Prominent Regions Research Articles

Ancient Yersinia pestis and Salmonella enterica genomes from Bronze Age Crete

During the late 3rd millennium BCE, the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East witnessed societal changes in many regions, which are usually explained with a combination of social and climatic factors.1-4 However, recent archaeogenetic research forces us to rethink models regarding the role of infectious diseases in past societal trajectories.5 The plague bacterium Yersinia pestis, which was involved in some of the most destructive historical pandemics,5-8 circulated across Eurasia at least from the onset of the 3rd millennium BCE,9-13 but the challenging preservation of ancient DNA in warmer climates has restricted the identification of Y.pestis from this period to temperate climatic regions. As such, evidence from culturally prominent regions such as the Eastern Mediterranean is currently lacking. Here, we present genetic evidence for the presence of Y.pestis and Salmonella enterica, the causative agent of typhoid/enteric fever, from this period of transformation in Crete, detected at the cave site Hagios Charalambos. We reconstructed one Y.pestis genome that forms part of a now-extinct lineage of Y.pestis strains from the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age that were likely not yet adapted for transmission via fleas. Furthermore, we reconstructed two ancient S.enterica genomes from the Para C lineage, which cluster with contemporary strains that were likely not yet fully host adapted to humans. The occurrence of these two virulent pathogens at the end of the Early Minoan period in Crete emphasizes the necessity to re-introduce infectious diseases as an additional factor possibly contributing to the transformation of early complex societies in the Aegean and beyond.

Deletion of the P/Q-Type Calcium Channel from Serotonergic Neurons Drives Male Aggression in Mice.

Aggressive behavior is one of the most conserved social interactions in nature and serves as a crucial evolutionary trait. Serotonin (5-HT) plays a key role in the regulation of our emotions, such as anxiety and aggression, but which molecules and mechanisms in the serotonergic system are involved in violent behavior are still unknown. In this study, we show that deletion of the P/Q-type calcium channel selectively from serotonergic neurons in the dorsal raphe nuclei (DRN) augments aggressive behavior in male mice, while anxiety is not affected. These mice demonstrated increased induction of the immediate early gene c-fos and in vivo serotonergic firing activity in the DRN. The ventrolateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamus is also a prominent region of the brain mediating aggression. We confirmed a monosynaptic projection from the DRN to the ventrolateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamus, and silencing these projections with an inhibitory designer receptor exclusively activated by a designer drug effectively reduced aggressive behavior. Overall, our findings show that deletion of the P/Q-type calcium channel from DRN neurons is sufficient to induce male aggression in mice and regulating its activity may serve as a therapeutic approach to treat violent behavior.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In this study, we show that P/Q-type calcium channel is mediating aggression in serotonergic neurons from the dorsal raphe nucleus via monosynaptic projections to the ventrolateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamus. More importantly, silencing these projections reduced aggressive behavior in mice and may serve as a therapeutic approach for treating aggression in humans.

Muscle Synergy-driven Motor Unit Clustering for Human-Machine Interfacing.

Electromyographic signals (EMGs) can provide information on the overall activity of the innervating motor neuros in any given muscle but also globally reflect the underlying neuromechanics of human movement (e.g., muscle synergies). motor unit(MU) decomposition is a technique based on the deconvolution of high-density EMGs (HD-EMG) in order to derive the activities of the corresponding motor neurons. This powerful yet very sensitive tool has seen some traction in human-machine interfacing (HMI) for rehabilitation. Here, we propose combining the synergy-inspired channel clustering in order to isolate the most prominent regions of EMG activation in each targeted degree of freedom (DoF) and thus cater to decomposition's sensitivity demands. Our assumption is that this will lead to a higher number of extracted MUs and consequently better motion estimation in HMIs. Indeed, in four subjects, we have shown a 69% average increase in the number of MUs when decomposition was done using muscle-synergy channel clustering. Consequently, all three of our kinematic estimators benefited from an increased pool of units, with the linear regressor showing the greatest improvement once compared to, the artificial neural network and the gated recurrent unit, which had the overall best performance. Clinical Relevance- The results demonstrated in this work provide a new perspective on the online EMG-driven HMI systems that can be greatly beneficial in the rehabilitation of motor disorders.

Functional role of the anterior olfactory nucleus in sensory information processing

Abstract Olfaction, despite being evolutionarily one of the oldest senses, is complex in structure and function. It can distinguish between trillions of odorants, provides orientation, mediates social interactions, and serves as a warning system. Sensory signals from the periphery are first processed in the olfactory bulb (OB) and then distributed to several olfactory cortical structures. Unlike other sensory modalities, this primary sensory information is not relayed via the thalamus. One prominent olfactory cortical region is the anterior olfactory nucleus (AON), a two-layered structure located within the olfactory peduncle. The AON exerts strong reciprocal connections not only to the OB but also to higher brain areas, e.g., the piriform cortex (PCx), thereby serving as a hub for bottom-up and top-down information processing. However, the functional role of the AON is not well-understood. Here, we provide an overview of recent publications investigating the function of AON in olfactory processing and behavior and present a framework for future research on this fascinating archicortical structure.

Prediction Skill of GEFSv12 for Southwest Summer Monsoon Rainfall and Associated Extreme Rainfall Events on Extended Range Scale over India

Abstract Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) from June to September (JJAS) contributes 80% of the total annual rainfall in India and controls the agricultural productivity and economy of the country. Extreme rainfall (ER) events are responsible for floods that cause widespread destruction of infrastructure, economic damage, and loss of life. A forecast of the ISMR and associated ER events on an extended range (beyond the conventional one-week lead time) is vital for the agronomic economy of the country. In September 2020, NOAA/NCEP implemented Global Ensemble Forecast System, version 12 (GEFSv12) for various risk management applications. It has generated consistent reanalysis and reforecast data for the period 2000–19. In the present study, the Raw-GEFSv12 with day-1–16 lead-time rainfall forecasts are calibrated using the quantile (QQ) mapping technique against Indian Monsoon Data Assimilation and Analysis (IMDAA) for further improvement. The present study evaluated the prediction skill of Raw and QQ-GEFSv12 for ISMR and ER events over India by using standard skill metrics. The results suggest that the ISMR patterns from Raw and QQ-GEFSv12 with (lead) day 1–16 are similar to IMDAA. However, Raw-GEFSv12 has a dry bias in most parts of prominent rainfall regions. The low- to medium-intensity rainfall events from Raw-GEFSv12 is remarkably higher than the IMDAA, while high- to very-high-intensity rainfall events from Raw-GEFSv12 are lower than IMDAA. The prediction skill of Raw-GEFSv12 in depicting ISMR and associated ER events decreased with lead time, while the prediction skill is almost equal for all lead times with marginal improvement after calibration.

İbnü’l-Cezerî’nin (ö. 833/1429) Müncidü’l-Muḳriîn Adlı Eserinin Endülüs Kıraat Ekolü Açısından Kaynak Değeri

Endülüs, Doğu İslâm coğrafyasındaki karışıklıklar sebebiyle bilhassa hicrî beşinci ve altıncı asırlarda kıraat sahasının öne çıkan bölgelerinden biri olmuştur. Söz konusu asırlarda hayat süren Endülüslü kıraat âlimlerinin, özellikle kıraat farklılıklarına dönük olarak kaleme aldıkları eserleri, İslâm dünyasının pek çok bölgesinde büyük iltifat görmüş, kıraat tedrisatının temel çalışmaları kabul edilmiş ve bu alanın referans eserleri addedilmiştir. Bu kitapların başında da Ebû ‘Amr ed-Dânî’nin (ö. 444/1053) et-Teysîr fi’l-ḳırâ’âti’s-sebʻ adını taşıyan çalışmasıyla Kâsım b. Fîrruh eş-Şâtıbî’nin (ö. 590/1194), Dânî’nin et-Teysîr’ini nazmederek vücuda getirdiği ve “eş-Şâṭıbiyye” şeklinde şöhret bulan Ḥirzü’l-emânî ve vechü’t-tehânî isimli manzumesi gelmektedir. Diğer yandan bu çalışmalar, İbn Mücâhid’in Kitâbü’s-sebʻa’sından mülhem olmaları, dolayısıyla ekseriyetle yedi kıraat (ḳırâât-ı seb‘a) ile bunlara ait yalnızca on dört rivayeti içermeleri ve tarîk anlamında da kısıtlı kalmaları gibi nedenlerle kimi ulema tarafından eleştiri konusu yapılmıştır. Zikredilen türdeki eleştirilerin belki de en serti ise kendisi de bir Endülüslü kıraat âlimi olan Ebû Hayyân el-Endelüsî’ye (ö. 745/1344) aittir. Bu makale, İbnü’l-Cezerî’nin Müncidü’l-muḳriîn ve mürşidü’ṭ-ṭâlibîn isimli eserinde, Ebû Hayyân’dan nakille, Endülüs kıraat kültürüne yönelik aktardığı tespitlerin ve eleştirel bir yaklaşım ihtiva eden değerlendirmelerin çeşitli açılardan analizini konu edinmektedir. Alabildiğine uzun olan bu nakil, esasen Ebû Hayyân’a; et-Teysîr ve Ḥirzü’l-emânî’nin Hz. Peygamber’in işaret ettiği yedi harfin (el-aḥrufü’s-seb‘a) tamamını mı yoksa bir kısmını mı kapsadığı; tarihte on kıraatin okutulup-okutulmadığı, bu usulü okuyup-okutmanın hükmü ve bu metodun kabul görüp-görmediği yönünde yöneltilen soruya verdiği cevaptan ibarettir. Ebû Hayyân’ın anılan açıklamaları, her ne kadar muayyen bir soru üzerine dile getirilmişse de Endülüs’te kıraat ilminin tarihî seyri ve bu bölgedeki kıraat kültürünün temel özelliklerine dair pek çok bilgiyi bünyesinde barındırmaktadır. Bununla birlikte bu bilgilerden bazılarının daha geniş bir bakış açısıyla yeniden ele alınmaya, bazılarının çeşitli eklemelere ve bazılarının da muhtelif düzeltmelere ihtiyaç duyduğu anlaşılmaktadır. Diğer yandan eserin bu kısmındaki bilgilerin, muayyen başlıklar halinde aktarılmadığı, dağınık bir şekilde metnin farklı kısımlarına serpiştirildiği müşahede edilmektedir. Bu bağlamda öncelikle bahse konu nakilden çıkarılan rivayetler belirli konu başlıklarına ayrılmış, ardından da sözü geçen malumat bu başlıklar ekseninde değerlendirilmeye gayret gösterilmiştir. Belirtilen hususlar muvacehesinde bu araştırmada, öncelikle İbnü’l-Cezerî’nin Müncid’i hakkındaki kısa bir tanıtıma yer verilmiş, müellifin, bu eserinde Endülüs’teki kıraat faaliyetlerine geniş bir şekilde temas etmesinin altında yatan sebepler irdelenmiştir. Ardından “yedi kıraat metodunun Endülüs’e girişi”, “Endülüs kıraat kültürünün beslendiği temel kaynaklar”, “Endülüslü bazı âlimlerin yegâne otorite kabul edilmeleri”, “Endülüs’te yaygınlık gösteren kıraat tasnifatı” ve “Endülüs’teki kıraat eserlerinin sınırlı olduğu iddiası” meyanındaki beş başlık işlenmiş, bu noktalarda Müncid’in kaynak değeri ortaya konmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu tetkikler neticesinde erken dönemlerden itibaren Endülüs’ten Doğuya yapılan rihlelerin doğurduğu etkiye paralel olarak Endülüs’ün yedi kıraat ile tanışıklığının, Ebû Hayyân’ın verdiği tarihten önceleri başladığı kanaatine varılmıştır. Aynı şekilde Hicaz’ın Endülüs’te tercih edilen kıraate, Bağdat’ın da Endülüslü kıraat âlimlerinin eserlerinin münderecatına büyük oranda tesiri görülmüş, böylelikle bu iki bölgenin, Endülüs kıraat ekolünün oluşumunda Mısır kadar rol oynadığı anlaşılmıştır. Endülüslü bazı kurrânın kıraat sahasında yegâne otorite sayıldığı, bu bölgedeki kıraat faaliyetlerinin bahsi geçen isimler etrafında şekillendiği müşahede edilmiş; Ebû Hayyân’ın bu noktadaki isabeti tespit edilmiştir. Endülüs’te kıraat farklılıklarını muhtevî çalışmaların yalnızca yedi kıraati içermediği, sekiz ve on kıraatin de bu bölgede bilindiğine dair pek çok örnekle karşılaşılmıştır. Ayrıca Endülüslülerce telif edilen eserlerin bazılarında olabildiğince geniş bir rivayet ve tarîk birikimine rastlanmıştır.

Systematic Variations in Structural and Photoluminescence Properties Produced in Zn Oxide Nanostructures by Cu (0-5)% Substitution

Effects of Cu addition (0-5)% in ZnO are studied for structural and optical properties. The structural, photoluminescence properties and vibrational modes are strongly influenced with the Cu incorporation. Detailed investigations of the structural features of Cu doped ZnO nanostructures are reported. Our results show the systematic decrease in crystallite size (50.40 - 37.56 nm), lattice strain (1.82 - 1.49 micro), lattice stress (216.33 - 177.64 MPa) and energy density (196.78 - 132.69 KJ/m3) in the limit of small dopant concentration (0 < Cu ? 0.02). Decreasing trends are attributed to the smaller ionic size of Cu in comparison of Zn. Beyond Cu= 0.02 an increasing trend was noticed in crystallite size (41.67 - 70.67 nm), lattice strain (1.90 – 3.11 micro), lattice stress (226.32 – 369.35 MPa) and energy density (215.40 – 573.67KJ/m3. This increase in structural parameters is attributed to segregation of secondary phases for Cu content increase beyond 0.02. Two prominent regions in PL spectra were observed and the deconvoulution of these regions show a strong correlation with the structural changes observed within the limit of high and low dopant concentration. The FTIR spectra show shift of Zn-O vibrational mode toward higher frequency with increasing Cu concentration.

Detection of gamma-rays around SNR HB9 and its implications for the diffusive shock-acceleration history

Abstract We analyze the GeV gamma-ray emission data from the vicinity of the supernova remnant (SNR) HB9 (G160.9+2.6) from the Fermi-LAT 12 yr observations to quantify the evolution of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) in the SNR. In the vicinity of HB9, there are molecular clouds whose locations do not coincide with the SNR shell in the line of sight. We detect significant gamma-ray emissions above 1 GeV spatially coinciding with the two prominent cloud regions, as well as emission from the SNR shell, the latter of which is consistent with the results of previous studies. The energy spectrum above 1 GeV in each region is fitted with a simple power-law function of dN/dE ∝ E−Γ. The fitting result indicates harder spectra, with power-law indices of Γ = 1.84 ± 0.18 and 1.84 ± 0.14, than that at the SNR shell, with Γ = 2.55 ± 0.10. The observed spectra from the cloud regions are found to be consistent with the theoretically expected gamma-ray emissions originating in the protons that escaped from SNR HB9, where particles can be accelerated up to higher energies than those in the shell at present. The resultant diffusion coefficient in the vicinity of the SNR is comparable to that of the Galactic mean.

Volume of Amygdala Subregions and Plasma Levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Cortisol in Patients with s/s Genotype of Serotonin Transporter Gene Polymorphism of First-Episode and Drug-Naive Major Depressive Disorder: An Exploratory Study.

The amygdala is a prominent region of the brain that plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). The amygdala is formed from a collection of interconnected substructures (nuclei) that relay signals from multiple brain areas, which suggests that the amygdala has different functions depending on its subregion. There are two main alleles of serotonin transporter gene polymorphism (5-HTTLPR): a 44-bp insertion (l-allele) or deletion (s-allele). The transcriptional activity of the l-allele of the gene is twice that of the s-allele. The present study aimed to investigate the association between the volume of the whole amygdala and subregions of the amygdala in 25 first-episode and drug-naive patients with MDD and 46 healthy controls (HCs) with the s/s genotype of 5-HTTLPR and plasma levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) or cortisol. No significant difference was observed in the amygdala total and subregion volumes between the HC and MDD groups. No significant difference was found in the plasma levels of BDNF and cortisol between the two groups. In addition, no correlations were found between the total and subregion amygdala volume and plasma levels of cortisol or BDNF.

A Comprehensive Analysis of Citrus Tristeza Variants of Bhutan and Across the World.

Mandarin orange is economically one of the most important fruit crops in Bhutan. However, in recent years, orange productivity has dropped due to severe infection of citrus tristeza virus (CTV) associated with the gradual decline of citrus orchards. Although the disease incidence has been reported, very limited information is available on genetic variability among the Bhutanese CTV variants. This study used reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) to detect CTV in collected field samples and recorded disease incidence up to 71.11% in Bhutan’s prominent citrus-growing regions. To elucidate the extent of genetic variabilities among the Bhutanese CTV variants, we targeted four independent genomic regions (5′ORF1a, p25, p23, and p18) and analyzed a total of 64 collected isolates. These genomic regions were amplified and sequenced for further comparative bioinformatics analysis. Comprehensive phylogenetic reconstructions of the GenBank deposited sequences, including the corresponding genomic locations from 53 whole-genome sequences, revealed unexpected and rich diversity among Bhutanese CTV variants. A resistant-breaking (RB) variant was also identified for the first time from the Asian subcontinent. Our analyses unambiguously identified five (T36, T3, T68, VT, and HA16-5) major, well-recognized CTV strains. Bhutanese CTV variants form two additional newly identified distinct clades with higher confidence, B1 and B2, named after Bhutan. The origin of each of these nine clades can be traced back to their root in the north-eastern region of India and Bhutan. Together, our study established a definitive framework for categorizing global CTV variants into their distinctive clades and provided novel insights into multiple genomic region-based genetic diversity assessments, including their pathogenicity status.

Impact of air–sea coupling on the simulation of Indian summer monsoon using a high-resolution Regional Earth System Model over CORDEX-SA

A new high-resolution Regional Earth System Model, namely ROM, has been implemented over CORDEX-SA towards examining the impact of air–sea coupling on the Indian summer monsoon characteristics. ROM's simulated mean ISM rainfall and associated dynamical and thermodynamical processes, including the representation of northward and eastward propagating convention bands, are closer to observation than its standalone atmospheric model component (REMO), highlighting the advantage of air–sea coupling. However, the value addition of air–sea coupling varies spatially with more significant improvements over regions with large biases. Bay of Bengal and the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean are the most prominent region where the highest added value is observed with a significant reduction up to 50–500% precipitation bias. Most of the changes in precipitation over the ocean are associated with convective precipitation (CP) due to the suppression of convective activity caused by the negative feedback due to the inclusion of air–sea coupling. However, CP and large-scale precipitation (LP) improvements show east–west asymmetry over the Indian land region. The substantial LP bias reduction is noticed over the wet bias region of western central India due to its suppression, while enhanced CP over eastern central India contributed to the reduction of dry bias. An insignificant change is noticed over Tibetan Plateau, northern India, and Indo Gangetic plains. The weakening of moisture-laden low-level Somalia Jets causes the diminishing of moisture supply from the Arabian Sea (AS) towards Indian land regions resulting in suppressed precipitation, reducing wet bias, especially over western central India. The anomalous high kinetic energy over AS, wind shear, and tropospheric temperature gradient in REMO compared to observation is substantially reduced in the ROM, facilitating the favourable condition for suppressing moisture feeding and hence the wet bias over west-central India in ROM. The warmer midlatitude in ROM than REMO over eastern central India strengthens the convection, enhancing precipitation results in reducing the dry bias. Despite substantially improved ROM’performance, it still exhibits some systematic biases (wet/dry) partially associated with the persistent warm/cold SST bias and land–atmosphere interaction.

Image retargeting quality assessment based on saliency-driven classification

The overall geometric distortions of the visually prominent contents in resized images are sensitive to human perception. But the existing image retargeting quality assessment (IRQA) algorithms did not consider it, leading to a lower performance of evaluation algorithms. Additionally, the visually important region needs to be extracted from the retargeted images to measure their distortions. However, due to the size change and content alternation during retargeting, the visually prominent regions of the resized images obtained by the existing saliency detection approaches do not match the corresponding portions of the original photos. To address these issues, we propose an IRQA method based on saliency-driven classification, which uses various metrics to evaluate the qualities of different retargeted images. We also design a novel algorithm to extract the salient region of the retargeted image, which utilizes the original image to perform backward registration and position matching of the salient area. Besides, we present an improved aspect ratio similarity (ARS) metric to measure the overall geometric distortion occurring in the visually important region of the resized images. Experimental results show that the performance of the proposed IRQA method is superior to the other existing algorithms.

Pesticide residues in juvenile Chinook salmon and prey items of the Sacramento River watershed, California – A comparison of riverine and floodplain habitats

Juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) of the Sacramento River system encounter many anthropogenically-induced stressors while rearing and migrating to the Pacific Ocean. Located in a prominent agricultural region, the watershed serves as a source of notable contaminants including pesticides. Salmon rearing in riverine and floodplain areas are potentially exposed to these compounds via dietary exposure, which can vary based on selected food webs. Previous studies have suggested that juvenile Chinook salmon rearing in riverine and floodplain environments of the Sacramento River watershed are characterized by different dietary preferences, with potential for contrasting pesticide exposure between habitats. To examine the potential for pesticide exposure, juvenile Chinook salmon and known dietary items were collected in the mainstem Sacramento River and an adjacent floodplain, the Yolo Bypass, in 2019 and 2020, and analyzed for 33 pesticides, including degradates and isomers. Organochlorine pesticides including the DDX group (p,p’-DDT, p,p’-DDD and p,p’-DDE) were prevalent in all examined biota. There was a significantly greater number of total pesticide detections across all classes in zooplankton compared to macroinvertebrates, coupled with higher bifenthrin concentrations in zooplankton across regions and years, which may indicate different exposure potential depending on fish dietary preferences. Detection frequencies and concentrations of organochlorines were higher in prey items during flooding than in drought conditions, suggesting resuspension of legacy compounds. Significantly higher concentrations of organochlorines were recorded in floodplain rearing fish compared to the Sacramento River. These findings suggest that within these habitats, juvenile Chinook salmon feeding primarily on zooplankton within the water column may be exposed to a greater range of pesticides than those feeding on benthic macroinvertebrates, and that the benefits of floodplain rearing may come at a cost of increased organochlorine exposure.

Estimation of 238U and 232Th in soil and water of prominent fault region of Mizoram

The study investigates radon and thoron concentrations in soil and water at one of the most prominent faults in Mizoram state, India. The obtained isotope pair data were consequently used for estimating the uranium and thorium content of the region. An indigenously developed and calibrated ZnS(Ag) alpha based scintillation counter (Model: SMARTRnDuo, BARC, India) was deployed for assessing radon and thoron data. Thoron concentration was found to be higher than radon concentration in both soil and water. The isotope pair and their parent nuclei concentration in water were found to be higher than in soil. The uranium and thorium content in soil were estimated to be 17.5 and 22.6 Bqkg-1 respectively, but in water, they were estimated to be 41.6 and 124.8 Bqkg-1 respectively. Comparisons with global averages were also presented in detail and no radiological risk has been observed for the region. A continuous radon data was generated at Mizoram University, Aizawl, Mizoram (India) for cross-analysis with data at Mat fault. It was observed that radon data of the two locations behave similarly during geophysical phenomena, indicating that the region was seismically active. No geophysical properties of thoron were observed.

An audit of geomagnetic field in polar and south atlantic anomaly regions over two centuries

There are several reports about the decrease of the magnetic field of our planet. Here, we present a detailed investigation of the geomagnetic field over past 200 years using magnetic field models (IGRF+gufm1) and ground magnetic field observations until 2020. There are two prominent regions of consistently decreasing geomagnetic field namely: the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) and the southern pole region. The SAA region with field decreasing at 30 nT/year drifting to the south-west, whereas, the southern pole region with field decreasing at the rate 13 nT/year steadily drifting to the north-west. The Earth’s polar (66°–90°) magnetic field was invariably higher around the south pole as compared to the field around the north pole. However, it is found that over the past few decades (since 1950), the average magnetic field in the southern polar region has decreased to such an extent that presently it is weaker than the northern polar magnetic field. This tendency of cross-over in the magnitudes of average polar magnetic field strength is also evident in the ground magnetic field observations. On the ground at Hermanus (station in the SAA region), the rate of decrease of the magnetic field is found to be much higher (98 nT/year) during 1950–2020. Such a significant decrease in the magnetic field at Hermanus could be associated with the splitting of the SAA as it is situated close to the second minima in the SAA region. It is found that the magnetic field gradients around the center of the SAA become shallower as we move towards the higher altitudes. Also, the center of the SAA steadily moves in the north-east direction with increasing altitude. Though the weakening of the geomagnetic field is not an impulsive phenomenon but can invoke serious concerns to our life, satellites, and climate in near future.

Macrozooplankton and micronekton diversity and associated carbon vertical patterns and fluxes under distinct productive conditions around the Kerguelen Islands

Mesopelagic communities are characterized by a large biomass of diverse macrozooplankton and micronekton (MM) performing diel vertical migration (DVM) connecting the surface to the deeper ocean and contributing to biogeochemical fluxes. In the Southern Ocean, a prominent High Nutrient Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) and low carbon export region, the contribution of MM to the vertical carbon flux of the biological pump remains largely unknown. Furthermore, few studies have investigated MM communities and vertical flux in naturally iron fertilized areas associated with shallow bathymetry. In this study, we assessed the MM community diversity, abundance and biomass in the Kerguelen Island region, including two stations in the HNLC region upstream of the islands, and two stations in naturally iron fertilized areas, one on the Plateau, and one downstream of the Plateau. The MM community was examined using a combination of trawl sampling and acoustic measurements at 18 and 38 kHz from the surface to 800 m. A conspicuous three-layer vertical system was observed in all areas - a shallow scattering layer, SSL, between 10 and 200 m; mid-depth scattering layer, MSL, between 200 and 500 m; deep scattering layer, DSL, between 500 and 800 m - but communities differing among stations. While salps ( Salpa thompsoni ) dominated the biomass at the productive Kerguelen Plateau and the downstream station, they were scarce in the HNLC upstream area. In addition, crustaceans (mainly Euphausia vallentini and Themisto gaudichaudii ) were particularly abundant over the Plateau, representing a large, although varying, carbon stock in the 0–500 m water layer. Mesopelagic fish were prominent below 400 m where they formed permanent or migrant layers accounting for the main source of carbon biomass. Through these spatial and temporal sources of variability, complex patterns of the MM vertical distribution and associated carbon content were identified. The total carbon flux mediated by migratory myctophids at the four stations was quantified. While this flux was likely underestimated, this study identified the main components and mechanisms of active carbon export in the region and how they are modulated by complex topography and land mass effects. • Macrozooplankton and micronekton communities are described in the Kerguelen area using trawl and acoustic • Despite different assemblages, a consistent three-layers system occurred in the first 800 m over the Kerguelen seascape • Salps dominated global biomass in productive areas but not in HNLC region while crustaceans were abundant on the Plateau • Myctophids dominated below 400 m as permanent or migrant layers accounting for the main source of carbon biomass • We estimate total carbon flux mediated by migratory myctophids in the contrasting productive areas

Influence of metatarsophalangeal joint stiffness on take-off performances and lower-limb biomechanics in jump manoeuvres

ABSTRACT Forefoot and toes are prominent regions for locomotion and individual metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ) stiffness may be linked to jump take-off mechanics and performances. However, little is known about the relationships between MTPJ stiffness and take-off related variables. This study examined the relationship between individual MTPJ stiffness and biomechanical variables under various vertical countermovement jumps (CMJ) conditions. We measured MTPJ stiffness on 21 male university basketball players and then asked them to perform jumps under single, consecutive and running CMJ conditions. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was employed to examine the relationships between MTP passive stiffness and each jumping performance, ground reaction force (GRF) and joint kinematic and kinetic variables. The results indicated that MTPJ stiffness significantly correlated with maximum jump height (r = 0.49, moderate), peak take-off velocity (r = 0.47, moderate), peak take-off ankle plantarflexion moment (r = 0.68, strong), peak dorsiflexion moment (r = 0.60, strong) and peak take-off ankle power (r = 0.44, moderate) in consecutive CMJ. Only a moderate correlation between MTPJ stiffness and peak MTPJ extension take-off velocity (r = −0.46, moderate) was determined in a single CMJ. There were no significant correlations found in running CMJ conditions. These findings imply that higher MTPJ stiffness of participants was related to improved jump performances in consecutive jumps.

A vaccine built from potential immunogenic pieces derived from the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein: A computational approximation

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) represents a new global threat demanding a multidisciplinary effort to fight its etiological agent—severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this regard, immunoinformatics may aid to predict prominent immunogenic regions from critical SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins, such as the spike (S) glycoprotein, for their use in prophylactic or therapeutic interventions against this highly pathogenic betacoronavirus. Accordingly, in this study, an integrated immunoinformatics approach was applied to identify cytotoxic T cell (CTC), T helper cell (THC), and Linear B cell (BC) epitopes from the S glycoprotein in an attempt to design a high-quality multi-epitope vaccine. The best CTC, THC, and BC epitopes showed high viral antigenicity and lack of allergenic or toxic residues, as well as CTC and THC epitopes showed suitable interactions with HLA class I (HLA-I) and HLA class II (HLA-II) molecules, respectively. Remarkably, SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) and its receptor-binding motif (RBM) harbour several potential epitopes. The structure prediction, refinement, and validation data indicate that the multi-epitope vaccine has an appropriate conformation and stability. Four conformational epitopes and an efficient binding between Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and the vaccine model were observed. Importantly, the population coverage analysis showed that the multi-epitope vaccine could be used globally. Notably, computer-based simulations suggest that the vaccine model has a robust potential to evoke and maximize both immune effector responses and immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2. Further research is needed to accomplish with the mandatory international guidelines for human vaccine formulations.

Геополитическая карта мира Ф.М. Достоевского: системное описание

The relevance of the study lies in the facts that it explores the issues related to the global significance of Dostoevsky’s literary heritage and interdisciplinary approaches to analyzing Russian literature. The significance of the study is stipulated by the current state of scientific knowledge concerning a particular role of literary works in describing and interpreting global political and state processes. The aim of the study is to reconstruct and map Dostoevsky’s geopolitical worldview based on the analysis of his literary and journalistic works. To consider the writer’s works from the standpoint of his involvement into the political issues is the first attempt within Dostoevsky studies. The analysis of Dostoevsky’s literary heritage from a geopolitical perspective was carried out on the basis of Statisticheskiy slovar’ yazyka Dostoevskogo [Statistical Dictionary of Dostoevsky’s Language]. However, since this book does not contain draft notes and earlier versions, preliminary drafts and notebook materials, these texts were intentionally explored. This is the first literary study of its kind which is based on a variety of modern statistical methods. This fact makes it possible to state that the obtained results present new knowledge about Dostoevsky and are of undisputed novelty. The study is focused on big geopolitical subjects, i.e. countries, transnational and national unions, prominent regions; therefore, the present article is only the first stage of the study. In accordance with the conducted analysis and calculations, the following frequency of geopolitical subjects’ mentions is proposed: Russia (4420); France (848); Germany (735); Britain (397); Turkey (304); Siberia (223); Italy (173); Switzerland (172); Poland (145); Austria (141); America (119); Bulgaria (83); Serbia (83); China (49); Spain (40); Montenegro (38); Caucasus (38); Crimea (30); Egypt (26); Greece (23); Hungary (19); Balkans (18); Central Asia (18); Holland (15); Syria (14); Herzegovina (13); Novorossiya (10); Sweden (7); Japan (6); Altai (5); Arabia, Africa, Bosnia, Dagestan, India, Lithuania, Mexico, Sicily, Finland (each 4); Belgium, Iceland, Malta, Peru, Sandwich Islands (each 3); Brazil, Brittany, Denmark, Israel, Moldova, Romania, Sakhalin (each 2); and Galicia (1). The frequency of geopolitical subjects’ mentions by years is as follows: 1877 (2100), 1876 (1516), 1860 (567), 1880 (502), 1872 (388), 1873 (381), 1868 (366), 1862 (328), 1866 (265), 1875 (264), 1869 (170), 1863 (155), 1881 (135), 1867 (128), 1878 (122), 1864 (120), 1859 (102), 1874 (100), 1870 (96), 1856 (75), 1861 (61), 1871 (54), 1865 (52), 1846 (43), 1847 (41), 1849 (38), 1858 (25), 1854 (21), 1848 (15), 1857 (12), 1845 (5), 1843-1844 (3), 1838-1839 (2), 1879 (1); geopolitical subjects were not mentioned in 1841, 1842, 1850, 1851, 1852, 1853, and 1855. he authors express their deep gratitude to M.V. Podrezov for his assistance in preparing this article. Contribution of the authors: the authors contributed equally to this article. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

TOURISM POTENTIAL RANKING IN AZERBAIJAN BY REGIONS THROUGH THE ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS

In recent years, it can be said that many types of tourism have emerged in Azerbaijan, as in the whole world. These types of tourism, which are important in diversifying tourism products, have proven their effectiveness in seeking innovation in tourism, increasing tourism awareness, keeping tourists away from noise and concrete life, natural environment and service quality. These types of tourism are developed in many regions of Azerbaijan and are actively used by tourists today. These types of tourism have an important place in the tourism potential of the country and regions. The main purpose of the study conducted in this direction has been determined as the discovery of the most prominent tourism region of Azerbaijan in terms of tourism potential with the AHP method. After the analysis of the data obtained, the region with the highest value in terms of tourism potential of the country was determined as the Baku-Absheron Tourism Region. The research has the quality to be a reference for future studies on this and similar subjects.