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The central San Andreas Fault (CSAF) exhibits a simple linear large-scale fault geometry, yet seismic and aseismic deformation features vary in a complex way along the fault. Here we investigate fault zone behaviors using geodetic observation, seismicity and microearthquake focal mechanisms. We employ an improved focal-mechanism characterization method using relative earthquake radiation patterns on 75,164 Ml ≥ 1 earthquakes along a 2-km-wide, 190-km-long segment of the CSAF, from 1984 to 2015. The data reveal the 3D fine-scale structure and interseismic kinematics of the CSAF. Our findings indicate that the first-order spatial variations in interseismic fault creep rate, creep direction, and the fault zone stress field can be explained by a simple fault coupling model. The inferred 3D mechanical properties of a mechanically weak and poorly coupled fault zone provide a unified understanding of the complex fine-scale kinematics, indicating distributed slip deficits facilitating small-to-moderate earthquakes, localized stress heterogeneities, and complex multi-scale ruptures along the fault. Through this detailed mapping, we aim to relate the fine-scale fault architecture to potential future faulting behavior along the CSAF.

The field of structural health monitoring (SHM) faces a fundamental challenge related to accessibility. While analytical and empirical models and laboratory tests can provide engineers with an estimate of a structures expected behavior under various loads, measurements of actual buildings require the installation and maintenance of sensors to collect observations. This is costly in terms of power and resources. MyShake, the free seismology smartphone app, aims to advance SHM by leveraging the presence of accelerometers in all smartphones and the wide usage of smartphones globally. MyShake records acceleration waveforms during earthquakes. Because phones are most typically located in buildings, a waveform recorded by MyShake contains response information from the structure in which the phone is located. This represents a free, potentially ubiquitous method of conducting critical structural measurements. In this work, we present preliminary findings that demonstrate the efficacy of smartphones for extracting the fundamental frequency of buildings, benchmarked against traditional accelerometers in a shake table test. Additionally, we present seven proof-of-concept examples of data collected by anonymous and privately owned smartphones running the MyShake app in real buildings, and assess the fundamental frequencies we measure. In all cases, the measured fundamental frequency is found to be reasonable and within an expected range in comparison with several commonly used empirical equations. For one irregularly shaped building, three separate measurements made over the course of four months fall within 7% of each other, validating the accuracy of MyShake measurements and illustrating how repeat observations can improve the robustness of the structural health catalog we aim to build.

Rationale: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating disease characterized by limited treatment options and high mortality. A better understanding of the molecular drivers of IPF progression is needed. Objectives: To identify and validate molecular determinants of IPF survival. Methods: A staged genome-wide association study was performed using paired genomic and survival data. Stage I cases were drawn from centers across the United States and Europe and stage II cases from Vanderbilt University. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to identify gene variants associated with differential transplantation-free survival (TFS). Stage I variants with nominal significance (P

Tsunamis cause significant damage and loss of life, particularly for the nearest communities, where the tsunami may arrive in minutes. These local communities often do not receive an informed or timely alert under traditional warning pathways. In response, numerous tsunami early warning (TEW) algorithms have been developed with the goal of providing informed tsunami source characterization for use in rapid, localized warning. An overlooked aspect of TEW is the means that this crucial information is disseminated. Current operations focus heavily on the time an alert is issued from a warning center, however, that alert passes through multiple groups and agencies before it is conveyed to affected communities. This distribution path can create further delays and contributes to inconsistencies in the message timeliness and content. In this study, we provide the framework and advocate for the use of a rapid dissemination tool, that we call WaveAlert, that would leverage preexisting advances in earthquake early warning systems to provide timely, clear, and consistent alerts to the public by use of the MyShake EEW phone app. This proposed tsunami dissemination tool would be able to provide consistent, public facing tsunami alerts over the duration of the hazard with the added benefit of low message latencies and high spatial resolution in who can be targeted for messages. We illustrate the need for rapid alerting strategies through a retrospective look at the alerting process during the 2022 Tonga tsunami and through a modeled potential near-field Cascadia timeline example affecting the west coast of the US.

Timely alerts sent through earthquake early warning (EEW) programs allow those alerted to take protective actions to mitigate their risk from potentially damaging shaking. Over the past few years, ShakeAlert, the EEW program focused on the west coast of the con-tiguous United States, has grown, alerting communities within California, Oregon, and Washington about earthquakes where damaging shaking is expected. ShakeAlert uses a set of algorithms including the point-source algorithm, earthquake point-source integrated code (EPIC), to determine the location, magnitude, and origin time of potential earthquakes. Although EPIC produces low-latency and low error solutions for many events originating within the seismic network on land, numerous recent small earthquakes rupturing offshore of northern California have EPIC location solutions with high error ( > 50 km compared to USGS locations). Because most events are occurring offshore, there is a lim-ited number of stations that can trigger and contribute information in a timely manner for use in EEW. To better constrain location solutions in this region, we propose to include information about contemporary past seismicity into EPIC’s grid-search algorithm through a Bayesian framework. This prior information layer downweights high error locations where EPIC’s proposed event location coincides with an area of low prior seismicity in pref-erence for locations with a similar level of data fit that also have higher past seismicity. This addition to EPIC lowers the mean location error offshore northern California from 58 to 14 km.

MyShake is a free citizen science and public safety smartphone application that delivers the United States ShakeAlert program's Earthquake Early Warning to the public in the states of California, Oregon, andWashington. Although smartphone notifications have long been a component of the ShakeAlert warning delivery plan, very little data has been published on the efficiency and accuracy of such communication. MyShake records timestamps in its alert processing system, including the time it takes for a phone to receive and acknowledge an alert's delivery. We use data collected for five representative earthquakes-three in urban regions, two rural events-since October 2019 to assess MyShake alert delivery latencies and ground-motion prediction accuracy. For these events, MyShake was capable of efficiently processing and delivering warnings. For the smaller urban events that occur beneath the target population, about half of recipients received a warning before the estimated onset of the S-wave, and up to 90% received an alert prior to experiencing peak shaking. When earthquakes occur further from populated areas, the warning time naturally increases. Smartphone acceleration recordings can also be used to quantify the user experience during earthquakes because they are colocated with people. A review of waveforms collected by MyShake shows a systematic amplification of shaking recorded by smartphones relative to nearby traditional stations. The median amplification calculated using records from all five sample events is a factor of 3.1. Once this correction is applied, MyShake peak accelerations are generally consistent with the distribution of shaking intensities in the U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap product, whereas also showing some individual sites with substantial amplification and de-amplification. In addition to delivering early warnings, therefore, MyShake provides a waveform observation dataset to densify shaking intensity observations and thereby improve our understanding of earthquake effects and evaluate the accuracy of ShakeAlert's alerting regions.

Low vertebral bone mass is a major risk factor for vertebral compression fractures. Although sarcopenia has been shown to be associated with low bone mineral density (BMD), it is not known whether trunk musculature is directly associated with lumbar BMD, and whether exercise modifies this association. Using data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), we sought to determine the association of muscle density and fat fraction of the psoas, paraspinal, and oblique muscle groups with L3 lumbar volumetric BMD, and whether these associations were modified by exercise. We obtained L3 vBMD measurements, and fat and muscle measurements (in Hounsfield units [HU]) from abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans spanning the L2 -L4 intervertebral disc spaces. Muscle density was defined as the mean HU value for a muscle group area. Fat fraction was calculated as the mean HU value for the muscle group fat area/total muscle group area (cm2 ). Exercise data were self-reported (MET-minute/week). We utilized multivariable linear regression to evaluate these associations, stratified by gender, and adjusting for demographics, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, impaired fasting glucose, and corticosteroid and anti-resorptive medication use. Among 1923 MESA participants, mean ± standard deviation (SD) age was 62 ± 10 years, 49% were female, 40% white, 21% black, 26% Hispanic/Latino, and 13% Chinese. In fully adjusted analysis, for every 1-SD higher psoas fat fraction, there was a 3.19-SD lower L3 vBMD in men and 4.3-SD lower L3 vBMD in women (p

Public-private partnerships provide a method for vastly expanding sensor networks.

BackgroundIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive, fatal fibrotic interstitial lung disease. Few circulating biomarkers have been identified to have causal effects on IPF.MethodsTo identify candidate IPF-influencing circulating proteins, we undertook an efficient screen of circulating proteins by applying a two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) approach with existing publicly available data. For instruments, we used genetic determinants of circulating proteins which reside cis to the encoded gene (cis-single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)), identified by two genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in European individuals (3301 and 3200 subjects). We then applied MR methods to test if the levels of these circulating proteins influenced IPF susceptibility in the largest IPF GWAS (2668 cases and 8591 controls). We validated the MR results using colocalisation analyses to ensure that both the circulating proteins and IPF shared a common genetic signal.ResultsMR analyses of 834 proteins found that a 1 sd increase in circulating galactoside 3(4)-l-fucosyltransferase (FUT3) and α-(1,3)-fucosyltransferase 5 (FUT5) was associated with a reduced risk of IPF (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.74-0.88; p=6.3×10-7 and OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.68-0.86; p=1.1×10-5, respectively). Sensitivity analyses including multiple cis-SNPs provided similar estimates both for FUT3 (inverse variance weighted (IVW) OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.78-0.91; p=9.8×10-6 and MR-Egger OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.50-0.97; p=0.03) and FUT5 (IVW OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.77-0.92; p=1.4×10-4 and MR-Egger OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.38-0.90; p=0.01). FUT3 and FUT5 signals colocalised with IPF signals, with posterior probabilities of a shared genetic signal of 99.9% and 97.7%, respectively. Further transcriptomic investigations supported the protective effects of FUT3 for IPF.ConclusionsAn efficient MR scan of 834 circulating proteins provided evidence that genetically increased circulating FUT3 level is associated with reduced risk of IPF.

After significant earthquakes, we can see images posted on social media platforms by individuals and media agencies owing to the mass usage of smartphones these days. These images can be utilized to provide information about the shaking damage in the earthquake region both to the public and research community, and potentially to guide rescue work. This paper presents an automated way to extract the damaged buildings images after earthquakes from social media platforms such as Twitter and thus identify the particular user posts containing such images. Using transfer learning and ~ 6500 manually labelled images, we trained a deep learning model to recognize images with damaged buildings in the scene. The trained model achieved good performance when tested on newly acquired images of earthquakes at different locations and when ran in near real-time on Twitter feed after the 2020 M7.0 earthquake in Turkey. Furthermore, to better understand how the model makes decisions, we also implemented the Grad-CAM method to visualize the important regions on the images that facilitate the decision.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive, fatal fibrotic interstitial lung disease. Few circulating biomarkers have been identified to have causal effects on IPF.To identify candidate IPF-influencing circulating proteins, we undertook an efficient screen of circulating proteins by applying a two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) approach with existing publicly available data. For instruments we used genetic determinants of circulating proteins which reside cis to the encoded gene (cis-SNPs), identified by two genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in European individuals (3301 and 3200 subjects). We then applied MR methods to test if the levels of these circulating proteins influenced IPF susceptibility in the largest IPF GWAS (2668 cases and 8591 controls). We validated the MR results using colocalization analyses to ensure that both the circulating proteins and IPF shared a common genetic signal.MR analyses of 834 proteins found that a one sd increase in circulating FUT3 and FUT5 was associated with a reduced risk of IPF (OR: 0.81, 95%CI: 0.74-0.88, p=6.3×10-7, and OR: 0.76, 95%CI: 0.68-0.86, p=1.1×10-5). Sensitivity analyses including multiple-cis SNPs provided similar estimates both for FUT3 (inverse variance weighted [IVW] OR: 0.84, 95%CI: 0.78-0.91, p=9.8×10-6, MR-Egger OR: 0.69, 95%CI: 0.50-0.97, p=0.03) and FUT5 (IVW OR: 0.84, 95%CI: 0.77-0.92, p=1.4×10-4, MR-Egger OR: 0.59, 95%CI: 0.38-0.90, p=0.01) FUT3 and FUT5 signals colocalized with IPF signals, with posterior probabilities of a shared genetic signal of 99.9% and 97.7%. Further transcriptomic investigations supported the protective effects of FUT3 for IPF.An efficient MR scan of 834 circulating proteins provided evidence that genetically increased circulating FUT3 level is associated with reduced risk of IPF.

Many chronic musculoskeletal conditions are associated with loss of muscle volume and quality, resulting in functional decline. While atrophy has long been implicated as the mechanism of muscle loss in these conditions, recent evidence has emerged demonstrating a degenerative phenotype of muscle loss consisting of disrupted muscle fiber membranes, infiltration of cells into muscle fibers, and as previously describer, possible replacement of muscle fibers by adipose tissue. Here, we use human lumbar spine pathology as a model system to provide a more comprehensive analysis of the morphological features of this mode of muscle loss between early and late stages of disease, including an analysis of the cell populations found in paraspinal muscle biopsies from humans with acute vs chronic lumbar spine pathology. Using longitudinal sections, we show that degeneration of muscle fibers is localized within a fiber (ie, focal), and is characterized by discontinuous or ragged membrane disruption, cellular infiltration, and apparently vacant space containing limited numbers of nuclei and hyper-contractile cell debris. Samples from patients with acute and chronic pathology demonstrate similar magnitudes of muscle degeneration, however, larger proportions of PDGFRβ-positive progenitor cells and leukocytes were observed in the acute group, with no differences in myogenic cells, macrophages, or T-cells. By better understanding the cell population behaviors over the course of disease, therapies can be optimized to address the appropriate targets and timing of administration to minimize the functional consequences of muscle degeneration in lumbar spine pathology.

The MyShake app began delivering earthquake early warning alerts to users in California on October 17, 2019. The app delivers alerts from ShakeAlert when the estimated magnitude is 4.5 or greater to phones in the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) III or greater zone. MyShake users receive the alerts, but also serve as citizen seismologists for the system. They contribute accelerometer data allowing this dual-use network to serve as an alert delivery platform and an earthquake monitoring network. Users are also now afforded the ability to interactively share their experience in an earthquake with others on the system through the use of an experience report. The design and maintenance of this system requires the interoperability of many technical systems (servers, code, smartphones) and stakeholders (scientists, federal and state agencies, public). This imparts some constraints on our ability to address problems and implement new features, but ultimately provides a considered framework within which we can design for future use cases. We discuss new features of the app, such as the experience report, the collection of timing information to improve delivery latencies, and examples of how human centered design responds to user needs. We also look at privacy constraints and ways MyShake can continue to improve in the future.

Rationale: Interstitial lung abnormalities (ILAs) are associated with the highest genetic risk locus for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF); however, the extent to which there are unique associations among individuals with ILAs or additional overlap with IPF is not known.Objectives: To perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of ILAs.Methods: ILAs and a subpleural-predominant subtype were assessed on chest computed tomography (CT) scans in the AGES (Age Gene/Environment Susceptibility), COPDGene (Genetic Epidemiology of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease [COPD]), Framingham Heart, ECLIPSE (Evaluation of COPD Longitudinally to Identify Predictive Surrogate End-points), MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis), and SPIROMICS (Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study) studies. We performed a GWAS of ILAs in each cohort and combined the results using a meta-analysis. We assessed for overlapping associations in independent GWASs of IPF.Measurements and Main Results: Genome-wide genotyping data were available for 1,699 individuals with ILAs and 10,274 control subjects. The MUC5B (mucin 5B) promoter variant rs35705950 was significantly associated with both ILAs (P = 2.6 × 10-27) and subpleural ILAs (P = 1.6 × 10-29). We discovered novel genome-wide associations near IPO11 (rs6886640, P = 3.8 × 10-8) and FCF1P3 (rs73199442, P = 4.8 × 10-8) with ILAs, and near HTRE1 (rs7744971, P = 4.2 × 10-8) with subpleural-predominant ILAs. These novel associations were not associated with IPF. Among 12 previously reported IPF GWAS loci, five (DPP9, DSP, FAM13A, IVD, and MUC5B) were significantly associated (P

Though there is substantial evidence that individuals can prioritize more valuable information in visual working memory (WM), little research has examined this in the verbal domain. Four experiments were conducted to investigate this and the conditions under which effects emerge. In each experiment, participants listened to digit sequences and then attempted to recall them in the correct order. At the start of each block, participants were either told that all items were of equal value, or that an item at a particular serial position was worth more points. Recall was enhanced for these higher value items (Experiment 1a), a finding that was replicated while rejecting an alternative account based on distinctiveness (Experiment 1b). Thus, valuable information can be prioritized in verbal WM. Two further experiments investigated whether these boosts remained when participants completed a simple concurrent task disrupting verbal rehearsal (Experiment 2), or a complex concurrent task disrupting verbal rehearsal and executive resources (Experiment 3). Under simple concurrent task conditions, prioritization boosts were observed, but with increased costs to the less valuable items. Prioritization effects were also observed under complex concurrent task conditions, although this was accompanied by chance-level performance at most of the less valuable positions. A substantial recency advantage was also observed for the final item in each sequence, across all conditions. Taken together, this indicates that individuals can prioritize valuable information in verbal WM even when rehearsal and executive resources are disrupted, though they do so by neglecting or abandoning other items in the sequence.

Study designRetrospective Review.ObjectivesCompare clinical outcomes and radiographic correction of adult degenerative scoliosis (ADS) patients treated with lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF), combined either with percutaneous (no laminectomy) versus open laminectomy/pedicle screw instrumentation.MethodsTwenty-two ADS patients undergoing combined LLIF and posterior instrumentation were divided into two groups: thirteen patients underwent LLIF with open laminectomy and posterior pedicle instrumentation (Group-1, six revision); nine patients underwent LLIF with percutaneous pedicle instrumentation (no decompression) (Group-2). Radiographs, CT/MRI, peri-operative complications, VAS, SF-12, and ODI were measured.ResultsAverage follow up was 22 months. In Group-1 and Group-2, respectively: Mean coronal Cobb angle corrected 12.6° and 5.8°; Mean regional lumbar lordosis improved 11.1° and 3.8°; Pelvic incidence minus lumbar lordosis mismatch corrected to within +/-9° in 46% and 0% of patients; Mean VAS improved from 5.4 to 2.8 and 6.3 to 1; Mean ODI improved 19% and 22%. Improvements were found in SF-12 PCS and MCS scores.ConclusionsBoth open and percutaneous posterior techniques following LLIF significantly improved clinical outcomes. Open procedures resulted in significantly better radiographic improvements but also higher complication rates. LLIF with percutaneous posterior fixation, without decompression, should be considered part of the algorithm in select ADS patients with remaining compensatory mechanisms and understanding that greater degrees of correction may require an open, more extensive approach.

The high degree of endemism on Sulawesi has previously been suggested to have vicariant origins, dating back to 40 Ma. Recent studies, however, suggest that much of Sulawesis fauna assembled over the last 15 Myr. Here, we test the hypothesis that more recent uplift of previously submerged portions of land on Sulawesi promoted diversification and that much of its faunal assemblage is much younger than the island itself. To do so, we combined palaeogeographical reconstructions with genetic and morphometric datasets derived from Sulawesis three largest mammals: the babirusa, anoa and Sulawesi warty pig. Our results indicate that although these species most likely colonized the area that is now Sulawesi at different times (14 Ma to 2-3 Ma), they experienced an almost synchronous expansion from the central part of the island. Geological reconstructions indicate that this area was above sea level for most of the last 4 Myr, unlike most parts of the island. We conclude that emergence of land on Sulawesi (approx. 1-2 Myr) may have allowed species to expand synchronously. Altogether, our results indicate that the establishment of the highly endemic faunal assemblage on Sulawesi was driven by geological events over the last few million years.

Histological and cell-level changes in the lumbar musculature in individuals with chronic lumbar spine degenerative conditions are not well characterized. Although prior literature supports evidence of changes in fiber type and size, little information exists describing the tissue quality and biology of pathological features of muscle in this population. The purpose of this study was to quantify multifidus tissue composition and structure, inflammation, vascularity, and degeneration in individuals with chronic degenerative lumbar spine pathology. Human multifidus biopsies were acquired from 22 consecutive patients undergoing surgery for chronic degenerative lumbar spine pathology. Relative fractions of muscle, adipose, and extracellular matrix were quantified along with muscle fiber type and cross-sectional area (CSA) and markers of inflammation, vascularity, satellite cell density, and muscle degeneration. On average, multifidus biopsies contained 48.5% muscle, 11.7% adipose tissue, and 26.1% collagen tissue. Elevated inflammatory cell counts (48.5 ± 30.0 macrophages/mm2 ) and decreased vascularity (275.6 ± 69.4 vessels/mm2 ) were also observed compared to normative values. Satellite cell densities were on average 13 ± 9 cells per every 100 muscle fibers. Large fiber CSA (3,996.0 ± 1,909.2 µm2 ) and a predominance of type I fibers (61.8 ± 18.0%) were observed in addition to evidence of pathological degeneration-regeneration cycling (18.8 ± 9.4% centrally nucleated fibers, and 55.2 ± 24.2% of muscle regions containing degeneration). High levels of muscle degeneration, inflammation, and decreased vascularity were commonly seen in human multifidus biopsies of individuals with lumbar spine pathology in comparison to normative data. Evidence of active muscle degeneration suggests that changes in muscle tissue are more complex than simple atrophy. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:2700-2706, 2017.