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The current economy of Ukraine is marked by the urgent need to explore pathways for post-war economic recovery. Considering the severe damage inflicted on the country's energy infrastructure, restoring energy capacity and providing energy resources to both industries and private consumers are becoming critical issues. The conversation surrounding alternative energy sources and renewable energy technologies is gaining traction in this regard. These technologies are often called green technologies, as they prioritize preserving natural resources and promoting the sustainable use of various resources. It is evident that the financing of green technologies requires government involvement; however, a vital responsibility of the state should be to foster a market environment that incentivizes investors to contribute financially to green initiatives, highlighting the complexity and multifaceted nature of the issue at hand. Given this topic's significance, this study aims to assess the impact of renewable energy source utilization on Ukraine's economic recovery efforts. To accomplish this, the following tasks will be undertaken: conducting a statistical analysis of the renewable energy landscape in Ukraine, identifying the primary mechanisms for financing renewable energy projects, and performing a SWOT analysis of the renewable energy sector to gauge potential investor interest. The methodological framework for this research includes statistical analysis and SWOT analysis, which help clarify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with adopting green technologies in Ukraine. The findings suggest that one of the principal avenues for financing green technologies should involve green bonds, which serve as a means to attract investments from individuals and organizations to pursue ambitious projects focused on resource conservation and environmental safety. Additionally, the statistical analysis indicates that while Ukraine possesses significant potential for renewable energy development, progress in this area hinges on securing investment resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gender identification of authors in literary texts is a compelling research area at the intersection of computational linguistics and natural language processing, offering insights into historical biases and socio-cultural dynamics while enriching our understanding of literary traditions. This study is inspired by the historical context of women adopting male pseudonyms to navigate a male-dominated literary domain. By leveraging machine learning and state-of-the-art language models, we investigate the feasibility and accuracy of inferring an author's gender from their writings. Our key contributions include (1) the creation of a large-scale, diverse dataset of literary texts spanning various literary epochs and (2) the evaluation of multiple classification models. Our experiments reveal that the best-performing model achieves an accuracy above 90 % , highlighting the potential of computational methods to uncover stylistic and linguistic markers tied to gender. These findings open avenues for further research into stylistic and linguistic patterns across literary history and their relationship to authorial identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the results of the analysis of data from the Russian neutron spectrometer LEND (Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector), installed aboard NASA's lunar orbiter LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter). An estimate of the content of subsurface water ice in the permanently shadowed region Cabeus-1, located inside the large Cabeus crater in the vicinity of the lunar south pole, has been obtained. The analysis used observations made with the LEND instrument from 2009 to 2023. It is shown that the surface neutron albedo in the vicinity and inside of Cabeus-1 correlates with the relief height and the distribution of average annual temperatures. The average subsurface water ice content over the entire Cabeus-1 region was estimated to be 0.49 ± 0.05% by mass fraction. The maximum value of about 0.7% is observed at the very bottom of the crater on the surface area where the minimum average annual temperature was recorded. This site coincides with the site of the LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) impact experiment, which confirmed a significant amount of water ice in the near-surface material of the Moon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a streamlined taxonomy for categorizing offensive language in Arabic, specifically Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and the Levantine dialect. Addressing a gap in the existing literature, which has mainly focused on Indo-European languages, our taxonomy divides offensive language into seven levels (six explicit and one implicit). We adapted our framework from the simplified offensive language (SOL) taxonomy by (Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk, Barbara, Slavko Žitnik, Anna Bączkowska, Chaya Liebeskind, Jelena Mitrovic & Giedre Valunaite Oleškeviciente. 2021a. Lod-connected offensive language ontology and tagset enrichment. In Shubert R. Carvalho & Renato R. Souza (eds.), Proceedings of the workshops and tutorials held at ldk 2021 co-located with the 3rd language, data and knowledge conference, Vol. 3064, 135–150. CEUR Workshop Proceedings), customizing it to reflect the unique linguistic and cultural nuances of Arabic. To validate this taxonomy, we created a new dataset from various social media platforms, primarily focusing on Twitter. This dataset was manually curated by human annotators and is described in detail within the paper, serving as both a validation tool for our taxonomy and a foundation for future research on offensive language detection in Arabic. Initial analysis of the dataset reveals complex patterns of offensive expressions in MSA and Levantine Arabic, underscoring the need to account for linguistic and cultural variations in studying online abuse. Our taxonomy and dataset are vital for advancing research in Arabic sociocultural studies, natural language processing, and linguistic analysis, and contribute to the study of low-resource languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Cis‐regulatory element editing can generate quantitative trait variation that mitigates extreme phenotypes and harmful pleiotropy associated with coding sequence mutations. Here, we applied a multiplexed CRISPR/Cas9 approach, informed by bioinformatic datasets, to generate genotypic variation in the promoter of OsSTOMAGEN, a positive regulator of rice stomatal density. Engineered genotypic variation corresponded to broad and continuous variation in stomatal density, ranging from 70% to 120% of wild‐type stomatal density. This panel of stomatal variants was leveraged in physiological assays to establish discrete relationships between stomatal morphological variation and stomatal conductance, carbon assimilation and intrinsic water use efficiency in steady‐state and fluctuating light conditions. Additionally, promoter alleles were subjected to vegetative drought regimes to assay the effects of the edited alleles on developmental response to drought. Notably, the capacity for drought‐responsive stomatal density reprogramming in stomagen and two cis‐regulatory edited alleles was reduced. Collectively our data demonstrate that cis‐regulatory element editing can generate near‐isogenic trait variation that can be leveraged for establishing relationships between anatomy and physiology, providing a basis for optimizing traits across diverse environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temporal stability of plant productivity affects species' access to resources, exposure to stressors and strength of interactions with other species in the community, including support to the food web. The magnitude of temporal stability depends on how a species allocates resources among tissues and across phenological stages, such as vegetative growth versus reproduction. Understanding how plant phenological traits correlate with the long‐term stability of plant biomass is particularly important in highly variable ecosystems, such as drylands.We evaluated whether phenological traits predict the temporal stability of plant species productivity by correlating 18 years of monthly phenology observations with biannual estimates of above‐ground plant biomass for 98 plant species from semi‐arid drylands. We then paired these phenological traits with potential climate drivers to identify abiotic contexts that favour specific phenological strategies among plant species.Phenological traits predicted the stability of plant species above‐ground biomass. Plant species with longer vegetative phenophases not only had more stable biomass production over time but also failed to fruit in a greater proportion of years, indicating a growth–reproduction trade‐off. Earlier leaf‐out dates, longer fruiting duration and longer time lags between leaf and fruit production also predicted greater temporal stability.Species with stability‐promoting traits began greening in drier conditions than their unstable counterparts and experienced unexpectedly greater exposure to climate stress, indicated by the wider range of temperatures and precipitation experienced during biologically active periods.Our results suggest that bet‐hedging strategies that spread resource acquisition and reproduction over long time periods help to stabilize plant species productivity in variable environments, such as drylands. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lunar surface in the vicinity of the poles has special properties compared to the surface at the equator and at moderate latitudes. First, the polar regolith contains quite a large amount of water ice, which significantly affects the neutron radiation generated under the influence of galactic cosmic rays. Second, the temperature of the polar regolith can have extremely low values of about 25 K, as a result of which the thermal component of the neutron flux is partially held in the gravitational field. Based on numerical modeling of neutron radiation from the lunar surface, its main features were shown for the polar regions compared to the equatorial ones: a significant decrease in the ratio of epithermal and thermal neutron fluxes due to an increase in the concentration of hydrogen in the regolith, as well as a significant increase in the density of thermal neutrons near the surface due to gravitational capture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hate crime victimization targeting the victim's religious identity poses a serious problem for individuals, communities, and societies. This systematic review describes countermeasures to such victimization, aiming for broad descriptive inclusion by canvassing personal adaptations, collective programs, and institutional-governmental policies. Targeting peer-reviewed articles published between 2002 and 2022, we found 44 articles describing measures related to religion-based victimization prevention. We classified the studied measures into 12 main types. The most salient personal adaptations included camouflage-type blending in to avoid victimization, using religion as a source of resilience, and changing routines to deflect risk. At the collective level, mobilizing community resilience, stereotype reduction, and place-based solutions were often researched. The relatively few institutional-level studies addressed measures to enhance the connection between victims and authorities by various means. The experimental studies heavily concentrated on experiments supporting the efficacy of changing people's perceptions as a means of prevention. The review concludes with a discussion about research and policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factor XII (FXII), the zymogen of the protease FXIIa, contributes to pathologic processes such as bradykinin-dependent angioedema and thrombosis through its capacity to convert the homologs prekallikrein and factor XI to the proteases plasma kallikrein and factor XIa. FXII activation and FXIIa activity are enhanced when the protein binds to a surface. Here, we review recent work on the structure and enzymology of FXII with an emphasis on how they relate to pathology. FXII is a homolog of pro-hepatocyte growth factor activator (pro-HGFA). We prepared a panel of FXII molecules in which individual domains were replaced with corresponding pro-HGFA domains and tested them in FXII activation and activity assays. When in fluid phase (not surface bound), FXII and prekallikrein undergo reciprocal activation. The FXII heavy chain restricts reciprocal activation, setting limits on the rate of this process. Pro-HGFA replacements for the FXII fibronectin type 2 or kringle domains markedly accelerate reciprocal activation, indicating disruption of the normal regulatory function of the heavy chain. Surface binding also enhances FXII activation and activity. This effect is lost if the FXII first epidermal growth factor (EGF1) domain is replaced with pro-HGFA EGF1. These results suggest that FXII circulates in blood in a "closed" form that is resistant to activation. Intramolecular interactions involving the fibronectin type 2 and kringle domains maintain the closed form. FXII binding to a surface through the EGF1 domain disrupts these interactions, resulting in an open conformation that facilitates FXII activation. These observations have implications for understanding FXII contributions to diseases such as hereditary angioedema and surface-triggered thrombosis, and for developing treatments for thrombo-inflammatory disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in the volume, rate, and timing of the snowmelt water pulse have profound implications for seasonal soil moisture, evapotranspiration (ET), groundwater recharge, and downstream water availability, especially in the context of climate change. Here, we present an empirical analysis of water available for runoff using five eddy covariance towers located in continental montane forests across a regional gradient of snow depth, precipitation seasonality, and aridity. We specifically investigated how energy‐water asynchrony (i.e., snowmelt timing relative to atmospheric demand), surface water input intensity (rain and snowmelt), and observed winter ET (winter AET) impact multiple water balance metrics that determine water available for runoff (WAfR). Overall, we found that WAfR had the strongest relationship with energy‐water asynchrony (adjusted r2 = 0.52) and that winter AET was correlated to total water year evapotranspiration but not to other water balance metrics. Stepwise regression analysis demonstrated that none of the tested mechanisms were strongly related to the Budyko‐type runoff anomaly (highest adjusted r2 = 0.21). We, therefore, conclude that WAfR from continental montane forests is most sensitive to the degree of energy‐water asynchrony that occurs. The results of this empirical study identify the physical mechanisms driving variability of WAfR in continental montane forests and are thus broadly relevant to the hydrologic management and modelling communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores a conceptual model for the relationship between education and health, focusing on the effect of children's health on their educational outcomes and the impact of educational outcomes on children's life course health. Topics discussed include the significance of using educational data to enhance public health understanding, and improvement in health through social and psychological factors.

Dryland ecosystems cover 40% of our planet's land surface, support billions of people, and are responding rapidly to climate and land use change. These expansive systems also dominate core aspects of Earth's climate, storing and exchanging vast amounts of water, carbon, and energy with the atmosphere. Despite their indispensable ecosystem services and high vulnerability to change, drylands are one of the least understood ecosystem types, partly due to challenges studying their heterogeneous landscapes and misconceptions that drylands are unproductive "wastelands." Consequently, inadequate understanding of dryland processes has resulted in poor model representation and forecasting capacity, hindering decision making for these at‐risk ecosystems. NASA satellite resources are increasingly available at the higher resolutions needed to enhance understanding of drylands' heterogeneous spatiotemporal dynamics. NASA's Terrestrial Ecology Program solicited proposals for scoping a multi‐year field campaign, of which Adaptation and Response in Drylands (ARID) was one of two scoping studies selected. A primary goal of the scoping study is to gather input from the scientific and data end‐user communities on dryland research gaps and data user needs. Here, we provide an overview of the ARID team's community engagement and how it has guided development of our framework. This includes an ARID kickoff meeting with over 300 participants held in October 2023 at the University of Arizona to gather input from data end‐users and scientists. We also summarize insights gained from hundreds of follow‐up activities, including from a tribal‐engagement focused workshop in New Mexico, conference town halls, intensive roundtables, and international engagements. Plain Language Summary: Drylands are landscapes with limited water availability, which cover 40% of Earth's land surfaces, support billions of humans, and play a substantial role in Earth's weather and climate systems. However, these ecosystems are under threat from droughts and heatwaves. They are also poorly understood because of challenges measuring their highly diverse vegetation types and interspersed vegetation cover and because of incorrect perceptions that they are unimportant "wastelands." These limitations make it challenging to manage their landscapes and quantify how drylands are driving Earth's weather and climate. NASA solicited proposals for a multi‐year field campaign, of which Adaptation and Response in Drylands (ARID) was one of two scoping studies selected. The ARID scoping study aims to design a plan for how NASA satellite, aircraft, and field instruments can be used to better understand dryland ecosystems and their response to change. A primary scoping goal is to engage with scientists and data‐users, especially those who manage land, to understand research and management priorities in drylands. Here, we discuss details of our meeting with over 300 scientists and data‐users in Tucson, AZ in October 2023. We also highlight feedback from our tribal‐focused workshop in New Mexico, conference town halls, and international meetings. Key Points: Adaptation and Response in Drylands (ARID) is a 1‐year scoping study for a multi‐year NASA Terrestrial Ecology dryland field campaignAn ARID workshop was held in Tucson, Arizona in October 2023 with more than 30 data end‐users and 300 scientists in attendanceFurther input from hundreds of researchers and end‐users was obtained through workshops, conference townhalls, and tribal engagement [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the moment of birth, the newborn gastrointestinal tract is infiltrated by various bacteria originating from both maternal and environmental sources. These colonizing bacteria form a complex microbiota community that undergoes continuous changes until adulthood and plays an important role in infant health. The maturation of the infant gut microbiota is driven by many factors and follows a distinct patterned trajectory, with specific bacterial taxa establish in the intestine in accordance with developmental milestones as the infant grows. In this review, we highlight how elements such as diet and host physiology select for specific microbial functions and shape the composition of the bacterial community in the large intestine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we introduce and evaluate a novel extractive text summarization methodology, "SummarEyes," based on the visual interaction of the user with the text, using eye-tracking data, as opposed to the traditional approaches based on analysis of textual content only. We conducted a large-scale user study aiming to collect eye-tracking data while reading the text to be summarized. We utilized various user's implicit attention metrics to generate novel eye-tracking-based text summarization models and compared them both to eye-tracking models typically using only a single feature of the gaze duration and to traditional, as well as state-of-the-art summarization methods, based solely on textual features. The models' quality was evaluated in terms of ROUGE scores using intrinsic evaluation on the datasets we had generated, relating gaze behavior to personalized and DUC gold-standard summaries. The experimental results showed that "SummarEyes" significantly outperformed the other summarizers in predicting both the user's personalized summarization and the generic gold standard summaries. With the increasing availability of eye-tracking technology, this research can lead to a new generation of effective user-centric text summarization tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban forests provide ecosystem services important for regulating climate, conserving biodiversity, and maintaining human well‐being. However, these forests vary in composition and physiological traits due to their unique biophysical and social contexts. This variation complicates assessing the functions and services of different urban forests. To compare the characteristics of the urban forest, we sampled the species composition and two externally sourced traits (drought tolerance and water‐use capacity) of tree and shrub species in residential yards, unmanaged areas, and natural reference ecosystems within six cities across the contiguous US. As compared to natural and unmanaged forests, residential yards had markedly higher tree and shrub species richness, were composed primarily of introduced species, and had more species with low drought tolerance. The divergence between natural and human‐managed areas was most dramatic in arid climates. Our findings suggest that the answer to the question of "what is an urban forest" strongly depends on where you look within and between cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In the search for objective measures of therapeutic outcomes for patients with spinal cord stimulation (SCS) devices, various metrics of cardiac performance have been linked to pain as well as overall health. To track such measures at home, recent studies have incorporated wearables to monitor cardiac activity over months or years. The drawbacks to wearables, such as patient compliance, would be obviated by on-device sensing that incorporates the SCS lead. This study sought to evaluate the feasibility of using SCS leads to record cardiac electrograms. Methods: The quality of signals sensed by externalized, percutaneous leads in the thoracic spine of 10 subjects at the end of their SCS trial were characterized across various electrode configurations and postures by detecting R-peaks and calculating signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In a subset of 5 subjects, cardiac metrics were then compared to those measured simultaneously with a wearable. Results: The average signal quality was acceptable for R-peak detection (i.e., SNR > 5) for all configurations and positions across all 10 subjects, with higher signal quality achieved when recording in resting positions. Notably, the spinal lead recordings enabled more reliable beat detection compared to the wearable (n = 29 recording pairs; p < 0.001). When excluding wearable recordings with over 35% missed beats, the inter-beat intervals across devices were highly correlated (n = 22 recording pairs; Pearson correlation: R = 0.99, p < 0.001). Further comparisons in these aligned wearable and corresponding spinal-lead recordings revealed significant differences in the frequency domain metrics (i.e., absolute and normalized high and low frequency HRV power, p < 0.05), but not in time domain HRV parameters. Discussion: The ability of an implanted SCS system to record electrocardiograms, as demonstrated here, could provide the basis of automated SCS therapy by tracking potential biomarkers of the patient's overall health state without the need for additional external devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides a brief description of the Liulin-MO dosimeter, which is part of the FREND (Fine Resolution Epithermal Neutron Detector) device installed on the TGO (Trace Gas Orbiter) spacecraft of the ExoMars-2016 mission. Since April 2018, TGO has been operating in orbit around Mars. Data are presented on the radiation environment in the orbit of Mars during the decline phase of the 24th cycle of solar activity and the growth phase of the 25th cycle. During the period under review, a maximum flux and dose rate due to galactic cosmic rays (GCR) were observed. Between July 2021 and March 2023, the Liulin-MO dosimeter recorded eight increases in particle fluxes and dose rates from solar proton events (SPEs). Data are presented on the radiation environment during the SPE in Mars orbit in July 2021–March 2022, when Mars was on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth. A comparison is made of particle fluxes measured in orbits around the Earth and Mars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Our study examined the impact of sex, ADHD subtype, and comorbid illnesses (depression/anxiety) on the timing of diagnosis and treatment for ADHD. Method: To analyze ADHD patients, four health databases were used to assess subtype, comorbid mood, and antidepressant or anxiolytic drug exposure. Analyses were stratified by sex and age. Standardized mean differences measured intergroup differences. Results: Females with ADHD were identified at older ages and had higher rates of depression and anxiety diagnoses and treatments before and after their initial ADHD diagnosis. Predominantly inattentive ADHD patients were diagnosed later and more likely to receive mood disorder diagnosis and treatment than hyperactive impulsive ADHD patients. Conclusions: Results suggest a more complex ADHD presentation in females, potentially causing late diagnosis and delayed treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During 2005–2007, the Securities and Exchange Commission conducted a randomized trial in which it removed short-sale restrictions from one third of the Russell 3000 firms. Early studies found modest market microstructure effects of removing the restrictions but no effect on short interest, stock returns, volatility, or price efficiency. More recently, many studies have attributed a wide range of indirect outcomes to this experiment, mostly without assessing the causal channels for those outcomes. We examine the three most often cited causal channels for these indirect effects: short interest, returns, and managerial fear. We find no evidence to support these channels. We then reexamine the principal findings in four recent studies using a sample that closely matches the actual experiment and a common research design and find minimal support for the reported indirect effects. Our findings highlight the importance of confirming a causal channel or an economic mechanism and show that sample selection and specification choices can produce statistical significance even without an underlying economic mechanism. This paper was accepted by David Sraer, finance. Supplemental Material: The internet appendix and data are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4918. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing primary evidence comparing fibular intramedullary fixation (IMF) with traditional plate fixation (PF) for the treatment of distal fibular fractures remains limited by modest sample sizes. Using a large national database, this study aims to compare use rates, fracture patterns, patient characteristics, time to surgery, complication rates, and cost between fibular IMF and PF within the United States. Adults treated with fibular IMF or PF between October 2015 and October 2021 were identified within the PearlDiver Database. The ratio of IMF‐treated to PF‐treated patients was tracked temporally to compare use rates. Fracture patterns were determined using fracture diagnoses within one‐month preceding surgery. Further comparisons of IMF‐ and PF‐treated groups only included patients with at least 12 months of follow‐up, and patients with upper tibia or tibia shaft fractures were excluded. An analysis of cohorts matched at a 1 : 4 (IMF: PF) ratio to control for risk factors was performed to compare time to surgery, complication rates (infection, nonunion, malunion, revision, hardware removal, pulmonary embolism, and deep vein thrombosis), and cost. 39329 patients (2294 IMF and 37035 PF) were identified. IMF use trended upwards relative to PF use over time. Tibia and fibula shaft fractures were the most common injuries in IMF patients versus bimalleolar and trimalleolar fractures in PF patients. A higher proportion of IMF patients had open fractures. IMF patients were younger, with higher mean ECI, fewer female patients, and higher rates of CKD. Percutaneous approaches were more common among IMF patients. There were no significant differences in time to surgery or complication rates. IMF was less costly. The popularity of IMF trended upwards across the study period. IMF was used more commonly in injuries involving higher energy trauma and soft tissue disruption. Overall, IMF patients were younger with more comorbidities. When used in similar populations, IMF appears to be a cost‐effective alternative to PF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE We examined the association of arsenic in federally regulated community water systems (CWS) and unregulated private wells with type 2 diabetes (T2D) incidence in the Strong Heart Family Study (SHFS), a prospective study of American Indian communities, and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), a prospective study of racially and ethnically diverse urban U.S. communities. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We evaluated 1,791 participants from SHFS and 5,777 participants from MESA who had water arsenic estimates available and were free of T2D at baseline (2001-2003 and 2000-2002, respectively). Participants were followed for incident T2D until 2010 (SHFS cohort) or 2019 (MESA cohort). We used Cox proportional hazards mixed-effects models to account for clustering by family and residential zip code, with adjustment for sex, baseline age, BMI, smoking status, and education. RESULTS T2D incidence was 24.4 cases per 1,000 person-years (mean follow-up, 5.6 years) in SHFS and 11.2 per 1,000 person-years (mean follow-up, 14.0 years) in MESA. In a meta-analysis across the SHFS and MESA cohorts, the hazard ratio (95% CI) per doubling in CWS arsenic was 1.10 (1.02, 1.18). The corresponding hazard ratio was 1.09 (0.95, 1.26) in the SHFS group and 1.10 (1.01, 1.20) in the MESA group. The corresponding hazard ratio (95% CI) for arsenic in private wells and incident T2D in SHFS was 1.05 (0.95, 1.16). We observed statistical interaction and larger magnitude hazard ratios for participants with BMI <25 kg/m² and female participants. CONCLUSIONS Low to moderate water arsenic levels (<10 µg/L) were associated with T2D incidence in the SHFS and MESA cohorts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Popular evapotranspiration (ET) partitioning methods make assumptions that might not be well‐suited to dryland ecosystems, such as high sensitivity of plant water‐use efficiency (WUE) to vapor pressure deficit (VPD). Our objectives were to (a) create an ET partitioning model that can produce fine‐scale estimates of transpiration (T) in drylands, and (b) use this approach to evaluate how climate controls T and WUE across ecosystem types and timescales along a dryland aridity gradient. We developed a novel, semi‐mechanistic ET partitioning method using a Bayesian approach that constrains abiotic evaporation using process‐based models, and loosely constrains time‐varying WUE within an autoregressive framework. We used this method to estimate daily T and weekly WUE across seven dryland ecosystem types and found that T dominates ET across the aridity gradient. Then, we applied cross‐wavelet coherence analysis to evaluate the temporal coherence between focal response variables (WUE and T/ET) and environmental variables. At yearly scales, we found that WUE at less arid, higher elevation sites was primarily limited by atmospheric moisture demand, and WUE at more arid, lower elevation sites was primarily limited by moisture supply. At sub‐yearly timescales, WUE and VPD were sporadically correlated. Hence, ecosystem‐scale dryland WUE is not always sensitive to changes in VPD at short timescales, despite this being a common assumption in many ET partitioning models. This new ET partitioning method can be used in dryland ecosystems to better understand how climate influences physically and biologically driven water fluxes. Plain Language Summary: We developed a new model to better understand how plants use and lose water in drylands and applied it to seven dryland sites. Our model partitions evapotranspiration—the total water lost to the atmosphere from the Earth's surface— into its components. Evapotranspiration consists of both evaporation from wet surfaces, such as wet soil, and the water lost from plants when they photosynthesize. Currently, models assume a strong relationship between the efficiency with which plants use water ("water‐use efficiency") and the dryness of the atmosphere, but this violates what we know about how plants function in drylands. For example, in drylands many plants are adapted to very dry conditions and their water use can be less sensitive to increasing atmospheric dryness compared to plants from wet environments. Using this new model, we found that plant water‐use efficiency is only correlated with atmospheric dryness some of the time and that evapotranspiration is primary controlled by water lost from plants. This model allows us to better understand the importance of timescale and ecosystem type in governing plant water‐use dynamics and more accurately assess the potential impact of changing climate conditions on dryland water fluxes and ecosystem processes. Key Points: A new evapotranspiration partitioning model (DEPART) was developed using eddy covariance flux tower measurements in a Bayesian frameworkThis method produces daily estimates of transpiration and weekly estimates of plant water‐use efficiency at the ecosystem scaleThis method reveals water‐use efficiency is limited by moisture supply in more arid climates and moisture demand in less arid climates [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xenogenesis has been recognized as a prospective method for producing channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus ♀ × blue catfish, I. furcatus ♂ hybrids. The xenogenesis procedure can be achieved by transplanting undifferentiated stem cells derived from a donor fish into a sterile recipient. Xenogenesis for hybrid catfish embryo production has been accomplished using triploid channel catfish as a surrogate. However, having a surrogate species with a shorter maturation period, like white catfish (Ameiurus catus), would result in reduced feed costs, labor costs, and smaller body size requirements, making it a more suitable species for commercial applications where space is limited, and as a model species. Hence, the present study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of triploid white catfish as a surrogate species to transplant blue catfish stem cells (BSCs) and channel catfish stem cells (CSCs). Triploid white catfish fry were injected with either BSCs or CSCs labeled with PKH 26 fluorescence dye from 0 to 12 days post hatch (DPH). No significant differences in weight and length of fry were detected among BSCs and CSCs injection times (0 to 12 DPH) when fry were sampled at 45 and 90 DPH (P > 0.05). The highest survival was reported when fry were injected between 4.0 to 5.5 DPH (≥ 81.2%). At 45 and 90 DPH, cell and cluster area increased for recipients injected from 0 to 5.2 DPH, and the highest cluster area values were reported between 4.0 to 5.2 DPH. Thereafter, fluorescent cell and cluster area in the host declined with no further decrease after 10 DPH. At 45 DPH, the highest percentage of xenogens were detected when fry were injected with BSCs between 4.0 to 5.0 and CSCs between 3.0 to 5.0 DPH. At 90 DPH, the highest number of xenogens were detected from 4.0 to 6.0 DPH when injected with either BSCs or CSCs. The current study demonstrated the suitability of white catfish as a surrogate species when BSCs and CSCs were transplanted into triploid white catfish between 4.0 to 6.0 DPH (27.4 ± 0.4°C). Overall, these findings allow enhanced efficiency of commercializing xenogenic catfish carrying gametes of either blue catfish or channel catfish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the literary domain, genres function as fundamental organizing concepts that provide readers, publishers, and academics with a unified framework. Genres are discrete categories that are distinguished by common stylistic, thematic, and structural components. They facilitate the categorization process and improve our understanding of a wide range of literary expressions. In this paper, we introduce a new dataset for genre classification of Russian books, covering 11 literary genres. We also perform dataset evaluation for the tasks of binary and multi-class genre identification. Through extensive experimentation and analysis, we explore the effectiveness of different text representations, including stylometric features, in genre classification. Our findings clarify the challenges present in classifying Russian literature by genre, revealing insights into the performance of different models across various genres. Furthermore, we address several research questions regarding the difficulty of multi-class classification compared to binary classification, and the impact of stylometric features on classification accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex-specific traits and behaviors emerge during development by the acquisition of unique properties in the nervous system of each sex. However, the genetic events responsible for introducing these sex-specific features remain poorly understood. In this study, we create a comprehensive gene expression atlas of pure populations of hermaphrodites and males of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans across development. We discover numerous differentially expressed genes, including neuronal gene families like transcription factors, neuropeptides, and G protein-coupled receptors. We identify INS-39, an insulin-like peptide, as a prominent male-biased gene expressed specifically in ciliated sensory neurons. We show that INS-39 serves as an early-stage male marker, facilitating the effective isolation of males in high-throughput experiments. Through complex and sex-specific regulation, ins-39 plays pleiotropic sexually dimorphic roles in various behaviors, while also playing a shared, dimorphic role in early life stress. This study offers a comparative sexual and developmental gene expression database for C. elegans. Furthermore, it highlights conserved genes that may underlie the sexually dimorphic manifestation of different human diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trees in residential environments are affected by a unique combination of environmental and anthropogenic factors, including occasional insect outbreaks that are increasing in frequency and severity due to climate change. We studied loblolly pine trees infested by bark beetles in a residential backyard in a southeastern US city. We investigated the responses of tree and stand‐level transpiration to environmental factors (solar radiation, atmospheric vapor pressure deficit, and soil moisture), severe weather events (strong winds and heavy storms), bark beetle infestation, and human actions (insecticide treatments and tree removals). We used constant heat dissipation probes to make continuous sap flux measurements (J0) in tree boles. Over 22 months of the study, J0 of trees with confirmed infestation decreased from ~90 to ~60 g cm−2 day−1 and J0 of the rest of the trees increased from ~60 to ~80 g cm−2 day−1. One infested tree died, as its J0 steadily declined from 110 g cm−2 day−1 to zero over the course of 2 months, followed by a loss of foliage and visible signs of severe infestation 6 months later. J0 was sensitive to variations in incoming solar radiation and atmospheric vapor pressure deficit. In most trees, J0 linearly responded to soil water content during drought periods. Yet despite complex dynamics of J0 variations, plot‐level transpiration at the end of the study was the same as at the beginning due to compensatory increases in tree transpiration rates. This study highlights the intrinsic interplay of environmental, biotic, and anthropogenic factors in residential environments where human actions may directly mediate ecosystem responses to climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the seasonality of photosynthesis in 46 evergreen needleleaf (evergreen needleleaf forests (ENF)) and deciduous broadleaf (deciduous broadleaf forests (DBF)) forests across North America and Eurasia. We quantified the onset and end (StartGPP and EndGPP) of photosynthesis in spring and autumn based on the response of net ecosystem exchange of CO2 to sunlight. To test the hypothesis that snowmelt is required for photosynthesis to begin, these were compared with end of snowmelt derived from soil temperature. ENF forests achieved 10% of summer photosynthetic capacity ∼3 weeks before end of snowmelt, while DBF forests achieved that capacity ∼4 weeks afterward. DBF forests increased photosynthetic capacity in spring faster (1.95% d−1) than ENF (1.10% d−1), and their active season length (EndGPP–StartGPP) was ∼50 days shorter. We hypothesized that warming has influenced timing of the photosynthesis season. We found minimal evidence for long‐term change in StartGPP, EndGPP, or air temperature, but their interannual anomalies were significantly correlated. Warmer weather was associated with earlier StartGPP (1.3–2.5 days °C−1) or later EndGPP (1.5–1.8 days °C−1, depending on forest type and month). Finally, we tested whether existing phenological models could predict StartGPP and EndGPP. For ENF forests, air temperature‐ and daylength‐based models provided best predictions for StartGPP, while a chilling‐degree‐day model was best for EndGPP. The root mean square errors (RMSE) between predicted and observed StartGPP and EndGPP were 11.7 and 11.3 days, respectively. For DBF forests, temperature‐ and daylength‐based models yielded the best results (RMSE 6.3 and 10.5 days). Plain Language Summary: We used records of forest‐atmosphere carbon dioxide exchange and weather to determine when photosynthesis begins and ends each year in 46 northern hemisphere forests. We used observations of soil temperature to determine the timing of the end of the snowmelt period. We found that evergreen needleleaf forests began photosynthesis ∼3 weeks before snowmelt ended, while deciduous broadleaf forests (DBF) waited until ∼4 weeks after snowmelt ended. The DBF type ramped up photosynthesis in spring, and ramped down in autumn, faster than the ENF, and the length of the photosynthesis (or "growing") season was ∼50 days shorter for DBF forests. Abundant evidence suggests that spring is occurring earlier in recent decades. We checked whether these forests are starting photosynthesis earlier by looking at forests with long‐term records. We found minimal support for changes in photosynthetic phenology over time, but very strong connections between temperature and the timing of spring and autumn transitions. We tested 19 models that use weather data to predict plant phenological events. We used gridded weather data to drive the models, and the best models were able to predict the spring and autumn photosynthetic transitions to within ∼10 days. Key Points: Evergreen forests began photosynthesis in spring ∼3 weeks before end of snowmelt, deciduous forests ∼4 weeks after end of snowmeltThere is little evidence for lengthening of the photosynthetic season in the northern hemisphere forest flux tower recordInterannual variation in onset and end of photosynthesis was related to air temperature [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let K ⊂ R d be a convex body. Let X1,... , Xk, where k ≤ d, be random points independently and uniformly chosen in K, and let ξk be a uniformly distributed random linear k-plane. It is proved that if p ≥ −d + k + 1, then E K ∩ ξ k d + p ≤ c d , k , p · K k E conv 0 , X 1 , ⋯ , X k p , where | · | and conv denote the volume of the corresponding dimension and the convex hull, respectively. The constant cd,k,p is such that if k > 1, then the equality holds if and only if K is an ellipsoid centered at the origin, and if k = 1, then the inequality turns to equality. The inequality reduces to the Busemann intersection inequality if p = 0 and to the Busemann random simplex inequality if k = d. An affine version of this inequality which in a similar way generalizes the Schneider inequality and the Blaschke-Grömer inequality is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is Part II of a double‐paper series that presents the abundance of water and chlorine along with other neutron‐absorbing elements in the shallow subsurface of Gale crater based on measurements by the Dynamic Albedo of Neutron (DAN) instrument onboard NASA's Curiosity rover. Initial results were represented as pixels on map data products from both DAN active and passive measurements made along the 27‐km traverse of the rover, corresponding to the mission period from landing on the martian surface in August 2012 through December 2021. In Part II, the contents of water and chlorine along with other neutron absorbers are studied separately for distinct geological regions along the traverse. Mean values and sample variances of these values are presented for each region. Water‐equivalent hydrogen (WEH) measurements show variability within the Jura member of the Murray formation and increase within the Carolyn Shoemaker formation. A large fraction of stratigraphic units (e.g., Bradbury, Sheepbed, Pahrump Hills and others) have mean WEH values between 2 and 3 wt.%, while units in the second part of the traverse (Jura, Knockfarrill Hill, Glasgow, Pontours) have mean values of WEH above 3 wt.%. The mean absorption‐equivalent chlorine value has no large variations for all tested geologic units; it is equal to around 1% for all of them. Plain Language Summary: The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons instrument installed on NASA's Curiosity rover provides measurements of hydrogen (as an indicator of water) and other neutron‐absorbing elements (primarily chlorine) in the shallow subsurface of Gale crater on Mars. The initial data set for this study consists of pixel data products obtained from the instrument measurements taken over the rover's traverse of 27 km from August 2012 to December 2021. The data has been analyzed for distinct geological members defined by the Mars Science Laboratory team, allowing independent examination of various geological locations. The Jura, Knockfarrill Hill, and Pontours members exhibit mean water estimation values above 3 wt.%, while the majority of stratigraphic units, such as Bradbury and Sheepbed, have mean water values ranging between 2 and 3 wt.%. Measurements of water reveal differentiation in the Jura member of the Murray formation. The highest water values, reaching up to 4 wt.%, are observed in locations of the Carolyn Shoemaker formation. For other neutron‐absorbing elements, the mean value is roughly 1 wt.% for all geological units tested and does not vary significantly. Key Points: The Dynamic Albedo of Neutron (DAN) data was analyzed for the period of time from August 2012 to December 2021, for almost 27 km of the MSL traverse15 distinct MSL geological regions were examined using the DAN dataThe DAN data recognized the presence of two subregions within the Jura member of the Murray formation based on Water‐equivalent hydrogen concentration [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of GV-executivo is the property of Fundacao Getulio Vargas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The object of the study is soils in areas with active military operations. The study is dedicated to assessing the environmental impact of military operations through forecasting. The paper highlights the impact of military conflict on the distribution of heavy metals in soils. An analysis of the distribution and interaction of heavy metals in soil is carried out, which helps to understand the dynamics of pollution in the context of military conflict, and allows to understand the complex processes of the impact of military operations on the environment and the state of soil resources. The complex interrelationships between military operations and environmental pollution are revealed, with an emphasis on the importance of studying the distribution and immobilization of iron and heavy metals in the current conditions of the risk of military operations. It is shown that the most rapidly distributed metals in the soil are: iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), antimony (Sb); the slowest: arsenic (As), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), mercury (Hg), manganese (Mn), vanadium (V). It was found that loams and chernozems are more prone to the accumulation of heavy metals and iron than sandy soils. Compared to sandy soil, the rate of metal release in loam decreases from 16.7 % to 69.7 %. In comparison of chernozem to loam, the release rate slows down from 17.85 % to 32.08 %. It was found that the rate of spreading of barium, cobalt, arsenic, lead, mercury, manganese, strontium and titanium does not depend on the type and mechanical parameters of the soil. The practical use of the results will help to predict the mechanism of pollution spread and help to identify the highest risk areas. The results of the study indicate the need to develop scientifically sound strategies for environmental protection and promotion of sustainable development in the area affected by military events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System® (PROMIS®) may be used to assess an individual patient's perspective of their physical, mental, and social health through either standard or computer adaptive testing (CAT) patient questionnaires. These questionnaires are used across disciplines; however, they have seen considerable application in orthopaedic surgery. Patient characteristics associated with PROMIS CAT completion have not been examined within the context of social determinants of health, such as social deprivation or health literacy, nor has patient understanding of the content of PROMIS CAT been assessed. Questions/purposes: (1) What patient demographics, including social deprivation, are associated with completion of PROMIS CAT questionnaires? (2) Is health literacy level associated with completion of PROMIS CAT questionnaires? (3) Do patients with lower health literacy have a higher odds of completing PROMIS CAT without fully understanding the content? Methods: Between June 2022 and August 2022, a cross-sectional study was performed via a paper survey administered to patients at a single, urban, quaternary academic medical center in orthopaedic subspecialty clinics of foot and ankle, trauma, and hand/upper extremity surgeons. We considered all English-speaking patients aged 18 or older, including those with limited reading and/or writing abilities, as eligible provided they received an iPad in clinic to complete the PROMIS CAT questionnaire as part of their routine standard clinical care or they completed the questionnaire via a patient portal before the visit. In all, 946 patients were considered eligible during the study period and a convenience sample of 36% (339 of 946) of patients was approached for inclusion due to clinic time constraints. Fifteen percent (52 of 339) declined to participate, leaving 85% (287 of 339) of patients for analysis here. Median (range) age of study participants was 49 years (35 to 64). Fifty-eight percent (167 of 287) of study participants self-identified as non-Hispanic Black or African American and 26% (75 of 287) as non-Hispanic White. Even proportions were observed across education levels (high school graduate or less, 29% [82 of 287]; some college, 25% [73 of 287]; college graduate, 25% [71 of 287]; advanced degree, 20% [58 of 287]). Eighteen percent (52 of 287) of patients reported an annual income bracket of USD 0 to 13,000, and 17% (48 of 287) reported more than USD 120,000. Forty-six percent (132 of 287) of patients worked full-time, 21% (59 of 287) were retired, and 23% (66 of 287) were unemployed or on disability. The primary outcome of interest was self-reported PROMIS CAT questionnaire completion grouped as: fully completed, partially completed, or no part completed. Overall, self-reported PROMIS CAT questionnaire completion proportions were: 80% (229 of 287) full completion, 13% (37 of 287) partial completion, and 7% (21 of 287) no part completed. We collected the National Area Deprivation Index (ADI) score and the Brief Health Literacy Screening Tool (BRIEF) as part of the study survey to associate with level of completion. Additionally, patient understanding of PROMIS CAT was assessed through Likert-scaled responses to a study survey question that directly asked whether the patient understood all of the questions on the PROMIS CAT questionnaire. Responses to this question may have been limited by social desirability bias, and hence may overestimate how many individuals genuinely understood the questionnaire content. However, the benefit of this approach was it efficiently allowed us to estimate the ceiling effect of patient comprehension of PROMIS CAT and likely had a high degree of specificity for detecting lack of comprehension. Results: ADI score adjusted for age was not associated with PROMIS CAT completion (partial completion OR 1.00 [95% CI 0.98 to 1.01]; p = 0.72, no part completed OR 1.01 [95% CI 0.99 to 1.03]; p = 0.45). Patients with lower health literacy scores, however, were more likely to not complete any part of their assigned questionnaires than patients with higher scores (no part completed OR 0.85 [95% CI 0.75 to 0.97]; p = 0.02). Additionally, 74% (26 of 35) of patients who did not fully understand all of the PROMIS CAT questionnaire questions still fully completed them—hence, 11% (26 of 229) of all patients who fully completed PROMIS CAT did not fully understand the content. Among patients self-reporting full completion of PROMIS CAT with health literacy data (99% [227 of 229]), patients with inadequate/marginal health literacy were more likely than patients with adequate health literacy to not fully understand all of the questions (21% [14 of 67] versus 8% [12 of 160], OR 3.26 [95% CI 1.42 to 7.49]; p = 0.005). Conclusion: Within an urban, socioeconomically diverse, orthopaedic patient population, health literacy was associated with PROMIS CAT questionnaire completion. Lower health literacy levels increased the likelihood of not completing any part of the assigned PROMIS CAT questionnaires. Additionally, patients completed PROMIS CAT without fully understanding the questions. This indicates that patient completion does not guarantee comprehension of the questions nor validity of their scores, even more so among patients with low health literacy. This is a substantive concern for fidelity of data gathered from PROMIS CAT. Clinical Relevance: Clinical implementation of the PROMIS CAT in orthopaedic populations will benefit from further research into health literacy to increase questionnaire completion and to ensure that patients understand the content of the questions they are answering, which will increase the internal validity of the outcome measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Extreme heat events are a major public health concern and are only expected to increase in intensity and severity as climate change continues to accelerate. Pregnant people are physiologically more vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat, and exposure can induce harm on both the pregnant person and the fetus. OBJECTIVES: This commentary argues that there is a need for greater epidemiological research on indoor heat exposure and energy insecurity as potential drivers of maternal and child environmental health disparities. DISCUSSION: While there is substantial evidence linking ambient (outdoor) high temperature to pregnancy-related outcomes, there is a lack of epidemiological evidence to date on pregnant people’s exposure to high indoor temperature and adverse maternal and/or child health outcomes. Energy insecurity is disproportionately experienced by people with low incomes and/or people of color, and indoor temperature may play a role in shaping socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in maternal and child health in the United States. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between indoor heat exposure, energy insecurity, and pregnancy outcomes in both parents and children and to inform potential policies and practices to enhance resilience and reduce maternal/child health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides a description of the crater in the marginal zone of the southern polar region of the Moon with the coordinates of the center 126.59° W, 64.32° S The diameter of the crater is 34 km. It has a fractured bottom, which is considered a sign of magma intrusion into the subcrater space. The absolute age of formation of the crater under study was estimated to be ~3.85 billion years based on the spatial density of small craters superimposed on its rim. In the vicinity of the studied crater, low-iron anorthosite material is predominant. It can be argued that the basin of the crater under study is very dry compared to its surroundings. A significant loss of hydrogen/water and its redistribution from the bottom of the crater to the area around the crater could be caused by reworking of the surface due to the intrusion of magma under the crater, traces of which can be traced by the presence of cracks on the bottom of the crater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The given text describes the Mothers and Newborns (MN) Cohort study conducted by the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health. The study focuses on the impact of prenatal and early-life environmental exposures on children's health outcomes, with a specific emphasis on minority populations. The cohort consists of 727 women and their children from Northern Manhattan and the south Bronx in New York City. Data collected includes exposure to environmental pollutants, social risk factors, and health outcomes such as birth outcomes, neurodevelopment, asthma, and obesity. The study aims to contribute to scientific understanding and inform policymakers about the associations between environmental toxicants and health outcomes. The study has found associations between prenatal exposure to pollutants and various adverse outcomes in children. Interested researchers can access the de-identified data through the CCCEH's Data Coordinating Center. [Extracted from the article]

Objective: High‐caloric diets may slow the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; however, key macronutrients have not been identified. We examined whether dietary macronutrients are associated with the rate of progression and length of survival among the prospective cohort study participants. Methods: Participants with a confirmed diagnosis of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis enrolled in the Multicenter Cohort Study of Oxidative Stress were included (n = 304). We evaluated baseline macronutrient intake assessed by food frequency questionnaire in relation to change in revised amyotrophic lateral sclerosis functional rating scale total‐score, and tracheostomy‐free survival using linear regression and Cox proportional hazard models. Baseline age, sex, disease duration, diagnostic certainty, body mass index, bulbar onset, revised amyotrophic lateral sclerosis functional rating scale total‐score, and forced vital capacity were included as covariates. Results: Baseline higher glycemic index and load were associated with less decline of revised amyotrophic lateral sclerosis functional rating scale total score at 3‐month follow‐up (β = −0.13, 95% CI −0.2, −0.01, p = 0.03) and (β = −0.01, 95% CI −0.03, −0.0007, p = 0.04), respectively. Glycemic index second‐quartile, third‐quartile, and fourth‐quartile groups were associated with less decline at 3 months by 1.9 (95% CI −3.3, −0.5, p = 0.008), 2.0 (95% CI −3.3, −0.6, p = 0.006), and 1.6 (95% CI −3.0, −0.2, p = 0.03) points compared with the first‐quartile group; the glycemic load fourth‐quartile group had 1.4 points less decline compared with the first‐quartile group (95% CI −2.8, 0.1, p = 0.07). Higher glycemic index was associated with a trend toward longer tracheostomy‐free survival (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.93, 1.00, p = 0.07). Interpretation: Higher dietary glycemic index and load are associated with slower disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ANN NEUROL 2024;95:217–229 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) recordings are often contaminated by interference that can exceed the amplitude of physiological brain activity by several orders of magnitude. Furthermore, the activity of interference sources may spatially extend (known as source leakage) into the activity of brain signals of interest, resulting in source estimation inaccuracies. This problem is particularly apparent when using MEG to interrogate the effects of brain stimulation on large‐scale cortical networks. In this technical report, we develop a novel denoising approach for suppressing the leakage of interference source activity into the activity representing a brain region of interest. This approach leverages spatial and temporal domain projectors for signal arising from prespecified anatomical regions of interest. We apply this denoising approach to reconstruct simulated evoked response topographies to deep brain stimulation (DBS) in a phantom recording. We highlight the advantages of our approach compared to the benchmark—spatiotemporal signal space separation—and show that it can more accurately reveal brain stimulation‐evoked response topographies. Finally, we apply our method to MEG recordings from a single patient with Parkinson's disease, to reveal early cortical‐evoked responses to DBS of the subthalamic nucleus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continental arcs are associated with volcanism concentrated into two main belts—the main arc and back arc, often separated by fold and thrust belts. The Loicas Trough, Argentina, is a post-orogenic extensional feature that obliquely cuts the fold and thrust belts. The trough hosts large Pliocene–Holocene volcanic centres, including Domuyo and Tromen, that lie between the main arc and back arc and thus provide a rare window into this setting. We present major and trace element data for the Loicas Trough, which we combine with geochemical modelling using the Magma Chamber Simulator (MCS) to explore the origin and evolution of the volcanism. The lavas display a wide continuous range from alkaline basalts to subalkaline rhyolites. Trace elements reveal variable extents of arc enrichment (2 < Nb/U < 28), which correlate with proximity to the trench and differentiation indices. Our results and MCS models indicate that the Loicas Trough parental magmas formed from compositionally zoned mantle. Best-fit models indicate that the differentiation occurs at middle and upper crustal levels, in sharp contrast to lower crustal hot zones beneath main arcs. Assimilation of partial crustal melts drives compositional evolution and obscures source signatures. Pure or high fraction end-member partial crustal melts are also identified at Domuyo based on their low Ba (~ 250 ppm) and moderate Sc contents (~ 8 ppm). We find evidence of similar lavas in transtensional settings adjacent to continental arcs worldwide, which do not adhere to the main versus back arc volcanism binary. We suggest the term arc-adjacent magmatism, where compositions are mainly controlled by extensive assimilation and reworking in the middle to upper crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the importance of cassava as a staple crop, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, and the issue of cyanogenic glucosides (CGs) accumulating in cassava roots, which can be toxic to humans if not properly processed. Researchers have successfully used gene editing to reduce CG levels in cassava, but there is evidence that this may lead to increased herbivory and potentially lower yields. The article also explores the transport of CGs in cassava, suggesting that they are synthesized in the roots rather than transported from the shoot apex. The findings have implications for improving the safety of cassava and understanding the movement of CGs within the plant. [Extracted from the article]

This paper introduces a streamlined taxonomy for categorizing offensive language in Hebrew, addressing a gap in the literature that has, until now, largely focused on Indo-European languages. Our taxonomy divides offensive language into seven levels (six explicit and one implicit level). We based our work on the simplified offensive language (SOL) taxonomy introduced in (Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk et al. 2021a) hoping that our adjustment of SOL to the Hebrew language will be capable of reflecting the unique linguistic and cultural nuances of Hebrew. The study involves both linguistic and cultural analysis beyond Natural Language Processing (NLP). We employed manual linguistic analysis to understand the nuances of offensive language in Hebrew. An accompanying dataset, gathered on Twitter and manually curated by human annotators, is described in detail. This dataset was constructed to both validate the taxonomy and serve as a foundation for future research on offensive language detection and analysis in Hebrew. Preliminary analysis of the dataset reveals intriguing patterns and distributions, underscoring the complexity and specificity of offensive expressions in the Hebrew language. The aim of our work is to capture the complexity and specificity of offensive expressions in Hebrew beyond what automated NLP methods alone can provide. Our findings highlight the significance of considering linguistic and cultural variations when researching and correcting abusive language online. We believe that our streamlined taxonomy and associated dataset will be crucial in improving research in Hebrew language sociocultural studies, natural language processing, and offensive language detection. Our study also makes a substantial contribution to the study of low-resource languages and can be used as a model for future research on other languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain L-serine is critical for neurodevelopment and is thought to be synthesized solely from glucose. In contrast, we found that the influx of L-serine across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is essential for brain development. We identified the endothelial Slc38a5, previously thought to be a glutamine transporter, as an L-serine transporter expressed at the BBB in early postnatal life. Young Slc38a5 knockout (KO) mice exhibit developmental alterations and a decrease in brain L-serine and D-serine, without changes in serum or liver amino acids. Slc38a5-KO brains exhibit accumulation of neurotoxic deoxysphingolipids, synaptic and mitochondrial abnormalities, and decreased neurogenesis at the dentate gyrus. Slc38a5-KO pups exhibit motor impairments that are affected by the administration of L-serine at concentrations that replenish the serine pool in the brain. Our results highlight a critical role of Slc38a5 in supplying L-serine via the BBB for proper brain development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the XCELS (eXawatt Center for Extreme Light Studies) project is to establish a large-scale scientific infrastructure based on laser sources with gigantic peak power. A brief description of the laser system and the radiation focusing system from different channels, taking into account their synchronization, is presented. The program of possible experiments at the XCELS facility is discussed, including experiments to test strong-field quantum electrodynamics, particle acceleration, radiation generation in less accessible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, laboratory astrophysics, high-energy-density processes, extreme light diagnostics, and other applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine diet quality and diet-related factors among male adults of reproductive age with and without disabilities. Design: Cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2013–2018. Setting: Disability was reported as serious difficulty hearing, seeing, concentrating, walking, dressing and/or running errands due to physical, mental or emotional conditions. Diet quality was assessed by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 and diet-related factors included self-rated diet healthfulness, food security and food assistance programmes. Multivariable linear regression estimated differences in HEI-2015 scores. Multivariable Poisson regression estimated adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95 % CI for diet-related factors. Participants: In total, 3249 males, 18–44 years; of whom, 441 (13·4 %) reported having disabilities. Results: Compared with males without disabilities, those with disabilities had a 2·69-point (95 % CI: –4·18, –1·20) lower mean total HEI-2015 score and approximately one-third to half of a point lower HEI-2015 component scores for greens and beans, total protein foods, seafood and plant proteins, fatty acids and added sugars. Males with any disabilities were more likely to have low food security (aPR = 1·57; 95 % CI: 1·28, 2·92); household participation in food assistance programmes (aPR = 1·61; 95 % CI: 1·34, 1·93) and consume fast food meals during the previous week (1–3 meals: aPR = 1·11; 95 % CI: 1·01–1·21 and 4 or more meals: aPR = 1·18; 95 % CI: 1·01–1·38) compared with males with no disabilities. Conclusions: Factors affecting diet and other modifiable health behaviours among male adults of reproductive age with disabilities require further investigation. Health promotion strategies that are adaptive to diverse populations within the disability community are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review modern studies of the self-action of laser radiation in discrete systems using the example of multicore fibers. The critical power is shown to exist, at which the self-trapping (the discrete analog of collapse) of radiation occurs even in a one-dimensional lattice of weakly coupled cores. The transition of nonlinear dynamics to the stochastic regime in discrete systems is studied, and the threshold amplitude for this transition is determined. It is shown that the use of a special configuration with a dedicated core in the center of a ring of identical cores makes it possible to control the self-trapping process and apply it for nonlinear radiation filtering and self-compression of laser pulses. It is established that arbitrarily powerful coherent radiation can be handled using stable out-of-phase supermodes, which are wave-field distributions over all fiber cores with a maximum propagation constant. Such out-of-phase supermodes are demonstrated for core configurations shaped as a ring, a line, a square matrix, and a hexagonal structure. The first experiments have already shown the feasibility and stability of the found out-of-phase supermodes, in both fibers with a ring configuration and fibers having a square matrix of cores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a description of the experiment on the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) Phasotron proton beam for a laboratory model of a space instrument for the gamma spectrometry of celestial bodies based on the method of tagged charged particles of galactic cosmic rays. One feature of the experiment is the use of a p-type high-purity germanium semiconductor detector as part of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the severity and extent of near surface critical zone (CZ) disturbances and their ecosystem response is a pressing concern in the face of increasing human and natural disturbances. Predicting disturbance severity and recovery in a changing climate requires comprehensive understanding of ecosystem feedbacks among vegetation and the surrounding environment, including climate, hydrology, geomorphology, and biogeochemistry. Field surveys and satellite remote sensing have limited ability to effectively capture the spatial and temporal variability of disturbance and CZ properties. Technological advances in remote sensing using new sensors and new platforms have improved observations of changes in vegetation canopy structure and productivity; however, integrating measures of forest disturbance from various sensing platforms is complex. By connecting the potential for remote sensing technologies to observe different CZ disturbance vectors, we show that lower severity disturbance and slower vegetation recovery are more difficult to quantify. Case studies in montane forests from the western United States highlight new opportunities, including evaluating post‐disturbance forest recovery at multiple scales, shedding light on understory vegetation regrowth, detecting specific physiological responses, and refining ecohydrological modeling. Learning from regional CZ disturbance case studies, we propose future directions to synthesize fragmented findings with (a) new data analysis using new or existing sensors, (b) data fusion across multiple sensors and platforms, (c) increasing the value of ground‐based observations, (d) disturbance modeling, and (e) synthesis to improve understanding of disturbance. Key Points: Increasing remote sensing capabilities improve observations of disturbance severity and recovery in varying critical zone settingsCase studies present how new approaches from multiple platforms and sensors better quantify post‐disturbance recovery of montane forestsWe suggest integrating the new approaches to refine remote sensing capabilities and resolve critical zone processes at multiple scales [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]