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Showing papers by "University of Exeter published in 2021"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes.
Abstract: In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field.

1,129 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
Nick Watts1, Markus Amann2, Nigel W. Arnell3, Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson4, Jessica Beagley1, Kristine Belesova5, Maxwell T. Boykoff6, Peter Byass7, Wenjia Cai8, Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum9, Stuart Capstick10, Jonathan Chambers11, Samantha Coleman1, Carole Dalin1, Meaghan Daly12, Niheer Dasandi13, Shouro Dasgupta, Michael Davies1, Claudia Di Napoli3, Paula Dominguez-Salas5, Paul Drummond1, Robert Dubrow14, Kristie L. Ebi15, Matthew J. Eckelman16, Paul Ekins1, Luis E. Escobar17, Lucien Georgeson18, Su Golder19, Delia Grace20, Hilary Graham12, Paul Haggar10, Ian Hamilton1, Stella M. Hartinger21, Jeremy J. Hess15, Shih Che Hsu1, Nick Hughes1, Slava Mikhaylov, Marcia P. Jimenez22, Ilan Kelman1, Harry Kennard1, Gregor Kiesewetter2, Patrick L. Kinney23, Tord Kjellstrom, Dominic Kniveton24, Pete Lampard19, Bruno Lemke25, Yang Liu26, Zhao Liu8, Melissa C. Lott27, Rachel Lowe5, Jaime Martinez-Urtaza28, Mark A. Maslin1, Lucy McAllister29, Alice McGushin1, Celia McMichael30, James Milner5, Maziar Moradi-Lakeh31, Karyn Morrissey32, Simon Munzert, Kris A. Murray5, Kris A. Murray33, Tara Neville9, Maria Nilsson7, Maquins Odhiambo Sewe7, Tadj Oreszczyn1, Matthias Otto25, Fereidoon Owfi, Olivia Pearman6, David Pencheon32, Ruth Quinn34, Mahnaz Rabbaniha, Elizabeth J. Z. Robinson3, Joacim Rocklöv7, Marina Romanello1, Jan C. Semenza35, Jodi D. Sherman14, Liuhua Shi, Marco Springmann18, Meisam Tabatabaei36, Jonathon Taylor, Joaquin Trinanes37, Joy Shumake-Guillemot, Bryan N. Vu26, Paul Wilkinson5, Matthew Winning1, Peng Gong8, Hugh Montgomery1, Anthony Costello1 
TL;DR: TRANSLATIONS For the Chinese, French, German, and Spanish translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

886 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There is preliminary evidence that children and adolescents have lower susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, with the pooled odds ratio of 0.56 for being an infected contact compared with adults, although seroprevalence in adolescents appeared similar to adults.
Abstract: Importance The degree to which children and adolescents are infected by and transmit severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is unclear. The role of children and adolescents in transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is dependent on susceptibility, symptoms, viral load, social contact patterns, and behavior. Objective To systematically review the susceptibility to and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among children and adolescents compared with adults. Data Sources PubMed and medRxiv were searched from database inception to July 28, 2020, and a total of 13 926 studies were identified, with additional studies identified through hand searching of cited references and professional contacts. Study Selection Studies that provided data on the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in children and adolescents (younger than 20 years) compared with adults (20 years and older) derived from contact tracing or population screening were included. Single-household studies were excluded. Data Extraction and Synthesis PRISMA guidelines for abstracting data were followed, which was performed independently by 2 reviewers. Quality was assessed using a critical appraisal checklist for prevalence studies. Random-effects meta-analysis was undertaken. Main Outcomes and Measures Secondary infection rate (contact-tracing studies) or prevalence or seroprevalence (population screening studies) among children and adolescents compared with adults. Results A total of 32 studies comprising 41 640 children and adolescents and 268 945 adults met inclusion criteria, including 18 contact-tracing studies and 14 population screening studies. The pooled odds ratio of being an infected contact in children compared with adults was 0.56 (95% CI, 0.37-0.85), with substantial heterogeneity (I2 = 94.6%). Three school-based contact-tracing studies found minimal transmission from child or teacher index cases. Findings from population screening studies were heterogenous and were not suitable for meta-analysis. Most studies were consistent with lower seroprevalence in children compared with adults, although seroprevalence in adolescents appeared similar to adults. Conclusions and Relevance In this meta-analysis, there is preliminary evidence that children and adolescents have lower susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, with an odds ratio of 0.56 for being an infected contact compared with adults. There is weak evidence that children and adolescents play a lesser role than adults in transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at a population level. This study provides no information on the infectivity of children.

698 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
10 Mar 2021-BMJ
TL;DR: In this article, a matched cohort study was conducted to establish whether there is any change in mortality from infection with a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, designated a variant of concern (VOC-202012/1) in December 2020, compared with circulating SARS CoV-19 variants.
Abstract: Objective To establish whether there is any change in mortality from infection with a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, designated a variant of concern (VOC-202012/1) in December 2020, compared with circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants. Design Matched cohort study. Setting Community based (pillar 2) covid-19 testing centres in the UK using the TaqPath assay (a proxy measure of VOC-202012/1 infection). Participants 54 906 matched pairs of participants who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in pillar 2 between 1 October 2020 and 29 January 2021, followed-up until 12 February 2021. Participants were matched on age, sex, ethnicity, index of multiple deprivation, lower tier local authority region, and sample date of positive specimens, and differed only by detectability of the spike protein gene using the TaqPath assay. Main outcome measure Death within 28 days of the first positive SARS-CoV-2 test result. Results The mortality hazard ratio associated with infection with VOC-202012/1 compared with infection with previously circulating variants was 1.64 (95% confidence interval 1.32 to 2.04) in patients who tested positive for covid-19 in the community. In this comparatively low risk group, this represents an increase in deaths from 2.5 to 4.1 per 1000 detected cases. Conclusions The probability that the risk of mortality is increased by infection with VOC-202012/01 is high. If this finding is generalisable to other populations, infection with VOC-202012/1 has the potential to cause substantial additional mortality compared with previously circulating variants. Healthcare capacity planning and national and international control policies are all impacted by this finding, with increased mortality lending weight to the argument that further coordinated and stringent measures are justified to reduce deaths from SARS-CoV-2.

617 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
Marina Romanello1, Alice McGushin1, Claudia Di Napoli2, Paul Drummond1, Nick Hughes1, Louis Jamart1, Harry Kennard1, Pete Lampard3, Baltazar Solano Rodriguez1, Nigel W. Arnell2, Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson4, Kristine Belesova5, Wenjia Cai6, Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum7, Stuart Capstick8, Jonathan Chambers7, Lingzhi Chu9, Luisa Ciampi2, Carole Dalin1, Niheer Dasandi10, Shouro Dasgupta, Michael Davies1, Paula Dominguez-Salas11, Robert Dubrow9, Kristie L. Ebi12, Matthew J. Eckelman13, Paul Ekins1, Luis E. Escobar14, Lucien Georgeson1, Delia Grace15, Hilary Graham3, Samuel H Gunther16, Stella M. Hartinger17, Kehan He1, Clare Heaviside1, Jeremy J. Hess12, Shih Che Hsu1, Slava Jankin, Marcia P. Jimenez18, Ilan Kelman1, Gregor Kiesewetter19, Patrick L. Kinney20, Tord Kjellstrom, Dominic Kniveton21, Jason Kai Wei Lee16, Bruno Lemke22, Yang Liu23, Zhao Liu6, Melissa C. Lott24, Rachel Lowe5, Jaime Martinez-Urtaza25, Mark A. Maslin1, Lucy McAllister26, Celia McMichael27, Zhifu Mi1, James Milner5, Kelton Minor28, Nahid Mohajeri1, Maziar Moradi-Lakeh29, Karyn Morrissey30, Simon Munzert, Kris A. Murray5, Tara Neville7, Maria Nilsson31, Nick Obradovich32, Maquins Odhiambo Sewe31, Tadj Oreszczyn1, Matthias Otto22, Fereidoon Owfi, Olivia Pearman33, David Pencheon34, Mahnaz Rabbaniha, Elizabeth J. Z. Robinson2, Joacim Rocklöv31, Renee N Salas18, Jan C. Semenza, Jodi D. Sherman9, Liuhua Shi23, Marco Springmann35, Meisam Tabatabaei36, Jonathon Taylor, Joaquin Trinanes37, Joy Shumake-Guillemot, Bryan N. Vu23, Fabian Wagner19, Paul Wilkinson5, Matthew Winning1, Marisol Yglesias17, Shihui Zhang6, Peng Gong38, Hugh Montgomery1, Anthony Costello1, Ian Hamilton1 
TL;DR: The 2021 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change : code red for a healthy future as mentioned in this paper, is the most recent publication of the Countdown on Health and Climate Change, 2019.

491 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review recent advances in integrated photonic neuromorphic systems, discuss current and future challenges, and outline the advances in science and technology needed to meet those challenges.
Abstract: Research in photonic computing has flourished due to the proliferation of optoelectronic components on photonic integration platforms. Photonic integrated circuits have enabled ultrafast artificial neural networks, providing a framework for a new class of information processing machines. Algorithms running on such hardware have the potential to address the growing demand for machine learning and artificial intelligence in areas such as medical diagnosis, telecommunications, and high-performance and scientific computing. In parallel, the development of neuromorphic electronics has highlighted challenges in that domain, particularly related to processor latency. Neuromorphic photonics offers sub-nanosecond latencies, providing a complementary opportunity to extend the domain of artificial intelligence. Here, we review recent advances in integrated photonic neuromorphic systems, discuss current and future challenges, and outline the advances in science and technology needed to meet those challenges. Photonics offers an attractive platform for implementing neuromorphic computing due to its low latency, multiplexing capabilities and integrated on-chip technology.

480 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
06 Jan 2021-Nature
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors demonstrate a computationally specific integrated photonic hardware accelerator (tensor core) that is capable of operating at speeds of trillions of multiply-accumulate operations per second.
Abstract: With the proliferation of ultrahigh-speed mobile networks and internet-connected devices, along with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI)1, the world is generating exponentially increasing amounts of data that need to be processed in a fast and efficient way. Highly parallelized, fast and scalable hardware is therefore becoming progressively more important2. Here we demonstrate a computationally specific integrated photonic hardware accelerator (tensor core) that is capable of operating at speeds of trillions of multiply-accumulate operations per second (1012 MAC operations per second or tera-MACs per second). The tensor core can be considered as the optical analogue of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). It achieves parallelized photonic in-memory computing using phase-change-material memory arrays and photonic chip-based optical frequency combs (soliton microcombs3). The computation is reduced to measuring the optical transmission of reconfigurable and non-resonant passive components and can operate at a bandwidth exceeding 14 gigahertz, limited only by the speed of the modulators and photodetectors. Given recent advances in hybrid integration of soliton microcombs at microwave line rates3-5, ultralow-loss silicon nitride waveguides6,7, and high-speed on-chip detectors and modulators, our approach provides a path towards full complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) wafer-scale integration of the photonic tensor core. Although we focus on convolutional processing, more generally our results indicate the potential of integrated photonics for parallel, fast, and efficient computational hardware in data-heavy AI applications such as autonomous driving, live video processing, and next-generation cloud computing services.

478 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a genome-wide association study of self-reported daytime napping in the UK Biobank and Mendelian randomization was performed to explore causal associations with cardiometabolic outcomes.
Abstract: Daytime napping is a common, heritable behavior, but its genetic basis and causal relationship with cardiometabolic health remain unclear. Here, we perform a genome-wide association study of self-reported daytime napping in the UK Biobank (n = 452,633) and identify 123 loci of which 61 replicate in the 23andMe research cohort (n = 541,333). Findings include missense variants in established drug targets for sleep disorders (HCRTR1, HCRTR2), genes with roles in arousal (TRPC6, PNOC), and genes suggesting an obesity-hypersomnolence pathway (PNOC, PATJ). Association signals are concordant with accelerometer-measured daytime inactivity duration and 33 loci colocalize with loci for other sleep phenotypes. Cluster analysis identifies three distinct clusters of nap-promoting mechanisms with heterogeneous associations with cardiometabolic outcomes. Mendelian randomization shows potential causal links between more frequent daytime napping and higher blood pressure and waist circumference. The genetic basis of daytime napping and the directional effect of daytime napping on cardiometabolic health are unknown. Here, the authors perform a genome-wide association study on self-reported daytime napping in the UK Biobank and Mendelian randomization to explore causal associations.

393 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
17 Mar 2021-Nature
TL;DR: It is found that the veracity of headlines has little effect on sharing intentions, despite having a large effect on judgments of accuracy, and that subtly shifting attention to accuracy increases the quality of news that people subsequently share.
Abstract: In recent years, there has been a great deal of concern about the proliferation of false and misleading news on social media1–4. Academics and practitioners alike have asked why people share such misinformation, and sought solutions to reduce the sharing of misinformation5–7. Here, we attempt to address both of these questions. First, we find that the veracity of headlines has little effect on sharing intentions, despite having a large effect on judgments of accuracy. This dissociation suggests that sharing does not necessarily indicate belief. Nonetheless, most participants say it is important to share only accurate news. To shed light on this apparent contradiction, we carried out four survey experiments and a field experiment on Twitter; the results show that subtly shifting attention to accuracy increases the quality of news that people subsequently share. Together with additional computational analyses, these findings indicate that people often share misinformation because their attention is focused on factors other than accuracy—and therefore they fail to implement a strongly held preference for accurate sharing. Our results challenge the popular claim that people value partisanship over accuracy8,9, and provide evidence for scalable attention-based interventions that social media platforms could easily implement to counter misinformation online. Surveys and a field experiment with Twitter users show that prompting people to think about the accuracy of news sources increases the quality of the news that they share online.

349 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An overview of the management of patients with COPD during the COVID-19 pandemic is presented and inhaled corticosteroids, long-acting bronchodilators, roflumilast, or chronic macrolides should be used as indicated for stable COPD management.
Abstract: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has raised many questions about the management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and whether modifications of their therapy are required. It has raised questions about recognizing and differentiating coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from COPD given the similarity of the symptoms. The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) Science Committee used established methods for literature review to present an overview of the management of patients with COPD during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unclear whether patients with COPD are at increased risk of becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2. During periods of high community prevalence of COVID-19, spirometry should only be used when it is essential for COPD diagnosis and/or to assess lung function status for interventional procedures or surgery. Patients with COPD should follow basic infection control measures, including social distancing, hand washing, and wearing a mask or face covering. Patients should remain up to date with appropriate vaccinations, particularly annual influenza vaccination. Although data are limited, inhaled corticosteroids, long-acting bronchodilators, roflumilast, or chronic macrolides should continue to be used as indicated for stable COPD management. Systemic steroids and antibiotics should be used in COPD exacerbations according to the usual indications. Differentiating symptoms of COVID-19 infection from chronic underlying symptoms or those of an acute COPD exacerbation may be challenging. If there is suspicion for COVID-19, testing for SARS-CoV-2 should be considered. Patients who developed moderate-to-severe COVID-19, including hospitalization and pneumonia, should be treated with evolving pharmacotherapeutic approaches as appropriate, including remdesivir, dexamethasone, and anticoagulation. Managing acute respiratory failure should include appropriate oxygen supplementation, prone positioning, noninvasive ventilation, and protective lung strategy in patients with COPD and severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. Patients who developed asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 should be followed with the usual COPD protocols. Patients who developed moderate or worse COVID-19 should be monitored more frequently and accurately than the usual patients with COPD, with particular attention to the need for oxygen therapy.

345 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
04 Mar 2021-PLOS ONE
TL;DR: In this paper, a systematic review was conducted using standardized methodology, searching two electronic databases (PubMed and SCOPUS) for relevant literature published between 1st January 2020 and 9th July 2020.
Abstract: AIM: COVID-19 clinical presentation is heterogeneous, ranging from asymptomatic to severe cases. While there are a number of early publications relating to risk factors for COVID-19 infection, low sample size and heterogeneity in study design impacted consolidation of early findings. There is a pressing need to identify the factors which predispose patients to severe cases of COVID-19. For rapid and widespread risk stratification, these factors should be easily obtainable, inexpensive, and avoid invasive clinical procedures. The aim of our study is to fill this knowledge gap by systematically mapping all the available evidence on the association of various clinical, demographic, and lifestyle variables with the risk of specific adverse outcomes in patients with COVID-19. METHODS: The systematic review was conducted using standardized methodology, searching two electronic databases (PubMed and SCOPUS) for relevant literature published between 1st January 2020 and 9th July 2020. Included studies reported characteristics of patients with COVID-19 while reporting outcomes relating to disease severity. In the case of sufficient comparable data, meta-analyses were conducted to estimate risk of each variable. RESULTS: Seventy-six studies were identified, with a total of 17,860,001 patients across 14 countries. The studies were highly heterogeneous in terms of the sample under study, outcomes, and risk measures reported. A large number of risk factors were presented for COVID-19. Commonly reported variables for adverse outcome from COVID-19 comprised patient characteristics, including age >75 (OR: 2.65, 95% CI: 1.81-3.90), male sex (OR: 2.05, 95% CI: 1.39-3.04) and severe obesity (OR: 2.57, 95% CI: 1.31-5.05). Active cancer (OR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.04-2.04) was associated with increased risk of severe outcome. A number of common symptoms and vital measures (respiratory rate and SpO2) also suggested elevated risk profiles. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the findings of this study, a range of easily assessed parameters are valuable to predict elevated risk of severe illness and mortality as a result of COVID-19, including patient characteristics and detailed comorbidities, alongside the novel inclusion of real-time symptoms and vital measurements.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Findings can help decision-makers in developing potential future lockdown measures to mitigate the negative impacts, helping people to be more resilient and maintain better mental health, using the benefits that ecosystem services are providing.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A novel graph convolutional layer inspired by the auto-regressive moving average (ARMA) filter is proposed that provides a more flexible frequency response, is more robust to noise, and better captures the global graph structure.
Abstract: Popular graph neural networks implement convolution operations on graphs based on polynomial spectral filters. In this paper, we propose a novel graph convolutional layer inspired by the auto-regressive moving average (ARMA) filter that, compared to polynomial ones, provides a more flexible frequency response, is more robust to noise, and better captures the global graph structure. We propose a graph neural network implementation of the ARMA filter with a recursive and distributed formulation, obtaining a convolutional layer that is efficient to train, localized in the node space, and can be transferred to new graphs at test time. We perform a spectral analysis to study the filtering effect of the proposed ARMA layer and report experiments on four downstream tasks: semi-supervised node classification, graph signal classification, graph classification, and graph regression. Results show that the proposed ARMA layer brings significant improvements over graph neural networks based on polynomial filters.

Journal ArticleDOI
27 Jan 2021-Nature
TL;DR: The Living Planet Index (LPI) is a measure of changes in abundance aggregated from 57 abundance time-series datasets for 18 oceanic shark and ray species and the Red List Index (Red List Index) is calculated for all 31 oceanic species of sharks and rays.
Abstract: Overfishing is the primary cause of marine defaunation, yet declines in and increasing extinction risks of individual species are difficult to measure, particularly for the largest predators found in the high seas1-3. Here we calculate two well-established indicators to track progress towards Aichi Biodiversity Targets and Sustainable Development Goals4,5: the Living Planet Index (a measure of changes in abundance aggregated from 57 abundance time-series datasets for 18 oceanic shark and ray species) and the Red List Index (a measure of change in extinction risk calculated for all 31 oceanic species of sharks and rays). We find that, since 1970, the global abundance of oceanic sharks and rays has declined by 71% owing to an 18-fold increase in relative fishing pressure. This depletion has increased the global extinction risk to the point at which three-quarters of the species comprising this functionally important assemblage are threatened with extinction. Strict prohibitions and precautionary science-based catch limits are urgently needed to avert population collapse6,7, avoid the disruption of ecological functions and promote species recovery8,9.

Journal ArticleDOI
05 Feb 2021-Science
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that ocean sound affects marine animals at multiple levels, including their behavior, physiology, and, in extreme cases, survival, which should prompt management actions to deploy existing solutions to reduce noise levels in the ocean, thereby allowing marine animals to reestablish their use of ocean sound as a central ecological trait.
Abstract: Oceans have become substantially noisier since the Industrial Revolution. Shipping, resource exploration, and infrastructure development have increased the anthrophony (sounds generated by human activities), whereas the biophony (sounds of biological origin) has been reduced by hunting, fishing, and habitat degradation. Climate change is affecting geophony (abiotic, natural sounds). Existing evidence shows that anthrophony affects marine animals at multiple levels, including their behavior, physiology, and, in extreme cases, survival. This should prompt management actions to deploy existing solutions to reduce noise levels in the ocean, thereby allowing marine animals to reestablish their use of ocean sound as a central ecological trait in a healthy ocean.

Journal ArticleDOI
15 Jul 2021-Nature
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated Amazonia's carbon budget and the main drivers responsible for its change into a carbon source, and found that total carbon emissions are greater in eastern Amazonia than in the western part, mostly as a result of spatial differences in carbon-monoxide-derived fire emissions.
Abstract: Amazonia hosts the Earth's largest tropical forests and has been shown to be an important carbon sink over recent decades1-3. This carbon sink seems to be in decline, however, as a result of factors such as deforestation and climate change1-3. Here we investigate Amazonia's carbon budget and the main drivers responsible for its change into a carbon source. We performed 590 aircraft vertical profiling measurements of lower-tropospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide at four sites in Amazonia from 2010 to 20184. We find that total carbon emissions are greater in eastern Amazonia than in the western part, mostly as a result of spatial differences in carbon-monoxide-derived fire emissions. Southeastern Amazonia, in particular, acts as a net carbon source (total carbon flux minus fire emissions) to the atmosphere. Over the past 40 years, eastern Amazonia has been subjected to more deforestation, warming and moisture stress than the western part, especially during the dry season, with the southeast experiencing the strongest trends5-9. We explore the effect of climate change and deforestation trends on carbon emissions at our study sites, and find that the intensification of the dry season and an increase in deforestation seem to promote ecosystem stress, increase in fire occurrence, and higher carbon emissions in the eastern Amazon. This is in line with recent studies that indicate an increase in tree mortality and a reduction in photosynthesis as a result of climatic changes across Amazonia1,10.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A range of evidence supports a positive terrestrial carbon sink in response to iCO2, albeit with uncertain magnitude and strong suggestion of a role for additional agents of global change.
Abstract: Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2 ]) is increasing, which increases leaf-scale photosynthesis and intrinsic water-use efficiency. These direct responses have the potential to increase plant growth, vegetation biomass, and soil organic matter; transferring carbon from the atmosphere into terrestrial ecosystems (a carbon sink). A substantial global terrestrial carbon sink would slow the rate of [CO2 ] increase and thus climate change. However, ecosystem CO2 responses are complex or confounded by concurrent changes in multiple agents of global change and evidence for a [CO2 ]-driven terrestrial carbon sink can appear contradictory. Here we synthesize theory and broad, multidisciplinary evidence for the effects of increasing [CO2 ] (iCO2 ) on the global terrestrial carbon sink. Evidence suggests a substantial increase in global photosynthesis since pre-industrial times. Established theory, supported by experiments, indicates that iCO2 is likely responsible for about half of the increase. Global carbon budgeting, atmospheric data, and forest inventories indicate a historical carbon sink, and these apparent iCO2 responses are high in comparison to experiments and predictions from theory. Plant mortality and soil carbon iCO2 responses are highly uncertain. In conclusion, a range of evidence supports a positive terrestrial carbon sink in response to iCO2 , albeit with uncertain magnitude and strong suggestion of a role for additional agents of global change.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The most vulnerable to loneliness were younger men living in individualistic cultures and age, gender, and culture interacted to predict loneliness, although those interactions did not qualify the main effects, and simply accentuated them.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) are impressive fluid dynamical events in which large and rapid temperature increases in the winter polar stratosphere (10−50km) are associated with a complete reversal of the climatological wintertime westerly winds.
Abstract: Sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) are impressive fluid dynamical events in which large and rapid temperature increases in the winter polar stratosphere (⁓10‐50km) are associated with a complete reversal of the climatological wintertime westerly winds. SSWs are caused by the breaking of planetary‐scale waves that propagate upwards from the troposphere. During an SSW, the polar vortex breaks down, accompanied by rapid descent and warming of air in polar latitudes, mirrored by ascent and cooling above the warming. The rapid warming and descent of the polar air column affects tropospheric weather, shifting jet streams, storm tracks, and the Northern Annular Mode, making cold air outbreaks over North America and Eurasia more likely. SSWs affect the atmosphere above the stratosphere, producing widespread effects on atmospheric chemistry, temperatures, winds, neutral (non‐ionized) particles and electron densities, and electric fields. These effects span both hemispheres. Given their crucial role in the whole atmosphere, SSWs are also seen as a key process to analyze in climate change studies and subseasonal to seasonal prediction. This work reviews the current knowledge on the most important aspects of SSWs, from the historical background to dynamical processes, modelling, chemistry, and impact on other atmospheric layers.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jul 2021
TL;DR: Parkinson disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, affecting >1% of the population ≥65 years of age and with a prevalence set to double by 2030 as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Parkinson disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, affecting >1% of the population ≥65 years of age and with a prevalence set to double by 2030. In addition to the defining motor symptoms of PD, multiple non-motor symptoms occur; among them, cognitive impairment is common and can potentially occur at any disease stage. Cognitive decline is usually slow and insidious, but rapid in some cases. Recently, the focus has been on the early cognitive changes, where executive and visuospatial impairments are typical and can be accompanied by memory impairment, increasing the risk for early progression to dementia. Other risk factors for early progression to dementia include visual hallucinations, older age and biomarker changes such as cortical atrophy, as well as Alzheimer-type changes on functional imaging and in cerebrospinal fluid, and slowing and frequency variation on EEG. However, the mechanisms underlying cognitive decline in PD remain largely unclear. Cortical involvement of Lewy body and Alzheimer-type pathologies are key features, but multiple mechanisms are likely involved. Cholinesterase inhibition is the only high-level evidence-based treatment available, but other pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies are being tested. Challenges include the identification of disease-modifying therapies as well as finding biomarkers to better predict cognitive decline and identify patients at high risk for early and rapid cognitive impairment. Cognitive impairment is common in patients with Parkinson disease and ranges in severity. This Primer reviews the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of cognitive impairment in Parkinson disease and describes the effects on patient quality of life and the future outlook for the field.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a review of metal-containing dye types and their heavy metal ions pollution from entryway to the wastewater, which briefly explored the effects on human health and the environment is discussed.
Abstract: Textile wastewater heavy metal pollution has become a severe environmental problem worldwide. Metal ion inclusion in a dye molecule exhibits a bathochromic shift producing deeper but duller shades, which provides excellent colouration. The ejection of a massive volume of wastewater containing heavy metal ions such as Cr (VI), Pb (II), Cd (II) and Zn (II) and metal-containing dyes are an unavoidable consequence because the textile industry consumes large quantities of water and all these chemicals cannot be combined entirely with fibres during the dyeing process. These high concentrations of chemicals in effluents interfere with the natural water resources, cause severe toxicological implications on the environment with a dramatic impact on human health. This article reviewed the various metal-containing dye types and their heavy metal ions pollution from entryway to the wastewater, which then briefly explored the effects on human health and the environment. Graphene-based absorbers, specially graphene oxide (GO) benefits from an ordered structured, high specific surface area, and flexible surface functionalization options, which are indispensable to realize a high performance of heavy metal ion removal. These exceptional adsorption properties of graphene-based materials support a position of ubiquity in our everyday lives. The collective representation of the textile wastewater's effective remediation methods is discussed and focused on the GO-based adsorption methods. Understanding the critical impact regarding the GO-based materials established adsorption portfolio for heavy metal ions removal are also discussed. Various heavy-metal ions and their pollutant effect, ways to remove such heavy metal ions and role of graphene-based adsorbent including their demand, perspective, limitation, and relative scopes are discussed elaborately in the review.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article examined factors associated with the adoption of self-protective health behaviors, such as social distancing and mask wearing, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in the USA.
Abstract: Given the role of human behavior in the spread of disease, it is vital to understand what drives people to engage in or refrain from health-related behaviors during a pandemic. This paper examines factors associated with the adoption of self-protective health behaviors, such as social distancing and mask wearing, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in the USA. These behaviors not only reduce an individual's own risk of infection but also limit the spread of disease to others. Despite these dual benefits, universal adoption of these behaviors is not assured. We focus on the role of socioeconomic differences in explaining behavior, relying on data collected in April 2020 during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. The data include information on income, gender and race along with unique variables relevant to the current pandemic, such as work arrangements and housing quality. We find that higher income is associated with larger changes in self-protective behaviors. These gradients are partially explained by the fact that people with less income are more likely to report circumstances that make adopting self-protective behaviors more difficult, such as an inability to tele-work. Both in the USA and elsewhere, policies that assume universal compliance with self-protective measures-or that otherwise do not account for socioeconomic differences in the costs of doing so-are unlikely to be effective or sustainable.

Journal ArticleDOI
16 Jul 2021-Science
TL;DR: In this paper, an analysis of satellite imagery, seismic records, numerical model results, and eyewitness videos reveals that ~27x106 m3 of rock and glacier ice collapsed from the steep north face of Ronti Peak.
Abstract: On 7 Feb 2021, a catastrophic mass flow descended the Ronti Gad, Rishiganga, and Dhauliganga valleys in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, India, causing widespread devastation and severely damaging two hydropower projects. Over 200 people were killed or are missing. Our analysis of satellite imagery, seismic records, numerical model results, and eyewitness videos reveals that ~27x106 m3 of rock and glacier ice collapsed from the steep north face of Ronti Peak. The rock and ice avalanche rapidly transformed into an extraordinarily large and mobile debris flow that transported boulders >20 m in diameter, and scoured the valley walls up to 220 m above the valley floor. The intersection of the hazard cascade with downvalley infrastructure resulted in a disaster, which highlights key questions about adequate monitoring and sustainable development in the Himalaya as well as other remote, high-mountain environments.

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24 Mar 2021-Nature
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors synthesize data from 108 eCO2 experiments and find that the effect of e CO2 on organic carbon stocks is best explained by a negative relationship with plant biomass: when plant biomass is strongly stimulated by e CO 2, organic carbon storage declines; conversely, when biomass is weakly stimulated, SOC storage increases.
Abstract: Terrestrial ecosystems remove about 30 per cent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by human activities each year1, yet the persistence of this carbon sink depends partly on how plant biomass and soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks respond to future increases in atmospheric CO2 (refs. 2,3). Although plant biomass often increases in elevated CO2 (eCO2) experiments4–6, SOC has been observed to increase, remain unchanged or even decline7. The mechanisms that drive this variation across experiments remain poorly understood, creating uncertainty in climate projections8,9. Here we synthesized data from 108 eCO2 experiments and found that the effect of eCO2 on SOC stocks is best explained by a negative relationship with plant biomass: when plant biomass is strongly stimulated by eCO2, SOC storage declines; conversely, when biomass is weakly stimulated, SOC storage increases. This trade-off appears to be related to plant nutrient acquisition, in which plants increase their biomass by mining the soil for nutrients, which decreases SOC storage. We found that, overall, SOC stocks increase with eCO2 in grasslands (8 ± 2 per cent) but not in forests (0 ± 2 per cent), even though plant biomass in grasslands increase less (9 ± 3 per cent) than in forests (23 ± 2 per cent). Ecosystem models do not reproduce this trade-off, which implies that projections of SOC may need to be revised. A synthesis of elevated carbon dioxide experiments reveals that when plant biomass is strongly stimulated by elevated carbon dioxide levels, soil carbon storage declines, and where biomass is weakly stimulated, soil carbon accumulates.

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26 Apr 2021-Gut
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated whether patients with inflammatory bowel disease treated with infliximab have attenuated serological responses to a single dose of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.
Abstract: Objective Delayed second dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccination trades maximal effectiveness for a lower level of immunity across more of the population. We investigated whether patients with inflammatory bowel disease treated with infliximab have attenuated serological responses to a single dose of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Design Antibody responses and seroconversion rates in infliximab-treated patients (n=865) were compared with a cohort treated with vedolizumab (n=428), a gut-selective anti-integrin α4β7 monoclonal antibody. Our primary outcome was anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) antibody concentrations, measured using the Elecsys anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) antibody assay 3–10 weeks after vaccination, in patients without evidence of prior infection. Secondary outcomes were seroconversion rates (defined by a cut-off of 15 U/mL), and antibody responses following past infection or a second dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine. Results Geometric mean (SD) anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody concentrations were lower in patients treated with infliximab than vedolizumab, following BNT162b2 (6.0 U/mL (5.9) vs 28.8 U/mL (5.4) p Conclusion Infliximab is associated with attenuated immunogenicity to a single dose of the BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Vaccination after SARS-CoV-2 infection, or a second dose of vaccine, led to seroconversion in most patients. Delayed second dosing should be avoided in patients treated with infliximab. Trial registration number ISRCTN45176516.

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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a range of its outcomes by synthesizing results from the participating global coupled Earth system models for concentration driven simulations, focusing mainly on the analysis of strictly geophysical outcomes: mainly global averages and spatial patterns of change for surface air temperature and precipitation.
Abstract: . The Scenario Model Intercomparison Project (ScenarioMIP) defines and coordinates the primary future climate projections within the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). This paper presents a range of its outcomes by synthesizing results from the participating global coupled Earth system models for concentration driven simulations. We limit our scope to the analysis of strictly geophysical outcomes: mainly global averages and spatial patterns of change for surface air temperature and precipitation. We also compare CMIP6 projections to CMIP5 results, especially for those scenarios that were designed to provide continuity across the CMIP phases, at the same time highlighting important differences in forcing composition, as well as in results. The range of future temperature and precipitation changes by the end of the century encompassing the Tier 1 experiments (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5) and SSP1-1.9 spans a larger range of outcomes compared to CMIP5, due to higher warming (by 1.15 °C) reached at the upper end of the 5–95 % envelope of the highest scenario, SSP5-8.5. This is due to both the wider range of radiative forcing that the new scenarios cover and to higher climate sensitivities in some of the new models compared to their CMIP5 predecessors. Spatial patterns of change for temperature and precipitation averaged over models and scenarios have familiar features, and an analysis of their variations confirms model structural differences to be the dominant source of uncertainty. Models also differ with respect to the size and evolution of internal variability as measured by individual models' initial condition ensembles' spread, according to a set of initial condition ensemble simulations available under SSP3-7.0. The same experiments suggest a tendency for internal variability to decrease along the course of the century, a new result that will benefit from further analysis over a larger set of models. Benefits of mitigation, all else being equal in terms of societal drivers, appear clearly when comparing scenarios developed under the same SSP, but to which different degrees of mitigation have been applied. It is also found that a mild overshoot in temperature of a few decades in mid-century, as represented in SSP5-3.4OS, does not affect the end outcome in terms of temperature and precipitation changes by 2100, which return to the same level as those reached by the gradually increasing SSP4-3.4. Central estimates of the time at which the ensemble means of the different scenarios reach a given warming level show all scenarios reaching 1.5 °C of warming compared to the 1850–1900 baseline in the second half of the current decade, with the time span between slow and fast warming covering 20–28 years from present. 2 °C of warming is reached as early as the late '30s by the ensemble mean under SSP5-8.5, but as late as the late '50s under SSP1-2.6. The highest warming level considered, 5 °C, is reached only by the ensemble mean under SSP5-8.5, and not until the mid-90s.

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TL;DR: The Roadmap on Magnonics as mentioned in this paper is a collection of 22 sections written by leading experts in this field who review and discuss the current status but also present their vision of future perspectives.
Abstract: Magnonics is a rather young physics research field in nanomagnetism and nanoscience that addresses the use of spin waves (magnons) to transmit, store, and process information. After several papers and review articles published in the last decade, with a steadily increase in the number of citations, we are presenting the first Roadmap on Magnonics. This a collection of 22 sections written by leading experts in this field who review and discuss the current status but also present their vision of future perspectives. Today, the principal challenges in applied magnonics are the excitation of sub-100 nm wavelength magnons, their manipulation on the nanoscale and the creation of sub-micrometre devices using low-Gilbert damping magnetic materials and the interconnections to standard electronics. In this respect, magnonics offers lower energy consumption, easier integrability and compatibility with CMOS structure, reprogrammability, shorter wavelength, smaller device features, anisotropic properties, negative group velocity, non-reciprocity and efficient tunability by various external stimuli to name a few. Hence, despite being a young research field, magnonics has come a long way since its early inception. This Roadmap represents a milestone for future emerging research directions in magnonics and hopefully it will be followed by a series of articles on the same topic.

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02 Apr 2021-Nature
TL;DR: In this article, a deep generative model using radar observations is used to create skilful precipitation predictions that are accurate and support real-world utility, using statistical, economic and cognitive measures, which provides improved forecast quality, forecast consistency and forecast value.
Abstract: Precipitation nowcasting, the high-resolution forecasting of precipitation up to two hours ahead, supports the real-world socioeconomic needs of many sectors reliant on weather-dependent decision-making1,2. State-of-the-art operational nowcasting methods typically advect precipitation fields with radar-based wind estimates, and struggle to capture important non-linear events such as convective initiations3,4. Recently introduced deep learning methods use radar to directly predict future rain rates, free of physical constraints5,6. While they accurately predict low-intensity rainfall, their operational utility is limited because their lack of constraints produces blurry nowcasts at longer lead times, yielding poor performance on rarer medium-to-heavy rain events. Here we present a deep generative model for the probabilistic nowcasting of precipitation from radar that addresses these challenges. Using statistical, economic and cognitive measures, we show that our method provides improved forecast quality, forecast consistency and forecast value. Our model produces realistic and spatiotemporally consistent predictions over regions up to 1,536 km × 1,280 km and with lead times from 5–90 min ahead. Using a systematic evaluation by more than 50 expert meteorologists, we show that our generative model ranked first for its accuracy and usefulness in 89% of cases against two competitive methods. When verified quantitatively, these nowcasts are skillful without resorting to blurring. We show that generative nowcasting can provide probabilistic predictions that improve forecast value and support operational utility, and at resolutions and lead times where alternative methods struggle. A deep generative model using radar observations is used to create skilful precipitation predictions that are accurate and support real-world utility.

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Ji Chen1, Ji Chen2, Cassandra N. Spracklen3, Cassandra N. Spracklen4  +475 moreInstitutions (146)
TL;DR: This paper aggregated genome-wide association studies comprising up to 281,416 individuals without diabetes (30% non-European ancestry) for whom fasting glucose, 2-h glucose after an oral glucose challenge, glycated hemoglobin and fasting insulin data were available.
Abstract: Glycemic traits are used to diagnose and monitor type 2 diabetes and cardiometabolic health. To date, most genetic studies of glycemic traits have focused on individuals of European ancestry. Here we aggregated genome-wide association studies comprising up to 281,416 individuals without diabetes (30% non-European ancestry) for whom fasting glucose, 2-h glucose after an oral glucose challenge, glycated hemoglobin and fasting insulin data were available. Trans-ancestry and single-ancestry meta-analyses identified 242 loci (99 novel; P < 5 × 10-8), 80% of which had no significant evidence of between-ancestry heterogeneity. Analyses restricted to individuals of European ancestry with equivalent sample size would have led to 24 fewer new loci. Compared with single-ancestry analyses, equivalent-sized trans-ancestry fine-mapping reduced the number of estimated variants in 99% credible sets by a median of 37.5%. Genomic-feature, gene-expression and gene-set analyses revealed distinct biological signatures for each trait, highlighting different underlying biological pathways. Our results increase our understanding of diabetes pathophysiology by using trans-ancestry studies for improved power and resolution.

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TL;DR: Current knowledge regarding these distinct microplastic-associated bacterial communities andmicroplastic uptake pathways into bivalves are synthesised, and whether they represent a human and animal health threat is discussed, highlighting the outstanding questions critical to understanding of this potential risk to food safety.