as livestock grazing can strongly impact the local diversity, functioning, and stability of grassland communities. However, whether these impacts depend on environmental condition and propagate to larger spatial scales remains unclear. Using an 8‐year grassland exclosure experiment conducted at nine sites in the Tibetan Plateau covering a large precipitation gradient, we found that herbivore exclusion increased the temporal stability of alpine grassland biomass production at both the local and larger (site) spatial scales. Higher local community stability was attributed to greater stability of dominant species, whereas higher stability at the larger scale was linked to higher spatial asynchrony of productivity among local communities. Additionally, sites with higher mean annual precipitation had lower dominant species stability and lower grassland stability at both the spatial scales considered. Our study provides novel evidence that livestock grazing can impair grassland stability across spatial scales and climatic gradients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study assessed the communication apprehension, willingness to communicate, and self-perceived communication competence for a group of participants across a 15-year span. In total, 220 of 237 participants completed the 15-year project. The data represent six time points, with data collections happening once every three years. The results show that meeting communication apprehension, dyadic communication apprehension, public communication apprehension, willingness to communicate, and self-perceived communication competence all changed across time, indicating these traditionally thought of trait-like variables behaved more as state-like characteristics. Group communication apprehension did not change over time, indicating it may be more trait-like than state like. Results are limited by evidence of poor temporal stability for the public communication apprehension, self-perceived communication competence, and willingness to communicate measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is mounting evidence from experimental studies that drought and nutrient enrichment can interact to impact the biodiversity and productivity of terrestrial ecosystems. Whether such interactive effect influences plant diversity and the temporal stability of community productivity of natural ecosystems is unknown. To fill this knowledge gap, we combined a field survey of plant diversity and soil conditions with remote sensing temporal estimates of primary productivity in grasslands along a natural gradient in northern China. We found that aridity and soil ammonium (NH4+‐N) interacted to influence temporal stability of NDVI. That is, the relationship between ammonium and temporal stability of NDVI shifted from positive to negative due to increased standard deviation of NDVI with increasing aridity. Species richness was not related to temporal stability because it influenced the mean and standard deviation of NDVI proportionally. As a result, soil fertility outweighed the contribution of species richness to temporal stability. Our study demonstrates the synergistic effect of aridity and soil fertility, but not species richness, on temporal stability along a large natural gradient. Predicting how environmental drivers affect diversity and the stable provisioning of ecosystem services in real‐world ecosystems therefore requires a better understanding of the complex interactions among environmental drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) enrichment threatens the ability of grasslands to support sustainable functions. However, we do not know whether grassland degradation can alter the effect of N enrichment on the multidimensional stability of plant community productivity.Using data from N enrichment experiments at temperate grassland sites (no, moderate and severe degradation) that experienced a flooding event, we tested the impact of N enrichment on multidimensional stability (resistance, resilience, recovery and temporal stability) of plant community productivity.In non‐degraded and moderately degraded grasslands, N enrichment negatively influenced resistance and temporal stability but positively altered resilience and did not change recovery. Species asynchrony altered all stability dimensions, except for recovery. In severely degraded grasslands, the effects of N enrichment on multidimensional stability shifted. Resilience and recovery were negatively affected by N enrichment, while resistance and temporal stability were not influenced. A decrease in dominant species stability reduced community resilience and recovery in severely degraded grasslands.Synthesis and application. Grassland degradation regulates the effect of N enrichment on the multidimensional stability of plant community productivity. Thus, our findings highlight the need to consider grassland degradation in future studies for a comprehensive understanding of grassland dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retrieving information from memory, compared with different control conditions, improves subsequent retention of that information. Given the ubiquitous demonstration of this retrieval practice effect, researchers have asked whether such benefit is moderated by individual-difference variables. An implicit assumption in individual-difference research is that the retrieval practice effect at the participant level is reliable across participants. In this study, we tested this reliability assumption. In two sessions, 54 participants studied foreign–native word pairs, repeatedly restudied half of the word pairs, repeatedly retrieval-practised the other half, and, finally, took a final test for all pairs. Different word pairs were used in each session. We replicated the retrieval practice effect at the group level in Sessions 1 (d = 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.27, 0.80]) and 2 (d = 0.79 [0.53, 1.05]). In addition, we found that the retrieval practice effect at the participant level was reliable over a 1-week span both for absolute agreement, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) =.33 [.12,.51], and for consistency estimates, ICC =.35 [.14,.53]. The result bridges a gap in the literature of individual differences on the retrieval practice effect. We suggest that future studies identify whether, and under which experimental conditions, the retrieval practice effect at the participant level may show even greater reliability estimates than the ones reported here. The finding may also pave the way for studies assessing whether the magnitude of the retrieval practice effect is domain-general or paradigm-specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate warming and extreme climatic events are threatening ecosystem processes and functions. However, it remains unclear how climate warming changes ecosystem stability in facing extreme rainfall events.Here, we investigated the temporal stability of above‐ground net primary productivity (ANPP) in an alpine meadow via a 5‐year warming experiment, during which two flooding events occurred, in an alpine meadow.We first found that warming significantly increased the temporal stability of ANPP in facing flooding events by increasing resistance to and decreasing recovery from flooding events. Second, we found that warming shifted the plant community structure by increasing the dominance of grasses and reducing species richness and asynchrony. Last, we detected the higher temporal stability of ANPP under warming, which was mainly ascribed to the warming‐induced increase in dominant species stability (Deschampsia caespitosa).Synthesis. These findings indicate that climate warming may mitigate the shock of flooding events on the temporal stability of community productivity via altering plant community structure in alpine grasslands. Our study highlights that to buffer ecosystems from climatic extremes, we should focus on promoting the maintenance or selection of dominant species rather than only focusing on increasing species richness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distraction and overspeed behaviors are acknowledged as two significant contributors to single-vehicle motorcycle crashes, injuries and fatalities resulting from which are severe and critical issues in Pakistan. To explore the temporal instability and differences in the factors determining the injury severities between single-vehicle motorcycle crashes caused by distraction and overspeed behaviors, this study estimated two groups of random parameter logit models with heterogeneity in means and variances. Single-vehicle motorcycle crash data in Rawalpindi city between 2017 and 2019 was used for model estimation, and a wide variety of explanatory variables relating to the rider, roadways, environments, and temporal attributes was simulated in the models. The current study considered three possible crash injury severity outcomes: minor injury, severe injury and fatal injury. Likelihood ratio tests were conducted to explore the temporal instability and non-transferability. Marginal effects were also calculated to further reveal temporal instability of the variables. Except for several variables, the most significant factors reported temporal instability and non-transferability, manifested as the effects varied from year to year and across different crashes. Moreover, out-of-sample prediction was also implemented to capture temporal instability and non-transferability between distraction and overspeed crash observations. The non-transferability between motorcycle crashes caused by distraction and overspeed behaviors provides insights into developing differentiated countermeasures and policies targeted at preventing and mitigating single-vehicle motorcycle crashes caused by the two risk-taking behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to enhance food security and promote sustainable agricultural development, there is extensive utilization of sloping land in China. However, soil and water loss are severe in sloping lands. Understanding the spatiotemporal variability of soil water content (θ) is therefore important for determining suitable soil and water conservation strategies. Nevertheless, there exists a dearth of current research that focuses on the spatiotemporal variability of θ in microscale sloping lands. This study used statistical and temporal stability (TS) analyses to explore the characteristics of the spatiotemporal variability of θ on slopes. Furthermore, this study aimed to quantify the impacts of soil depth, slope position, air temperature, and hydrological conditions on the TS of θ. The average θ increases with depth, and it follows a logarithmic increase above 1.3 m and a linear increase below 1.3 m. The spatial variability of θ is higher in shallow soils and wet seasons compared with deep soils and dry seasons. The temporal stability of θ is higher on the upper and lower slopes compared with the middle slope. Day-MRD is more effective at capturing the temporal stability of θ than all-MRD. The diurnal variation of the TS of θ on slopes is primarily influenced by soil depth, slope position, air temperature, and hydrological conditions. We found that soil depth had a greater impact on the TS of θ than the slope position and that air temperature has a greater influence than the hydrological conditions. This study accurately describes the spatiotemporal variability of θ at the microscale slope, which helps solve the problems of soil and water conservation and water resource management on slopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental change is a crucial driver shaping grassland biodiversity and stability. Both environmental change and stability contain multiple dimensions. Nonetheless, few studies examined multiple dimensions of stability in response to environmental change, especially under the combined effects of climatic variability and grazing intensity. Here, we conducted a 7-year field sheep grazing experiment, and we evaluated the impacts of grazing intensity (GI) and climate variability (temperature and precipitation variability) on plant community diversity and productivity and multi-dimensional stability using linear and structural equation models. Our results show that increasing grazing intensity significantly decreased temporal stability but did not affect resistance stability. Compared with the non-grazing (NG) treatment, grazing reduced temporal stability by 35.78%. The decline is primarily attributed to the grazing-induced reduction in evenness and weakening of species asynchrony, which in turn impairs insurance effects. The insignificant change in resistance stability was attributed to a trade-off between reduced interspecific competition and direct negative effects. Furthermore, temperature variability and precipitation variability exacerbate and mitigate the effects of grazing on temporal stability (negative) and resistance stability (positive), respectively. Overall, temporal stability is mainly influenced by temperature variability and GI, while resistance stability is mainly affected by GI. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the dimensions of stability and disturbance. Different dimensions of stability may respond differently to disturbance. Multiple disturbances may also interact synergistically or antagonistically on plant community stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the effects of diversity on ecosystem stability in the context of global change has become an important goal of recent ecological research. However, the effects of diversity at multiple scales and trophic levels on ecosystem stability across environmental gradients remain unclear. Here, we conducted a field survey of α‐, β‐, and γ‐diversity of plants and soil biota (bacteria, fungi, and nematodes) and estimated the temporal ecosystem stability of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in 132 plots on the Mongolian Plateau. After climate and soil environmental variables were controlled for, both the α‐ and β‐diversity of plants and soil biota (mainly via nematodes) together with precipitation explained most variation in ecosystem stability. These findings evidence that the diversity of both soil biota and plants contributes to ecosystem stability. Model predictions of the future effects of global changes on terrestrial ecosystem stability will require field observations of diversity of both plants and soil biota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the concentration and stability of crime patterns at microplaces primarily examines years as the temporal unit of observation. This study examines temporal patterns between months to explore the impact of the modifiable temporal unit problem (MTUP). We analyzed 26,555 violent crime incidents reported to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department from a 60-month observation period and geocoded these incidents to 14,106 street segments. Street segments with crime experienced these incidents across a small number of months and there is much variability in which locations are hot spots between months. Only a small number of street segments experienced a seasonal pattern between months with most locations having complete instability or unpredictability in the months when crime does occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizens' attitudes towards and their perceptions of climate change are widely believed to influence citizens' actions related to climate change. Knowledge of these attitudes and willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental improvement can be useful in designing an environmental policy. Although citizens' attitudes and perceptions are likely to affect their WTP, they are rarely included in the non-market valuation. Furthermore, over time, attitudes and perceptions of environmental issues are likely to change. An understanding of temporal stability of attitudes towards climate change could shed the light on changes in citizens' WTP for environmental quality over time. This study examined changes in perceptions, attitudes, and actions towards climate change using two surveys in Queensland, Australia. The surveys were administered 10 years apart (2009 and 2018). The effect of attitudes over time on WTP was analysed using a contingent valuation (CV) method. The results confirmed that attitudes and perceptions of climate change were important factors affecting actions of respondents. Furthermore, over time, some attitudes and perceptions changed significantly. However, only some attitudes and perceptions were significant predictors of consumers' WTP for a change in environmental quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our planet is facing a variety of serious threats from climate change that are unfolding unevenly across the globe. Uncovering the spatial patterns of ecosystem stability is important for predicting the responses of ecological processes and biodiversity patterns to climate change. However, the understanding of the latitudinal pattern of ecosystem stability across scales and of the underlying ecological drivers is still very limited. Accordingly, this study examines the latitudinal patterns of ecosystem stability at the local and regional spatial scale using a natural assembly of forest metacommunities that are distributed over a large temperate forest region, considering a range of potential environmental drivers. We found that the stability of regional communities (regional stability) and asynchronous dynamics among local communities (spatial asynchrony) both decreased with increasing latitude, whereas the stability of local communities (local stability) did not. We tested a series of hypotheses that potentially drive the spatial patterns of ecosystem stability, and found that although the ecological drivers of biodiversity, climatic history, resource conditions, climatic stability, and environmental heterogeneity varied with latitude, latitudinal patterns of ecosystem stability at multiple scales were affected by biodiversity and environmental heterogeneity. In particular, α diversity is positively associated with local stability, while β diversity is positively associated with spatial asynchrony, although both relationships are weak. Our study provides the first evidence that latitudinal patterns of the temporal stability of naturally assembled forest metacommunities across scales are driven by biodiversity and environmental heterogeneity. Our findings suggest that the preservation of plant biodiversity within and between forest communities and the maintenance of heterogeneous landscapes can be crucial to buffer forest ecosystems at higher latitudes from the faster and more intense negative impacts of climate change in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Radiochromic silicone-based dosimeters are flexible 3D dosimeters, which at appropriate concentration of leucomalachite green (LMG) and curing agent are dose-rate independent for clinical photon beams. However, their dose response is based on chemical processes that can be influenced by temporal and thermal conditions, impacting measurement stability. Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the temporal stability of the dose response of radiochromic dosimeters for different curing times and postirradiation storage temperatures. Methods:Six cylindrical dosimeters (5 cm diameter,5 cm length) were produced in a single batch and separated into two groups that were irradiated 72 and 118 h after production. The same photon plan, consisting of two 10 × 1.6 cm2 opposing fields, was delivered to all dosimeters. After irradiation,the dosimeters were separated into three groups, stored at 5◦C, 15◦C, and 20◦C, and read out for five consecutive days. Results: Storage temperature influenced the measurement stability, and changes in the optical response with time differed between irradiated and nonirradiated parts of the dosimeters. The relative change between signal and background was greater than 10% for all measurements performed 24 h or more after irradiation, except for dosimeters stored at 5◦C, which changed by 2%–5% after 24 h.The dosimeter temporal stability was not influenced by curing time. Conclusions: For room temperature storage (15◦C and 20◦C), readout should take place as soon as possible after irradiation since the background color increased rapidly for both curing times (72 and 118 h), whereas the dosimeters are stored at 5◦C, readout can be performed up to 24 h after. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the temporal stability and risk of unsaturated soil slopes during rainfall is essential for early warning and emergency response to landslides. However, limited research has been conducted on the transition timing of sliding mechanisms, instability/failure time and the integration of sliding consequences into quantitative risk assessment. In order to extend the research in this field, the Random Finite Element Method (RFEM) is used in this paper to investigate the influence of spatial variability of hydraulic properties (related to the fundamental parameter porosity) on the temporal stability and risk of soil slopes subject to rainfall. The findings indicate that the advancing speed of the wetting front is more rapidly in zones with low porosity than that in zones with high porosity. As rainfall progresses, the sliding mechanism of the slope shifts from deep sliding to shallow sliding. The homogeneous case tends to underestimate the rise in groundwater levels, leading to an overestimation of slope stability. Hydraulic boundary conditions significantly affect slope stability, making it crucial to consider horizontal (or near the toe of the slope) drainage conditions in practical applications. Additionally, the time of instability/failure predicted in the homogeneous case may be delayed compared to the actual conditions. Both probability of instability/failure and risk increase with continued rainfall. Compared to scenarios where the spatial variability of internal friction angle is not considered, the probability of instability/failure and risk will be higher when the spatial variability of internal friction angle is additionally considered. Risk-based assessment can define the risk levels, reflecting the severity of sliding consequences. Furthermore, the Malin slope failure record from the Chibo region of India is used to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The probabilities of slope failure align well with actual observations, and the risk-based assessment provides additional information into the Malin landslide. This paper proposes a general model for studying the performance of heterogeneous slopes subject to rainfall, providing valuable guidance for landslide early warning systems and the scope and timing of emergency measures taken. • Heterogeneous porosity impacts temporal slope stability and failure risk. • Wetting front is deeper in low porosity zones than in high porosity zones. • Groundwater level may rise higher in heterogeneous soil than in uniform soil. • Slope instability may occur earlier in heterogeneous soil than in uniform soil. • Temporal risk analysis provides valuable information for landslide early warning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term grazing and resource enrichment are known to affect grassland ecosystem stability independently. However, the interactive effects of grazing legacy and resource enrichment on ecosystem multidimensional stability (e.g., temporal stability (TS): the degree of constancy of ecosystem components over time and temporal resistance (TR): the ability of ecosystem components to withstand the environmental change) in grassland ecosystems remain underexplored. In this study, we conducted a field manipulation experiment to assess the impact of 4-yr of resource addition (water and nitrogen) on multidimensional stability of multiple ecosystem components and underlying drivers in Inner Mongolia steppe with 7-yr different experimental grazing history. We found that the positive effects of water + nitrogen addition on multifunctional TS increased with increasing grazing intensity and an opposing trend was observed for multifunctional TR response. However, neither grazing legacy nor resource addition had an effect on community compositional stability. Resource addition enhanced the stability of species evenness, CWM (community weighted mean) species biomass and CWM-traits. Furthermore, water + nitrogen additions stimulated soil temperature TS but reduced its TR in heavy grazing intensity, with high grazing intensity bolstering soil moisture stability. Multifunctional stability was primarily governed by species asynchrony, while stability of species evenness fostered compositional stability. In particular, TS of functional diversity enhanced multifunctional TS in light grazing intensity, while TS of CWM-traits promoted multifunctional TS in heavy grazing intensity. Our study underscores the decoupling responses of functional stability and compositional stability to grazing legacy combined with resource enrichment. These findings highlight that the significance of concurrently considering multiple stability dimensions and components for a comprehensive understanding of grassland ecosystem stability under intensifying land use and global change scenarios. • Multifunctional stability under resource addition increased with grazing intensity. • Neither grazing legacy nor resource addition affected compositional stability. • Resource input enhanced soil moisture stability in heavy grazing intensity. • Different biodiversity factors controlled functional and compositional stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on various aspects of life. This study aims to investigate whether the COVID-19 pandemic changed food preferences, focusing on cost perceptions, environmental factors, and health attributes. We conducted a panel study with self-administered online surveys among undergraduate students in Chile, both before and during the first wave of the pandemic. Each survey included a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to elicit food preferences. Using mixed logit models, our analysis shows that during the COVID-19 pandemic, sensitivity to cost, preference for foods with low environmental impact, and preference for vitamin-rich foods increased. These changes in preferences can be attributed to individuals' perceived health risks. These findings suggest that the pandemic increased awareness of sustainable and healthy food choices, with important implications for promoting these choices during global crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Investigation of field emission properties of self-assembled CNT sheet prepared by FCCVD. • Record low turn-on field of 0.105 V/µm and J max of ∼ 60 mA/cm2 at 0.51 V/µm achieved. • Excellent temporal stability (±2 %) for long operation (48 h) at moderate vacuum (1e-6 mbar). • High crystallinity of the CNTs in the sheet contribute to reduction in turn-on fields. • Unique geometry of CNT sheet sample resulted in ample electrons for efficient tunnelling. Carbon nanotube (CNT)-based field emission (FE) devices are promising for practical applications but they face challenges related to turn-on field, maximum achievable current density, and temporal stability. This study showcases the exceptional field emission properties of self-assembled CNT sheets fabricated using the floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FC-CVD) method. These sheets exhibit an impressively low turn-on field (∼0.1 V/μm), a high current density (∼60 mA/cm2 at 0.5 V/μm), and excellent temporal stability (∼ ±2%) during extended operation, surpassing previously reported materials. The outstanding performance is attributed to the unique CNT sheet geometry, which contains multiple emission sites at the protruded junctions of long, self-assembled CNTs. This structure facilitates the supply of a large number of electrons for vacuum tunneling. Furthermore, the highly crystalline CNT channels enhance electron transport, boosting field emission properties compared to conventional CNT cathodes. The flexibility and self-standing nature of CNT sheets allow for easy integration into diverse FE device architectures, making them suitable for a wide range of applications. The cost-effectiveness, scalable production method, and exceptional field emission properties of CNT sheets make them highly attractive for commercial use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temporal stability and spatial dependence of pixel-specific red-NIR soil line coefficients were studied using analyses of geostatistics and covariance. We used time series of MODIS 8-day composite reflectance data from 2000 to 2019 of bare soil surfaces near Kabul, Afghanistan. The goal was to explore the feasibility of reducing the soil background signal in red-NIR vegetation indices (VIs). The results were that 1) Red-NIR pixel-specific soil line coefficients can be obtained using multi-temporal remote sensing imagery; 2) pixel-specific Red-NIR soil line coefficients derived from multi-temporal remote sensing imagery exhibit clear spatial dependency related to the soil line coefficients of soils sampled in the field, and 3) Red-NIR pixel-specific soil line coefficients were stable for years, but showed instability for periods longer than 16 years. These results imply that A) some changes in soil surface characteristics can be deduced using long-term observations, B) pixel-specific Red-NIR soil lines at any location can be estimated by kriging interpolation. Consequently, soil line coefficients derived from multi-temporal satellite observations can be used to derive information about vegetation, such as the germination stages pixel-by-pixel or above-ground biomass in sparsely vegetated lands. The derived values should be valid over wide areas, minimizing soil background effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food‐web complexity and species richness are predicted to have tremendous effects on ecosystem functioning stability. Yet, our understanding of the relation between diversity and the stability of ecosystem functioning is still mainly limited to single trophic level communities and highly simplified food webs. To start filling this knowledge gap, we model allometric food webs and use structural equation modelling (SEM) to investigate the relations between diversity, food web structure and the temporal variability of total plant and animal biomasses and their components, i.e. synchrony and mean population variability. We find that stability responds differently depending on the metric used. When looking at total biomass variability, higher total biomasses and biomass stored at higher trophic level have the strongest stabilising effects, while species richness has lower impact than previously found. We confirm that synchrony among species is important for the stability of the total plant biomass. However, synchrony only weakly explains variations in the stability of total animal biomass among food webs. Species richness and food web variables often have opposite impacts on synchrony and mean population variability, leading to more ambiguous results for the plant community as synchrony matters only for plant stability. Our approach thus provides new insight on the complexity of the stability of ecosystem functioning in complex food webs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have found that the postdisaster developmental course of depression is more stable than that of other mental disorders among children and adolescents. However, the network structure and temporal stability of depressive symptoms after natural disasters among children and adolescents remain unknown. Objective: This study aims to understand the depressive symptom network and evaluate its temporal stability among children and adolescents after natural disasters. Methods: Three-wave measurements were conducted among 1,466 children and adolescents at 3, 15, and 27 months following the Zhouqu debris flow. Depressive symptoms were evaluated by the Child Depression Inventory (CDI), which was dichotomised to signify the presence or absence of depressive symptoms. Depression networks were estimated with the Ising model, and expected influence was used to assess node centrality. A network comparison test was used to test the differences in the depression networks among the three temporal points. Results: Overall, the depressive symptom network was temporally stable regarding symptom centrality and global connectivity over the two-year study period. Self-hate, loneliness, and sleep disturbance were central symptoms and had low variability in the depressive networks at the three temporal points. Crying and self-deprecation had large temporal variability in centrality. Conclusion: The present study provides the first evidence for the temporal stability of the youth depressive symptom network postdisaster. The similar central symptoms and connectivity of depression symptoms at different temporal points after natural disasters may partially explain the stable prevalence and developmental trajectory of depression. Self-hate, loneliness, and sleep disturbance could be central characteristics, and sleep disturbance and reduced appetite, sadness and crying, and misbehaviour and disobedience could be key associations in the endurance of depression among children and adolescents after experiencing a natural disaster. This study provides the first evidence for the temporal stability of the youth depressive symptom network. The depressive symptom network had temporal stability. Self-hate, loneliness, and sleep disturbance were the central symptoms among youths after a natural disaster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing disturbances in monocultures around the world are testimony to their instability under global change. Many studies have claimed that temporal stability of productivity increases with species richness, although the ecological fundamentals have mainly been investigated through diversity experiments. To adequately manage forest ecosystems, it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of the effect of mixing species on the temporal stability of productivity and the way in which it is influenced by climate conditions across large geographical areas.Here, we used a unique dataset of 261 stands combining pure and two‐species mixtures of four relevant tree species over a wide range of climate conditions in Europe to examine the effect of species mixing on the level and temporal stability of productivity. Structural equation modelling was employed to further explore the direct and indirect influence of climate, overyielding, species asynchrony and additive effect (i.e. temporal stability expected from the species growth in monospecific stands) on temporal stability in mixed forests.We showed that by adding only one tree species to monocultures, the level (overyielding: +6%) and stability (temporal stability: +12%) of stand growth increased significantly. We identified the key effect of temperature on destabilizing stand growth, which may be mitigated by mixing species. We further confirmed asynchrony as the main driver of temporal stability in mixed stands, through both the additive effect and species interactions, which modify between‐species asynchrony in mixtures in comparison to monocultures.Synthesis and applications. This study highlights the emergent properties associated with mixing two species, which result in resource efficient and temporally stable production systems. We reveal the negative impact of mean temperature on temporal stability of forest productivity and how the stabilizing effect of mixing two species can counterbalance this impact. The overyielding and temporal stability of growth addressed in this paper are essential for ecosystem services closely linked with the level and rhythm of forest growth. Our results underline that mixing two species can be a realistic and effective nature‐based climate solution, which could contribute towards meeting EU climate target policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimates of non-market values are valuable for policy makers. However, evidence of the stability of value estimates over long timeframes is limited. That can reduce the usefulness of such values in benefit transfer over time. Furthermore, the values might be affected by the choice of presentation of alternatives (e.g., labeled versus unlabeled). Most of the literature comparing the willingness-to-pay (WTP) estimates lacks an investigation of temporal stability for labeled and unlabeled alternatives. In this case study, the temporal stability of WTP estimates for emissions reduction has been assessed for labeled and unlabeled alternatives. Emissions reduction, certainty of emissions reduction and the options for emissions reductions such as green power, efficient technologies and carbon capture were used to identify respondents' WTP. The results show that WTP has changed significantly over the course of 10 years. The case study identified that WTP was larger for labeled alternatives than for unlabeled alternatives. The results indicate that WTP estimated from unlabeled alternatives may be more sensitive to temporal effects than labeled alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite products provide the best way to monitor the solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface on a global scale. However, their capability to monitor solar radiation trends needs to be constantly evaluated. This depends on their temporal stability and the accurate representation of all processes driving solar radiation. This study evaluates these aspects by comparing and cross-comparing different solar radiation products (ERA5, CAMS-RAD 4.6, SARAH-3, CLARA-A3, CERES-EBAF 4.2) against in-situ measurements over Europe. All products show a moderate positive bias over Europe but strong differences in their root mean squared deviation (RMSD) related to their different cloud transmittance models. Geostationary-based products (SARAH-3, CAMS-RAD 4.6) provide the smallest RMSD closely followed by CLARA-A3, whereas ERA5 shows a large RMSD due to random errors in cloud transmittance. All products show an increase in surface solar radiation, or brightening, over the last 40 years over Europe, but the magnitude of the trends and their spatiotemporal variability differ between products. Despite finding temporal inhomogeneities in some products, the different trends are mostly due to different aerosol modeling approaches implemented by each product. Both SARAH-3 (+2.3 W/m 2 / decade , 2001–22) and CERES-EBAF 4.2 (+2.2 W/m 2 / decade , 2001–22) provide the most consistent trends compared to in-situ data, showing that after stabilizing in the late 2000s, brightening is particularly recovering in Western Europe. In-situ measurements show a reduction of aerosol optical depth from 2001 to 2022 that has been accentuated in the last 10 years, particularly in Western Europe. This would be consistent with the hypothesis that brightening recovery is driven by an aerosol reduction, though other analyses suggest that clouds also play a role in this recovery. More work is needed to understand the contribution of aerosols to solar radiation trends and the exact aerosol effects represented by each solar radiation product. • Satellite products show positive trends (brightening) of different magnitudes. • CERES-EBAF 4.2 and SARAH-3 have the most consistent trends with in-situ data. • Solar brightening is recovering over Europe after stabilizing in the late 2000s. • Both clouds and aerosols are likely contributing to the brightening recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Microtopography could weaken the influence of soil-terrain factors on soil water. • Microtopography mainly affects deep layer soil water content. • Terraced microtopography improved soil water storage and temporal stability. • The most stable points of soil water usually correspond to a relatively flat middle slope area. Terraces have consistently been regarded as crucial measures for water conservation and vegetation restoration, particularly in mountainous environments. However, the hydrological effects of terraces in artificial forests have been rarely studied. In this study, detailed topography, soil properties and high-resolution (30 sites) soil water data (0–70 cm) observed from March 2015 to March 2016 were collected at hillslope scale (0.2 ha). The effects of static (soil properties and topography) and dynamic factors (precipitation) on the dynamics and variability of soil water content (SWC) were studied based on statistical methods, temporal stability and variance decomposition methods. The results showed that slope, topographic wetness index (TWI) and microtopography were the main control factors of different soil layers (shallow, middle and deep layer), which explained 37.2 %, 48.6 % and 47.3 % of the total variance of corresponding soil layers, respectively. Microtopography primarily affects deep layer soil water (40–70 cm). Level terraces show significantly higher soil water content (SWC) (30.89 ± 5.28 %) compared to gentle slopes (25.40 ± 5.33 %), steep slopes (27.05 ± 5.74 %), and scarps (19.71 ± 4.43 %) (P<0.05). Temporal stability of soil water varied across different depths, with shallow layer soil water exhibiting significantly weaker stability compared to other depths, the most representative point of different soil layers was located on relatively flat terraces. Decomposition of spatial variance revealed that the time-invariant component was the primary contributor to the total spatial variance, with a mean value over 70 %. These results highlight that microtopography could weaken the influence of soil-terrain factors on soil water, and the implementation of level terraces can enhance hillslope hydrological conditions in the Rocky Mountain area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intercropping plays a crucial role in promoting agricultural sustainability and offers an alternative way to enhance crop production and ensure food security. However, the yield benefits and stability of oat/soybean intercropping have rarely been assessed across multiple sites and years, especially in semi-arid regions with low and unevenly distributed precipitation. This study aimed to investigate the yield performance, yield stability, and economic benefits of oat/soybean strip intercropping through multiple sites and years of field experiments. A three-year field experiment (2019–2021) with a completely randomized block design was conducted at three representative sites in semi-arid regions of China (i.e. Wulanchabu, Youyu, and Zhangjiakou). Each experiment included oat/soybean intercropping and corresponding monoculture with four replicates. Land equivalent ratio, yield stability, and economic income were compared between intercropping and monoculture. Over the three years, intercropping led to a substantial increase in oat yield, ranging from 21.7 % to 47.6 %, albeit accompanied by a reduction in soybean yield by 14.6–26.5 %, compared to corresponding monoculture. The results revealed a notable improvement in land use efficiency across all three sites with a mean land equivalent ratio (LER) of 1.12. Further analysis demonstrated that the yield enhancement of intercropped oat was evident not only in the border rows (2.21 times of monoculture) but also in the inner rows (1.13 times of monoculture), highlighting their combined contributions. Moreover, intercropping produced 5.2∼9.4 % higher net income on average across multiple sites and years. Additionally, intercropping exhibited 5.5∼62.6 % greater temporal yield stability compared to monoculture at two of three sites, and the temporal yield stability was positively correlated with crop yield and net income. Oat/soybean strip intercropping emerges as a promising agronomic strategy to boost crop production while preserving relatively higher yield stability, thereby enhancing farmers' economic income across diverse semi-arid regions in China. Our findings demonstrated the feasibility of the oat/soybean strip intercropping in semi-arid regions and evaluated its over-yield mechanisms, which is significant to agricultural sustainable development. • Intercropping improved land use efficiency at all sites but varied across years. • Oat was the major contributor to yield advantage in strip intercropping. • Yield benefit of intercropped oat was attributed to both border and inner rows. • Intercropping improved yield stability and positively related to crop yield and net income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The determinants of smart roadway retrofitting on injury severity are examined in hazardous and non-hazardous terrain. • Random parameters logit models with heterogeneity in the means and variances are established. • Temporally unconstrained parameters model is more suitable compared to partially temporally constrained parameters model. • Road safety policies are suggested to be designed and implemented based on terrain and road development level. The advancement of intelligent road systems in developing countries poses unique challenges in identifying risk factors and implementing safety strategies. The variability of factors affecting crash injury severity leads to different risks across levels of roadway smartness, especially in hazardous terrains, complicating the adaptation of smart technologies. Therefore, this study investigates the temporal instability of factors affecting injury severities in crashes across various terrains, with a focus on the evolution of road smartness. Crash data from selected complex terrain regions in Shaanxi Province during smart road adaptation were used, and categorized into periods before, during, and after smart road implementations. A series of mixed logit models were employed to account for unobserved heterogeneity in mean and variance, and likelihood ratio tests were conducted to assess the spatio-temporal instability of model parameters across different topographic settings and smart processes. Moreover, a comparison between partially constrained and unconstrained temporal modeling approaches was made. The findings reveal significant differences in injury severity determinants across terrain conditions as roadway intelligence progressed. On the other hand, certain factors like pavement damage, truck and pedestrian involvement were identified that had relatively stable effects on crash injury severities. Out-of-sample predictions further emphasize the need for modeling across terrain and roadway development stages. These insights are crucial for developing tailored safety measures for smart road retrofitting in different terrain conditions, thereby supporting the transition towards smarter road systems in developing regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Radiation changes impacted the temporal stability of soil variables. • Temporal stability of soil variables overall decreased but increased locally. • External disturbances caused heterogeneous or homogeneous stability distribution. • Human activities affected more soil stability changes than climate change. Effects of human activities and climate change on temporal stability of terrestrial ecosystems remains controversial. This study explored the spatiotemporal patterns and driving mechanisms of the temporal stability of soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), their ratios (C:N, C:P, N:P), and pH at 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, and 20–30 cm in the Tibetan grasslands during 2000–2020. Spatially averaged values of relative changes in temporal stability of soil variables ranged from –19.78 % to –6.85 %. In contrast, the relative changes of temporal stability of soil variables were increased for 31.39–45.98 % grassland areas. Climate change dominated changes in the temporal stability of soil variables in 31.50–44.07 % of grassland areas. Meanwhile, human activities predominated changes in 55.35–68.43 % of it. Compared to precipitation change and warming, radiation change had stronger effects on relative changes of temporal stability of SOC, TN, TP, C:N and C:P at 0–10 cm, SOC and TP at 10–20 cm, and TN and C:N at 20–30 cm. Soil variables themselves were not always positively correlated with their temporal stability, and may even be negatively correlated. Relative changes of temporal stability of soil variables were not always negatively but even positively correlated with relative changes of soil variables. Therefore, the interaction of climate change and human activities can homogenize or heterogeneize the spatial distributions of temporal stability of soil variables. The temporal stability of these soil variables overall decreased, with local increase. The areas of the change of temporal stability of soil variables caused by human activities were greater than those of climate change. Effects of radiation change on the spatio-temporal patterns of temporal stability of soil variables should be underlined. There were not always trade-off relationships between relative changes of soil variables and relative changes of temporal stability of soil variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Nitrogen (N) addition affects plant biodiversity and community structure, subsequently altering the stability of above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) in grassland ecosystems. However, the effect of adding different nitrogen compounds and their subsequent interactions with mowing on the stability of both below-ground net primary productivity (BNPP) and total net primary productivity (TNPP) are largely unknown.This study compared the impact of adding two nitrogen compounds, NH4NO3 and urea, on the temporal stability of ANPP, BNPP, and TNPP in mowed and unmowed saline-alkaline grasslands.We found that the ANPP temporal stability in unmowed grasslands was not affected by NH4NO3 addition but increased with urea addition. Conversely, the ANPP temporal stability in mowed grasslands decreased with NH4NO3 addition and was not affected by urea addition. Mowing decoupled the ANPP and BNPP temporal stability responses to nitrogen addition. Without mowing, the BNPP temporal stability in response to adding different forms of nitrogen aligned with that of ANPP; however, with mowing, the BNPP temporal stability was not affected by adding NH4NO3 or urea, exhibiting an inconsistent trend of change in comparison to the ANPP temporal stability. The ANPP resistance indirectly regulates the response of the BNPP temporal stability to nitrogen addition in unmowed grasslands, whereas the BNPP temporal stability was not affected by plant above-ground indicators in mowed grasslands.Overall, our study addresses the scarcity of research on ecosystem temporal stability in saline-alkaline grasslands and demonstrates that mowing management can regulate the effects of different forms of nitrogen addition on ecosystem stability.Methods: Nitrogen (N) addition affects plant biodiversity and community structure, subsequently altering the stability of above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) in grassland ecosystems. However, the effect of adding different nitrogen compounds and their subsequent interactions with mowing on the stability of both below-ground net primary productivity (BNPP) and total net primary productivity (TNPP) are largely unknown.This study compared the impact of adding two nitrogen compounds, NH4NO3 and urea, on the temporal stability of ANPP, BNPP, and TNPP in mowed and unmowed saline-alkaline grasslands.We found that the ANPP temporal stability in unmowed grasslands was not affected by NH4NO3 addition but increased with urea addition. Conversely, the ANPP temporal stability in mowed grasslands decreased with NH4NO3 addition and was not affected by urea addition. Mowing decoupled the ANPP and BNPP temporal stability responses to nitrogen addition. Without mowing, the BNPP temporal stability in response to adding different forms of nitrogen aligned with that of ANPP; however, with mowing, the BNPP temporal stability was not affected by adding NH4NO3 or urea, exhibiting an inconsistent trend of change in comparison to the ANPP temporal stability. The ANPP resistance indirectly regulates the response of the BNPP temporal stability to nitrogen addition in unmowed grasslands, whereas the BNPP temporal stability was not affected by plant above-ground indicators in mowed grasslands.Overall, our study addresses the scarcity of research on ecosystem temporal stability in saline-alkaline grasslands and demonstrates that mowing management can regulate the effects of different forms of nitrogen addition on ecosystem stability.Results: Nitrogen (N) addition affects plant biodiversity and community structure, subsequently altering the stability of above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) in grassland ecosystems. However, the effect of adding different nitrogen compounds and their subsequent interactions with mowing on the stability of both below-ground net primary productivity (BNPP) and total net primary productivity (TNPP) are largely unknown.This study compared the impact of adding two nitrogen compounds, NH4NO3 and urea, on the temporal stability of ANPP, BNPP, and TNPP in mowed and unmowed saline-alkaline grasslands.We found that the ANPP temporal stability in unmowed grasslands was not affected by NH4NO3 addition but increased with urea addition. Conversely, the ANPP temporal stability in mowed grasslands decreased with NH4NO3 addition and was not affected by urea addition. Mowing decoupled the ANPP and BNPP temporal stability responses to nitrogen addition. Without mowing, the BNPP temporal stability in response to adding different forms of nitrogen aligned with that of ANPP; however, with mowing, the BNPP temporal stability was not affected by adding NH4NO3 or urea, exhibiting an inconsistent trend of change in comparison to the ANPP temporal stability. The ANPP resistance indirectly regulates the response of the BNPP temporal stability to nitrogen addition in unmowed grasslands, whereas the BNPP temporal stability was not affected by plant above-ground indicators in mowed grasslands.Overall, our study addresses the scarcity of research on ecosystem temporal stability in saline-alkaline grasslands and demonstrates that mowing management can regulate the effects of different forms of nitrogen addition on ecosystem stability.Conclusions: Nitrogen (N) addition affects plant biodiversity and community structure, subsequently altering the stability of above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) in grassland ecosystems. However, the effect of adding different nitrogen compounds and their subsequent interactions with mowing on the stability of both below-ground net primary productivity (BNPP) and total net primary productivity (TNPP) are largely unknown.This study compared the impact of adding two nitrogen compounds, NH4NO3 and urea, on the temporal stability of ANPP, BNPP, and TNPP in mowed and unmowed saline-alkaline grasslands.We found that the ANPP temporal stability in unmowed grasslands was not affected by NH4NO3 addition but increased with urea addition. Conversely, the ANPP temporal stability in mowed grasslands decreased with NH4NO3 addition and was not affected by urea addition. Mowing decoupled the ANPP and BNPP temporal stability responses to nitrogen addition. Without mowing, the BNPP temporal stability in response to adding different forms of nitrogen aligned with that of ANPP; however, with mowing, the BNPP temporal stability was not affected by adding NH4NO3 or urea, exhibiting an inconsistent trend of change in comparison to the ANPP temporal stability. The ANPP resistance indirectly regulates the response of the BNPP temporal stability to nitrogen addition in unmowed grasslands, whereas the BNPP temporal stability was not affected by plant above-ground indicators in mowed grasslands.Overall, our study addresses the scarcity of research on ecosystem temporal stability in saline-alkaline grasslands and demonstrates that mowing management can regulate the effects of different forms of nitrogen addition on ecosystem stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Demonstrated that self-prioritization is a temporally stable property of decisional processing. • Utilized advanced computational models to probe the cognitive processes that underpin decision-making. • Found that processing efficiency for self-related stimuli uniquely declines over time. • Identified a tailored variant of the drift diffusion model as the optimal fit for the observed data. Personal relevance exerts a powerful influence on decisional processing, such that arbitrary stimuli associated with the self are classified more rapidly than identical material linked with other people. Notwithstanding numerous demonstrations of this facilitatory effect, it remains unclear whether self-prioritization is a temporally stable outcome of decision-making. Accordingly, using a shape-label matching task in combination with computational modeling, the current experiment investigated this matter. The results were informative. First, regardless of the target of comparison (i.e., friend or stranger), self-prioritization was a persistent product of decision-making across the testing session. Second, a variant of the standard drift diffusion model in which decisional boundaries collapsed gradually over the course of the task best fit the observed data. Third, whereas the efficiency of stimulus processing increased for other-related stimuli during the task, it decreased for self-related material. Collectively, these findings advance understanding of the temporal profile of self-prioritization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon nanostructures represent cutting-edge nanomaterials poised to replace thermionic emitters in electron emission devices, offering a pathway to miniaturization. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene (Gr) stand out for their exceptional electronic and structural properties, making them superior candidates for such applications. This study introduces an in-situ synthesis method for synthesizing a nanostructured composite of Gr-CNT by precisely controlling ammonia (NH 3) gas flow. The nanocomposite samples, prepared at varying NH 3 gas flow rates, were characterized using FESEM and Raman spectroscopy, revealing the formation of flower-like Gr nanoflakes and spiral-threaded CNT profiles. The presence of D and G bands, along with the D′, 2D and D + G bands in the Raman spectra, confirms the successful growth of the Gr-CNT field emitters. The electron field emission properties were significantly improved, leading to reduced turn-on E to 2.48 → 1.95 V / μm and threshold E th 2.9 → 2.32 V / μm fields, respectively. Notably, increasing NH 3 gas flow rates enhanced the macroscopic emission current density J M 174 → 797 μA / cm 2 become maximum at 40 sccm (standard cubic centimeters per minute) due to increased CNT protrusions. Repeatability tests and analyses of emission current stability demonstrated superior performance compared to pristine Gr field emitters. Increased protrusions density, reduced contact resistance, and a lesser screening effect are responsible for this enhanced stability. Additionally, the prepared field emitters were considered suitable for practical applications based on the scaled barrier field values extracted from the emission experiments, which satisfied the necessary criteria. [Display omitted] • The synthesis of nanocomposite of Gr and CNT by CVD technique at various NH 3 gas flow rates. • The density of CNT is controlled by controlling NH 3 gas flow. • Improvement in the field emission parameters by introducing the CNT on the Gr layer. • Nitrogen incorporation improved the temporal emission stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frequency and duration of exceptionally intense droughts is increasing as a consequence of ongoing climate change in many regions of the planet. Lower rain fall in some regions and the increasing in the use of water resources by human populations is increasing the number of water bodies experiencing drying processes. Such changes in ecosystem dynamics have direct impacts on biological communities.Here, we investigated the temporal structure of fish assemblage in terra‐firme (i.e., non‐floodable) streams in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon by sampling over three seasonal cycles (2012, 2013, 2014). The research investigated the temporal dynamics of the ichthyofauna of streams that experienced temporary flow interruption in 2012; using the ichthyofauna of perennial streams (not interrupted by the effects of drought) as controls to determine the effects of flow cessation on the temporal structure of fish assemblages and their recovery after drought.The species composition of perennial streams remained stable over 3 years (2012, 2013, 2014), not differing between the dry and rainy periods. On by contrast, the species composition of the streams that temporarily dried changed after the flow interruption event.Responses to the temporary flow interruption were not uniform among species, with some increasing in abundance after the event while others decreased. The species whose abundance increased immediately after flow interruption tended to return to initial conditions in the third year of sampling, which might be related to low resource availability in those streams. Species whose abundance decreased tended to remain in low abundance, possibly as a result of local/regional rarity of these species, hindering population restoration processes.The dissimilarity in fish assemblage composition (based on the relative abundance of species) between sampling events revealed that the changes caused by the temporary flow interruption were significantly greater than the temporal changes recorded in perennial streams. Overall, the results indicated that intense drought events may alter fish species composition in terra‐firme streams and that such changes may persist for some years.Our results also provide evidence that the responses of fish species to flow regime change are not uniform, highlighting the need for a better understanding of the basic biology of fishes to predict the effects of increased climate disturbances more accurately in aquatic communities. Untangling the effects of natural cyclical factors from the effects deriving from unpredictable extreme events is crucial to better predict the impacts of global climate change on the structure of biological communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]