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If “transcendental homelessness” is the modern condition, Lawrence is an especially instructive example of how to live within it. His emigré life, partly imposed and partly chosen, was experienced with a vivid appreciation of the “spirit of place,” and of places. Perhaps for Lawrence to be at home was a cosmic state experienced most intensely through a life on the move. Martin Heidegger similarly speaks of dwelling as a state of Being and invokes Hölderlin’s words “poetically, man dwells on this earth.” But home is a temporal as well as a spatial location and whereas Heidegger privileges the rootedness of ancestral continuity, Lawrence, who also dwelt poetically, seems to seek a world always new, or renewed. The present paper seeks to illustrate this contrast by examining several moments in the oeuvre.

Summary: Despite extensive global research into genetic predisposition for severe COVID-19, knowledge on the role of rare host genetic variants and their relation to other risk factors remains limited. Here, 52 genes with prior etiological evidence were sequenced in 1,772 severe COVID-19 cases and 5,347 population-based controls from Spain/Italy. Rare deleterious TLR7 variants were present in 2.4% of young (

Abstract Maerl beds are listed as a priority marine feature in Scotland. They are noted for creating suitable benthic habitat for diverse communities of fauna and flora and in supporting a wide array of ecosystem services. Within the context of climate change, they are also recognised as a potential blue carbon habitat through sequestration of carbon in living biomass and underlying sediment. There are, however, significant data gaps on the potential of maerl carbon sequestration which impede inclusion in blue carbon policy frameworks. Key data gaps include sediment thickness, from which carbon content is extrapolated. There are additional logistical and financial barriers associated with quantification methods that aim to address these data gaps. This study investigates the use of sub-bottom profiling (SBP) to lessen financial and logistical constraints of maerl bed sediment thickness estimation and regional blue carbon quantification. SBP data were cross validated with cores, other SBP data on blue carbon sediments, and analysed with expert input. Combining SBP data with estimates of habitat health (as % cover) from drop-down video (DDV) data, and regional abiotic data, this study also elucidates links between abiotic and biotic factors in determining maerl habitat health and maerl sediment thickness through pathway analysis in structural equation modelling (SEM). SBP data were proved to be sufficiently robust for identification of maerl sediments when corroborated with core data. SBP and DDV data of maerl bed habitats in Orkney exhibited some positive correlations of sediment thickness with maerl % cover. The average maerl bed sediment thickness was 1.08 m across all ranges of habitat health. SEM analysis revealed maerl bed habitat health was strongly determined by abiotic factors. Maerl habitat health had a separate positive effect on maerl bed sediment thickness.

Horse mussel beds are listed as a Priority Marine Feature (PMF) in Scotland for their influence in the creation of diverse benthic communities and provision of ecosystem services. In Scotland, horse mussel beds are also recognised for their importance in marine carbon sequestration. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of data on horse mussel bed carbon stocks and sediment thickness. There are also significant financial and logistical barriers with which to address these data gaps. This study investigates the robustness of Sub-Bottom Profiling (SBP) as a cost-effective method to quantify horse mussel sediment thickness across a landscape. Integrating SBP and Drop-Down Video (DDV) data, this study also details an integrated approach to investigate the links between horse mussel habitat condition and sediment thickness. With the addition of abiotic data, this study uses Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to elucidate key relationships between abiotic factors, biotic variables, and sediment thickness. There is a significant positive correlation of horse mussel habitat condition and sediment thickness. Average horse mussel total sediment thickness, across all measures of habitat condition, was 1.37m. These findings substantially increase previous estimates of horse mussel sediment thickness, and potential value to climate change mitigation through blue carbon frameworks. This study highlights the importance of both abiotic and biotic factors on marine carbon sediment quantification.

Abstract Aims Telehealth became a patient necessity during the COVID pandemic and evolved into a patient preference in the post‐COVID era. This study compared the % total body weight loss (%TBWL), HbA1c reduction, and resource utilization among patients with obesity and diabetes who participated in lifestyle interventions with or without telehealth. Methods A total of 150 patients with obesity and diabetes who were followed every 4–6 weeks either in‐person (n = 83) or via telehealth (n = 67), were included. All patients were provided with an individualized nutritional plan that included a weight‐based daily protein intake from protein supplements and food, an activity/sleep schedule‐based meal times, and an aerobic exercise goal of a 2000‐calorie burn/week, customized to patient's preferences, physical abilities, and comorbidities. The goal was to lose 10%TBWL. Telehealth‐based follow‐up required transmission via texting of weekly body composition measurements and any blood glucose levels below 100 mg/dl for medication adjustments. Weight, BMI, %TBWL, HbA1c (%), and medication effect score (MES) were compared. Patient no‐show rates, number of visits, program duration, and drop‐out rate were used to assess resource utilization based on cumulative staff and provider time spent (CSPTS), provider lost time (PLT) and patient spent time (PST). Results Mean age was 47.2 ± 10.6 years and 74.6% were women. Mean Body Mass Index (BMI) decreased from 44.1 ± 7.7–39.7 ± 6.7 kg/m2 (p

IntroductionUnderstanding carbon flows within ecosystems is key to quantifying the impacts of land-use change in the climate. However, while the net exchange of CO2 between the ecosystem and atmosphere indicates global warming potentials, partitioning into individual flux components is needed to understand sinks and sources, residence times, and sensitivities to land-use impacts. Scaling from research site to region requires modelling evaluated against in situ measurements, but there is often a mismatch between outputs of process models (e.g., soil heterotrophic respiration (Rh)) and site-measured parameters (e.g., total soil surface respiration (Rs) or whole ecosystem respiration (Re)).MethodsThis study took a literature review approach to determine fractional coefficients for estimating Rh from Re or Rs and considered whether these fractions differed across a year in seasonal forests, where relative contributions of root respiration might be expected to vary between growing and dormant seasons. Compiled timeseries data were grouped by forest type (broadleaf, needleleaf, and mixed), and coefficients for a fraction of each component (Rs or Re) that Rh represented were calculated using two approaches, namely a simple annual mean value over all months and individual monthly means. These coefficients were then used to estimate Rh separately from higher-level fluxes (Re from eddy covariance and Rs from soil chambers), measured concurrently at two UK forest sites, and compared to Rh estimated from the same datasets using previously published generic coefficients as well as to concurrently measured Rh and Re.ResultsBoth approaches resulted in much closer convergence of the two separate estimates of Rh (derived from Re or Rs) than previously published coefficients, particularly for Rh/Re coefficients that had previously been measured under peatland blanket bog rather than forest.Discussion/ConclusionThis result suggests that land cover is an important factor in determining the relative contribution of heterotrophic respiration to higher-level fluxes and that the coefficients used would ideally be derived from studies on similar ecosystems.

I begin by revisiting Lawrence’s reading of Dana’s Two Years before the Mast reading it not as a critique of Dana but as a Lawrencian fiction in which the sea plays a central symbolic role. As Lawrence reflects on the vital relation of the human and the non-human, the sea seems to represent its destructive possibilities which Dana and Melville variously encounter, and thereby allow Lawrence to explore. In the Dana essay it is especially necessary, but not easy, to hold in focus the competing levels of the literal and scientific, on the one hand, and the metaphorical and visionary on the other. Sometimes the relation is strained as I suggest occurs in the flogging episode but this double vision is the basis for appreciating Lawrence’s representation of the sea.

Abstract Tropical cyclone (TC) low‐level tangential wind structure is known to be an important input for risk assessment (e.g., storm surge). However, a realistic TC wind structure model with easy implementation is still needed for many applications. In this study, we obtain an inner‐core wind structure model purely from an empirical approach, which significantly reduces the complexity of TC wind profiles. From idealized simulations with different initial vortex structures, it is found that the absolute angular momentum (M) outside the radius of maximum wind (rm) is quasi‐linear. This quasi‐linear M slope in a normalized coordinate decreases with TC intensity. The consequent linear M slope wind model can largely capture the simulated TC inner‐core wind structure and has the potential for many practical applications.

Introduction: The skin microbiota plays a crucial role in maintaining epidermal homeostasis. Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and other environmental challenges can impact the skin microbiota through direct and indirect mechanisms. This study aimed to investigate the effects of sun exposure on the skin microbiota and its relationship with individual skin phototypes.Methods: Healthy volunteers (n = 21 [4M, 17 F], mean age 33.2 years) holidayed in a sunny destination for a minimum of 7 days with swabs taken pre-holiday and up to 84 days post-holiday. Participant group was categorised by individual typology angle (ITA) classification and the composition of the skin microbiota was examined using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.Results: In the entire cohort and at all time points, the major bacterial phyla were Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. There was a significant change in microbial beta diversity at day 28 post-holiday, compared to baseline, for all participants. However, when participants were segregated into three cohorts dependent on the degree of skin tanning response between baseline (pre-holiday) and immediately one-day post-holiday, there was a reduction in Proteobacteria in the sun-seeking participants 1 day after the holiday, which recovered over time.Discussion: These findings suggest that sun exposure can affect the diversity and composition of the skin microbiota, which may have downstream effects on skin health.

Abstract Australian cotton production predominantly occurs on Vertisols. The average lint yield of cotton grown in Australia is 2 260–2 700 kg·hm−2, which is 2.5 to 3 times the world average. This high productivity per unit of land area requires efficient use of resources such as water and nutrients. However, high yields accelerate the export of nutrients such as phosphorus (P) in seed, depleting the soil reserves of P more than in other countries with lower cotton yields. Recent surveys of cotton industry indicate that P application rates should match seed P export (30~ 40 kg·hm−2), but historical depletion within subsoil is still evident and is continuing. Depletion of soil P is typically more pronounced in the subsoil than in the topsoil (0~ 20 cm) where P fertiliser is applied, as cotton roots rely on these layers as important sources of plant available water and available P. This mismatch between zones of P uptake and resupply may increase stratification of available P in the soil profile. Recent studies showed that cotton responded poorly to banded applications of fertiliser P, while dispersal of fertiliser throughout the plant beds was more successful. Researchers have also observed sporadic cotton responses to applied P fertiliser in soils where available P concentrations were well above the previously determined critical concentrations indicative of fertiliser P responses in Australia. To sustain high-yielding cotton production in Australia, a greater understanding of cotton root acquisition of applied P, as well as a re-examination of critical soil P concentrations for each production region are required.

As the present history reminds us, the idea of the people is as dangerous as it is problematic. Lawrence was of his generation and rather exhibits than solves the problems of thinking of human beings in collective terms. This is especially evident when it involves thinking in terms of race. I propose to look at a number of essays and fictions in the light of this question: Preface to Touch and Go, “Education of the People,” The Plumed Serpent, “England, my England,” and “The Woman who Rode Away.” I suggest that the understanding of collective experience may be taken as a matter of literal, causal psychology or as what Fredric Jameson calls “national allegory” and which he finds exemplified in a number of late twentieth-century novelists from around the world. Whatever Lawrence’s own understanding, these later writers provide a model for how we could now read his work.

Soft fluidic robots are typically controlled using manifolds containing large and rigid electromechanical valves. These bulky controllers limit scalability and hinder motion, in particular for untethered soft robots. There has been recent interest in using fluidic controllers analogous to electrical logic gates and microcontrollers to replace rigid valve systems. However, these microfluidic networks typically operate with small volumes, low flow rates, and low pressures relative to what is needed to power fluidic soft actuators. This article presents the design, fabrication, and analysis of a soft, fluidic amplifier as the “missing link” between microfluidic analogies of microcontrollers and the high fluidic power loads representative of soft actuators. The article demonstrates amplification gains of pressure signals up to a factor of four. The amplifier is a step toward fully autonomous soft robots by allowing designers to develop control strategies from soft materials with minimal additional rigid components or tethering.

Although Lawrence was clearly a forerunner of ecological awareness, he predated the conscious crisis of planetary destruction and the ecocritical turn retains an ambiguity as to whether it refers to a thematic concern or a distinctive mode of reading and writing. The same ambiguity lurks in Martin Heidegger’s use of Friedrich Hölderlin’s auratic formula “Poetically man dwells upon the earth.” I consider the possible shift between Lawrence’s time and the present on the question of poetic dwelling by comparing Lawrence’s writing on trees in Fantasia of the Unconscious with Peter Wohleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees (2015) and Richard Powers The Overstory (2018).

Selection for root system architectures (RSA) to match target growing environments can improve yields through better adaptation to water and nutrient-limiting conditions in grain legume crops such as mungbean. In this study, the architectural development of root systems in four contrasting mungbean varieties was studied over time to explore their relationships to above-ground growth and development. Key findings suggested that early maturing mungbean varieties were characterized by more rapid root elongation rates and leaf area development, resulting in more vigorous root and shoot growth during early growth stages compared with a late maturing variety. The early maturing varieties also showed root morphological traits generally adapted to water-limited environments, such as deeper, longer and lighter roots. Early maturing varieties more rapidly colonized the top 10–20 cm of the soil profile during early growth stages, whereas the later maturing variety developed less prolific but 20–50% thicker roots in the same profile layers in later stages of crop growth. The diversity of root characteristics identified in these commercial varieties suggests that there are opportunities to combine desirable root traits with maturity types to target different production environments. Examples include deeper, longer, and thinner roots for crops to exploit deep profile reserves of water and nutrients, and thicker and shallower root systems for crops grown in shallow soils with stratified nutrient reserves and/or more favorable in-season rainfall.

In the adult human brain, six isoforms of the microtubule-associated protein TAU are expressed, which result from alternative splicing of exons 2, 3, and 10 of the MAPT gene. These isoforms differ in the number of N-terminal inserts (0N, 1N, 2N) and C-terminal repeat domains (3R or 4R) and are differentially expressed depending on the brain region and developmental stage. Although all TAU isoforms can aggregate and form neurofibrillary tangles, some tauopathies, such as Pick’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy, are characterized by the accumulation of specific TAU isoforms. The influence of the individual TAU isoforms in a cellular context, however, is understudied. In this report, we investigated the subcellular localization of the human-specific TAU isoforms in primary mouse neurons and analyzed TAU isoform-specific effects on cell area and microtubule dynamics in human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Our results show that 2N-TAU isoforms are particularly retained from axonal sorting and that axonal enrichment is independent of the number of repeat domains, but that the additional repeat domain of 4R-TAU isoforms results in a general reduction of cell size and an increase of microtubule counts in cells expressing these specific isoforms. Our study points out that individual TAU isoforms may influence microtubule dynamics differentially both by different sorting patterns and by direct effects on microtubule dynamics.

Forensic DNA Phenotyping (FDP) is an established but evolving field of DNA testing. It provides intelligence regarding the appearance (externally visible characteristics), biogeographical ancestry and age of an unknown donor and, although not necessarily a requirement for its casework application, has been previously used as a method of last resort in New South Wales (NSW) Police Force investigations. FDP can further assist law enforcement agencies by re-prioritising an existing pool of suspects or generating a new pool of suspects. In recent years, this capability has become ubiquitous with a wide range of service providers offering their expertise to law enforcement and the public. With the increase in the number of providers offering FDP and its potential to direct and target law enforcement resources, a thorough assessment of the applicability of these services was undertaken. Six service providers of FDP were assessed for suitability for NSW Police Force casework based on prediction accuracy, clarity of reporting, limitations of testing, cost and turnaround times. From these assessment criteria, a service provider for the prediction of biogeographical ancestry, hair and eye colour was deemed suitable for use in NSW Police Force casework. Importantly, the study highlighted the need for standardisation of terminology and reporting in this evolving field, and the requirement for interpretation by biologists with specialist expertise to translate the scientific data to intelligence for police investigators.

Tragedy is one of those terms which refers both to a specific literary genre and to a general world view. The two meanings are to be distinguished but cannot perhaps be fully separated since the ambiguous relation between art and life underwrites the power and significance of the form. At the same time this relation has a different meaning when approached from either side. Lawrence’s remark that “tragedy ought really to be a great kick at misery” sits at the heart of this ambiguity. It seems to be a Nietzschean affirmation of life through the tragic experience; an affirmation for which Yeats’s poem “Lapis Lazuli” provides perhaps the most striking example in English. Yet Lawrence was hostile to the mode of aestheticism represented by Nietzsche and Yeats. Where they assimilate life into art, he constantly distrusts any art, even an affirmative one, that claims a privileged standpoint on life.

Ecotin, first described in Escherichia coli, is a potent inhibitor of a broad range of serine proteases including those typically released by the innate immune system such as neutrophil elastase (NE). Here we describe the identification of ecotin orthologs in various Campylobacter species, including Campylobacter rectus and Campylobacter showae residing in the oral cavity and implicated in the development and progression of periodontal disease in humans. To investigate the function of these ecotins in vitro, the orthologs from C. rectus and C. showae were recombinantly expressed and purified from E. coli. Using CmeA degradation/protection assays, fluorescence resonance energy transfer and NE activity assays, we found that ecotins from C. rectus and C. showae inhibit NE, factor Xa and trypsin, but not the Campylobacter jejuni serine protease HtrA or its ortholog in E. coli, DegP. To further evaluate ecotin function in vivo, an E. coli ecotin-deficient mutant was complemented with the C. rectus and C. showae homologs. Using a neutrophil killing assay, we demonstrate that the low survival rate of the E. coli ecotin-deficient mutant can be rescued upon expression of ecotins from C. rectus and C. showae. In addition, the C. rectus and C. showae ecotins partially compensate for loss of N-glycosylation and increased protease susceptibility in the related pathogen, Campylobacter jejuni, thus implicating a similar role for these proteins in the native host to cope with the protease-rich environment of the oral cavity.

Current forecast systems provide reliable deterministic forecasts at the scale of weather (1–7 days) and probabilistic outcomes at the scale of seasons (1–9 months). Only in recent years research has begun transitioning to operational settings to provide numerical predictions for a lead time of 2–4 weeks, a timescale known as subseasonal. The Subseasonal Experiment (SubX) multi-model ensemble mean precipitation forecast (2017–2021) for days 8–14 (week-2 forecast) is used as a covariate in logistic regression models to predict fire risk in the Amazon. In a complementary experiment, a vegetation health index (VHI) is added to SubX precipitation forecasts as a predictor of fires. We find that fire risk can be skillfully assessed in most of the Amazon where fires occur regularly. In some sectors, SubX week-2 precipitation alone is a reliable predictor of fire risk, but the addition of VHI as a predictor results both in (a) a larger portion of the Amazon domain with skillful forecasts and; (b) higher skill in some sectors. By comparing two sectors of the Amazon, we find that the added information provided by VHI is most relevant where the mosaic of land covers includes savannas and grassland, whereas SubX precipitation can be used as the sole predictor for week-2 fire risk forecast in areas where the mosaic of land cover is dominated by forests. Our results illustrate the potential for using numerical model forecasts, at the subseasonal timescale, in combination with satellite remote sensing of vegetation to obtain skillful fire risk forecasts in the Amazon. The operationalization of the methods presented in this study could allow for better preparedness and fire risk reduction in the Amazon with a lead time greater than a week.

ABSTRACT: In preparation for the Fourth International Workshop on Tropical Cyclone Landfall Processes (IWTCLP-IV), a summary of recent research studies and the forecasting challenges of tropical cyclone (TC) rainfall has been prepared. The extreme rainfall accumulations in Hurricane Harvey (2017) near Houston, Texas and Typhoon Damrey (2017) in southern Vietnam are examples of the TC rainfall forecasting challenges. Some progress is being made in understanding the internal rainfall dynamics via case studies. Environmental effects such as vertical wind shear and terrain-induced rainfall have been studied, as well as the rainfall relationships with TC intensity and structure. Numerical model predictions of TC-related rainfall have been improved via data assimilation, microphysics representation, improved resolution, and ensemble quantitative precipitation forecast techniques. Some attempts have been made to improve the verification techniques as well. A basic forecast challenge for TC-related rainfall is monitoring the existing rainfall distribution via satellite or coastal radars, or from over-land rain gauges. Forecasters also need assistance in understanding how seemingly similar landfall locations relative to the TC experience different rainfall distributions. In addition, forecasters must cope with anomalous TC activity and landfall distributions in response to various environmental effects. Keywords: tropical cyclone, landfall, rainfall, nowcast, forecast verification

The demand for asphalt and road oil heavily leverages local supply because the product is a hot binder of aggregates that form the final mix needed to pave roads. This paper discusses the supply chain characteristics of crude oil feedstock by considering the overall logistics of sourcing heavy crude oil domestically, or importing it from international trading partners. Heavy crude oil is a source of asphalt and road oil production. The study examines critical global and domestic logistics factors such as customs, regulations, security, environmental compliance, and natural events that will affect costs, schedules, and risks. The study provides a framework for decision-making in sourcing the feedstock. The study helps global logisticians and transportation managers improve strategic design and planning towards efficient sourcing.

Many of the survivors of the 2014–2015 epidemic of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa were women of childbearing age. Limited clinical and laboratory data exist that describe these women’s pregnancies and outcomes. We report the case of an EVD survivor who became pregnant and delivered her child in the United States, and we discuss implications of this case for infection control practices in obstetric services. Hospitals in the United States must be prepared to care for EVD survivors.

In recent years phosphorus application methods have become an important management strategy for optimising the uptake of the immobile nutrient phosphorus (P). Root system architecture (RSA) could play a particularly important role in the uptake of P by grain legumes, due to their relatively coarse root systems. The objective of this study was to understand the response of mungbean root systems to P application methods. Four mungbean varieties were grown in purpose-built soil filled root chambers that received five P application methods. Phosphorus treatments consisted of a control (no application of P) compared with 30 mg P/kg soil throughout the soil volume (high P treatment) or restricted to 10cm deep layers in the topsoil or in a layer from 20-30cm deep. A fifth treatment consisted of the same amount of P as applied in deeper dispersed layer applied in a concentrated band at 25cm depth. After 50 days of growth, plant were destructively harvested and shoot and root parameters were measured. Mungbean varieties responded differently to P application methods, with Jade and Berken varieties showing greater root proliferation at depth and greater shoot growth in response to banded and deeper dispersed P applications, relative to the late maturing variety Putland. Shallow dispersed P and the no-P control both resulted in poor root growth in all the genotypes except Celera II, which did not respond to P application from any placement strategy. Results suggest that P application strategies may need to vary with variety to maximize the uptake of P.