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Nick K. Jones1,2*, Lucy Rivett1,2*, Chris Workman3, Mark Ferris3, Ashley Shaw1, Cambridge COVID-19 Collaboration1,4, Paul J. Lehner1,4, Rob Howes5, Giles Wright3, Nicholas J. Matheson1,4,6¶, Michael P. Weekes1,7¶1 Cambridge University NHS Hospitals Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK2 Clinical Microbiology & Public Health Laboratory, Public Health England, Cambridge, UK3 Occupational Health and Wellbeing, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK4 Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology & Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK5 Cambridge COVID-19 Testing Centre and AstraZeneca, Anne Mclaren Building, Cambridge, UK6 NHS Blood and Transplant, Cambridge, UK7 Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK*Joint first authorship¶Joint last authorshipCorrespondence: [email protected] UK has initiated mass COVID-19 immunisation, with healthcare workers (HCWs) given early priority because of the potential for workplace exposure and risk of onward transmission to patients. The UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has recommended maximising the number of people vaccinated with first doses at the expense of early booster vaccinations, based on single dose efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19 disease.1-3At the time of writing, three COVID-19 vaccines have been granted emergency use authorisation in the UK, including the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech). A vital outstanding question is whether this vaccine prevents or promotes asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, rather than symptomatic COVID-19 disease, because sub-clinical infection following vaccination could continue to drive transmission. This is especially important because many UK HCWs have received this vaccine, and nosocomial COVID-19 infection has been a persistent problem.Through the implementation of a 24 h-turnaround PCR-based comprehensive HCW screening programme at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUHNFT), we previously demonstrated the frequent presence of pauci- and asymptomatic infection amongst HCWs during the UK’s first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.4 Here, we evaluate the effect of first-dose BNT162b2 vaccination on test positivity rates and cycle threshold (Ct) values in the asymptomatic arm of our programme, which now offers weekly screening to all staff.Vaccination of HCWs at CUHNFT began on 8th December 2020, with mass vaccination from 8th January 2021. Here, we analyse data from the two weeks spanning 18thto 31st January 2021, during which: (a) the prevalence of COVID-19 amongst HCWs remained approximately constant; and (b) we screened comparable numbers of vaccinated and unvaccinated HCWs. Over this period, 4,408 (week 1) and 4,411 (week 2) PCR tests were performed from individuals reporting well to work. We stratified HCWs <12 days or > 12 days post-vaccination because this was the point at which protection against symptomatic infection began to appear in phase III clinical trial.226/3,252 (0·80%) tests from unvaccinated HCWs were positive (Ct<36), compared to 13/3,535 (0·37%) from HCWs <12 days post-vaccination and 4/1,989 (0·20%) tests from HCWs ≥12 days post-vaccination (p=0·023 and p=0·004, respectively; Fisher’s exact test, Figure). This suggests a four-fold decrease in the risk of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection amongst HCWs ≥12 days post-vaccination, compared to unvaccinated HCWs, with an intermediate effect amongst HCWs <12 days post-vaccination.A marked reduction in infections was also seen when analyses were repeated with: (a) inclusion of HCWs testing positive through both the symptomatic and asymptomatic arms of the programme (56/3,282 (1·71%) unvaccinated vs 8/1,997 (0·40%) ≥12 days post-vaccination, 4·3-fold reduction, p=0·00001); (b) inclusion of PCR tests which were positive at the limit of detection (Ct>36, 42/3,268 (1·29%) vs 15/2,000 (0·75%), 1·7-fold reduction, p=0·075); and (c) extension of the period of analysis to include six weeks from December 28th to February 7th 2021 (113/14,083 (0·80%) vs 5/4,872 (0·10%), 7·8-fold reduction, p=1x10-9). In addition, the median Ct value of positive tests showed a non-significant trend towards increase between unvaccinated HCWs and HCWs > 12 days post-vaccination (23·3 to 30·3, Figure), suggesting that samples from vaccinated individuals had lower viral loads.We therefore provide real-world evidence for a high level of protection against asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection after a single dose of BNT162b2 vaccine, at a time of predominant transmission of the UK COVID-19 variant of concern 202012/01 (lineage B.1.1.7), and amongst a population with a relatively low frequency of prior infection (7.2% antibody positive).5This work was funded by a Wellcome Senior Clinical Research Fellowship to MPW (108070/Z/15/Z), a Wellcome Principal Research Fellowship to PJL (210688/Z/18/Z), and an MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship (MR/P008801/1) and NHSBT workpackage (WPA15-02) to NJM. Funding was also received from Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust and the Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. We also acknowledge contributions from all staff at CUHNFT Occupational Health and Wellbeing and the Cambridge COVID-19 Testing Centre.

Scene flow tracks the three-dimensional (3D) motion of each point in adjacent point clouds. It provides fundamental 3D motion perception for autonomous driving and server robot. Although the Red Green Blue Depth (RGBD) camera or Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) capture discrete 3D points in space, the objects and motions usually are continuous in the macro world. That is, the objects keep themselves consistent as they flow from the current frame to the next frame. Based on this insight, the Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) is utilized to self-learn 3D scene flow with no need for ground truth. The fake point cloud of the second frame is synthesized from the predicted scene flow and the point cloud of the first frame. The adversarial training of the generator and discriminator is realized through synthesizing indistinguishable fake point cloud and discriminating the real point cloud and the synthesized fake point cloud. The experiments on Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Toyota Technological Institute (KITTI) scene flow dataset show that our method realizes promising results without ground truth. Just as human, the proposed method can identify the similar local structures of two adjacent frames even without knowing the ground truth scene flow. Then, the local correspondence can be correctly estimated, and further the scene flow is correctly estimated.   Corresponding author(s) Email: [email protected]

Leukocyte differential test is a widely performed clinical procedure for screening infectious diseases. Existing hematology analyzers require labor-intensive work and a panel of expensive reagents. Here we report an artificial-intelligence enabled reagent-free imaging hematology analyzer (AIRFIHA) modality that can accurately classify subpopulations of leukocytes with minimal sample preparation. AIRFIHA is realized through training a two-step residual neural network using label-free images of isolated leukocytes acquired from a custom-built quantitative phase microscope. By leveraging the rich information contained in quantitative phase images, we not only achieved high accuracy in differentiating B and T lymphocytes, but also classified CD4 and CD8 cells, therefore outperforming the classification accuracy of most current hematology analyzers. We validated the performance of AIRFIHA in a randomly selected test set and cross-validated it across all blood donors. Owing to its easy operation, low cost, and accurate discerning capability of complex leukocyte subpopulations, we envision AIRFIHA is clinically translatable and can also be deployed in resource-limited settings, e.g., during pandemic situations for the rapid screening of infectious diseases.  Corresponding author(s) Email:    [email protected],  [email protected]

Tam Hunt [1], Jonathan SchoolerUniversity of California Santa Barbara Synchronization, harmonization, vibrations, or simply resonance in its most general sense seems to have an integral relationship with consciousness itself. One of the possible “neural correlates of consciousness” in mammalian brains is a combination of gamma, beta and theta synchrony. More broadly, we see similar kinds of resonance patterns in living and non-living structures of many types. What clues can resonance provide about the nature of consciousness more generally? This paper provides an overview of resonating structures in the fields of neuroscience, biology and physics and attempts to coalesce these data into a solution to what we see as the “easy part” of the Hard Problem, which is generally known as the “combination problem” or the “binding problem.” The combination problem asks: how do micro-conscious entities combine into a higher-level macro-consciousness? The proposed solution in the context of mammalian consciousness suggests that a shared resonance is what allows different parts of the brain to achieve a phase transition in the speed and bandwidth of information flows between the constituent parts. This phase transition allows for richer varieties of consciousness to arise, with the character and content of that consciousness in each moment determined by the particular set of constituent neurons. We also offer more general insights into the ontology of consciousness and suggest that consciousness manifests as a relatively smooth continuum of increasing richness in all physical processes, distinguishing our view from emergentist materialism. We refer to this approach as a (general) resonance theory of consciousness and offer some responses to Chalmers’ questions about the different kinds of “combination problem.”  At the heart of the universe is a steady, insistent beat: the sound of cycles in sync…. [T]hese feats of synchrony occur spontaneously, almost as if nature has an eerie yearning for order. Steven Strogatz, Sync: How Order Emerges From Chaos in the Universe, Nature and Daily Life (2003) If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.Nikola Tesla (1942) I.               Introduction Is there an “easy part” and a “hard part” to the Hard Problem of consciousness? In this paper, we suggest that there is. The harder part is arriving at a philosophical position with respect to the relationship of matter and mind. This paper is about the “easy part” of the Hard Problem but we address the “hard part” briefly in this introduction.  We have both arrived, after much deliberation, at the position of panpsychism or panexperientialism (all matter has at least some associated mind/experience and vice versa). This is the view that all things and processes have both mental and physical aspects. Matter and mind are two sides of the same coin.  Panpsychism is one of many possible approaches that addresses the “hard part” of the Hard Problem. We adopt this position for all the reasons various authors have listed (Chalmers 1996, Griffin 1997, Hunt 2011, Goff 2017). This first step is particularly powerful if we adopt the Whiteheadian version of panpsychism (Whitehead 1929).  Reaching a position on this fundamental question of how mind relates to matter must be based on a “weight of plausibility” approach, rather than on definitive evidence, because establishing definitive evidence with respect to the presence of mind/experience is difficult. We must generally rely on examining various “behavioral correlates of consciousness” in judging whether entities other than ourselves are conscious – even with respect to other humans—since the only consciousness we can know with certainty is our own. Positing that matter and mind are two sides of the same coin explains the problem of consciousness insofar as it avoids the problems of emergence because under this approach consciousness doesn’t emerge. Consciousness is, rather, always present, at some level, even in the simplest of processes, but it “complexifies” as matter complexifies, and vice versa. Consciousness starts very simple and becomes more complex and rich under the right conditions, which in our proposed framework rely on resonance mechanisms. Matter and mind are two sides of the coin. Neither is primary; they are coequal.  We acknowledge the challenges of adopting this perspective, but encourage readers to consider the many compelling reasons to consider it that are reviewed elsewhere (Chalmers 1996, Griffin 1998, Hunt 2011, Goff 2017, Schooler, Schooler, & Hunt, 2011; Schooler, 2015).  Taking a position on the overarching ontology is the first step in addressing the Hard Problem. But this leads to the related questions: at what level of organization does consciousness reside in any particular process? Is a rock conscious? A chair? An ant? A bacterium? Or are only the smaller constituents, such as atoms or molecules, of these entities conscious? And if there is some degree of consciousness even in atoms and molecules, as panpsychism suggests (albeit of a very rudimentary nature, an important point to remember), how do these micro-conscious entities combine into the higher-level and obvious consciousness we witness in entities like humans and other mammals?  This set of questions is known as the “combination problem,” another now-classic problem in the philosophy of mind, and is what we describe here as the “easy part” of the Hard Problem. Our characterization of this part of the problem as “easy”[2] is, of course, more than a little tongue in cheek. The authors have discussed frequently with each other what part of the Hard Problem should be labeled the easier part and which the harder part. Regardless of the labels we choose, however, this paper focuses on our suggested solution to the combination problem.  Various solutions to the combination problem have been proposed but none have gained widespread acceptance. This paper further elaborates a proposed solution to the combination problem that we first described in Hunt 2011 and Schooler, Hunt, and Schooler 2011. The proposed solution rests on the idea of resonance, a shared vibratory frequency, which can also be called synchrony or field coherence. We will generally use resonance and “sync,” short for synchrony, interchangeably in this paper. We describe the approach as a general resonance theory of consciousness or just “general resonance theory” (GRT). GRT is a field theory of consciousness wherein the various specific fields associated with matter and energy are the seat of conscious awareness.  A summary of our approach appears in Appendix 1.  All things in our universe are constantly in motion, in process. Even objects that appear to be stationary are in fact vibrating, oscillating, resonating, at specific frequencies. So all things are actually processes. Resonance is a specific type of motion, characterized by synchronized oscillation between two states.  An interesting phenomenon occurs when different vibrating processes come into proximity: they will often start vibrating together at the same frequency. They “sync up,” sometimes in ways that can seem mysterious, and allow for richer and faster information and energy flows (Figure 1 offers a schematic). Examining this phenomenon leads to potentially deep insights about the nature of consciousness in both the human/mammalian context but also at a deeper ontological level.

Cannabis sativa is an extraordinarily versatile species. Hemp and its cousin marijuana, both C. sativa, have been used for millennia as a source of fibre, oil and for medicinal, spiritual and recreational purposes. Because the consumption of Cannabis can have psychoactive effects, the plant has been widely banned throughout the last century. In the past decade, evidence of its medicinal properties did lead to the relaxation of legislation in many countries around the world. Consequently, the genetics and development of Cannabis as well as Cannabis-derived products are the subject of renewed attention.Here, we review the biology of C. sativa, including recent insights from taxonomy, morphology and genomics, with an emphasis on the genetics of cannabinoid synthesis. Because the female Cannabis flower is of special interest as the site of cannabinoid synthesis, we explore flower development, flowering time well as the species’ unique sex determination system in detail. Furthermore, we outline the tremendous medicinal, engineering, and environmental opportunities that Cannabis bears. Together, the picture emerges that our understanding of Cannabis biology currently progresses at an unusual speed. A future challenge will be to preserve the multi-purpose nature of Cannabis, and to harness its medicinal properties and sustainability advantages simultaneously.

Quantum chemistry must evolve if it wants to fully leverage the benefits of the internet age, where the world wide web offers a vast tapestry of tools that enable users to communicate and interact with complex data at the speed and convenience of a button press. The Open Chemistry project has developed an open source framework that offers an end-to-end solution for producing, sharing, and visualizing quantum chemical data interactively on the web using an array of modern tools and approaches. These tools build on some of the best open source community projects such as Jupyter for interactive online notebooks, coupled with 3D accelerated visualization, state-of-the-art computational chemistry codes including NWChem and Psi4 and emerging machine learning and data mining tools such as ChemML and ANI. They offer flexible formats to import and export data, along with approaches to compare computational and experimental data.

This paper responds to one by Graham Martin and colleagues, who offered a critique of my previous publications on masks for the lay public in the Covid-19 pandemic. I address their charges that my co-authors and I had misapplied the precautionary principle; drawn conclusions that were not supported by empirical research; and failed to take account of potential harms. But before that, I remind Martin et al that the evidence on mask wearing goes beyond the contested trials and observational studies they place centre stage. I set out some key findings from basic science, epidemiology, mathematical modelling, case studies and natural experiments, and use this rich and diverse body of evidence as the backdrop for my rebuttal of their narrowly-framed objections. I challenge my critics’ apparent assumption that a particular kind of systematic review should be valorised over narrative and real-world evidence, since stories are crucial to both our scientific understanding and our moral imagination. I conclude by thanking my academic adversaries for the intellectual sparring match, but exhort them to remember our professional accountability to a society in crisis. It is time to lay straw men to rest and engage, scientifically and morally, with the dreadful tragedy that is unfolding across the world.

This Supporting information includes interactive plots, videos, and data captured while performing evaluation and validation experiments for our paper. 

The construct of wellbeing has been criticised as a neoliberal construction of western individualism that ignores wider systemic issues including increasing burden of chronic disease, widening inequality, concerns over environmental degradation and anthropogenic climate change. While these criticisms overlook recent developments, there remains a need for biopsychosocial models that extend theoretical grounding beyond individual wellbeing, incorporating overlapping contextual issues relating to community and environment. Our first GENIAL model \cite{Kemp_2017} provided a more expansive view of pathways to longevity in the context of individual health and wellbeing, emphasising bidirectional links to positive social ties and the impact of sociocultural factors. In this paper, we build on these ideas and propose GENIAL 2.0, focusing on intersecting individual-community-environmental contributions to health and wellbeing, and laying an evidence-based, theoretical framework on which future research and innovative therapeutic innovations could be based. We suggest that our transdisciplinary model of wellbeing - focusing on individual, community and environmental contributions to personal wellbeing - will help to move the research field forward. In reconceptualising wellbeing, GENIAL 2.0 bridges the gap between psychological science and population health health systems, and presents opportunities for enhancing the health and wellbeing of people living with chronic conditions. Implications for future generations including the very survival of our species are discussed.  

Floral plantings are promoted to foster ecological intensification of agriculture through provisioning of ecosystem services. However, a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of different floral plantings, their characteristics and consequences for crop yield across global regions is lacking. Here we quantified the impacts of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control and pollination services in adjacent crops using a global dataset of 529 sites. Flower strips, but not hedgerows, enhanced pest control services in adjacent fields by 16% on average. However, effects on crop pollination and yield were more variable. Our synthesis identifies several important drivers of variability in effectiveness of plantings: pollination services declined exponentially with distance from plantings, and perennial and older flower strips with higher flowering plant diversity enhanced pollination more effectively. These findings provide promising pathways to optimize floral plantings to more effectively contribute to ecosystem service delivery and ecological intensification of agriculture in the future.

Researchers' ability to accurately screen fossil and subfossil specimens for preservation of DNA and protein sequences remains limited. Thermal exposure and geologic age are usable proxies for sequence preservation on a broad scale but are of nominal use for specimens of similar depositional environments. Cell and tissue biomolecular histology is thus proposed as a novel proxy for determining sequence preservation potential of ancient specimens with improved accuracy. Biomolecular histology as a proxy is hypothesized to elucidate why fossils/subfossils of some depositional environments preserve sequences while others do not and to facilitate selection of ancient specimens for use in molecular studies.

IntroductionConsistent with World Health Organization (WHO) advice [1], UK Infection Protection Control guidance recommends that healthcare workers (HCWs) caring for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) should use fluid resistant surgical masks type IIR (FRSMs) as respiratory protective equipment (RPE), unless aerosol generating procedures (AGPs) are being undertaken or are likely, when a filtering face piece 3 (FFP3) respirator should be used [2]. In a recent update, an FFP3 respirator is recommended if “an unacceptable risk of transmission remains following rigorous application of the hierarchy of control” [3]. Conversely, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that HCWs caring for patients with COVID-19 should use an N95 or higher level respirator [4]. WHO guidance suggests that a respirator, such as FFP3, may be used for HCWs in the absence of AGPs if availability or cost is not an issue [1].A recent systematic review undertaken for PHE concluded that: “patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection who are breathing, talking or coughing generate both respiratory droplets and aerosols, but FRSM (and where required, eye protection) are considered to provide adequate staff protection” [5]. Nevertheless, FFP3 respirators are more effective in preventing aerosol transmission than FRSMs, and observational data suggests that they may improve protection for HCWs [6]. It has therefore been suggested that respirators should be considered as a means of affording the best available protection [7], and some organisations have decided to provide FFP3 (or equivalent) respirators to HCWs caring for COVID-19 patients, despite a lack of mandate from local or national guidelines [8].Data from the HCW testing programme at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUHNFT) during the first wave of the UK severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic indicated a higher incidence of infection amongst HCWs caring for patients with COVID-19, compared with those who did not [9]. Subsequent studies have confirmed this observation [10, 11]. This disparity persisted at CUHNFT in December 2020, despite control measures consistent with PHE guidance and audits indicating good compliance. The CUHNFT infection control committee therefore implemented a change of RPE for staff on “red” (COVID-19) wards from FRSMs to FFP3 respirators. In this study, we analyse the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in HCWs before and after this transition.

A document by Justice Allotey Pappoe. Click on the document to view its contents.

Decision support systems in the field of supply chain management require novel approaches due to the uncertainties and dynamic environments. This study suggests a fuzzy supply chain model with learning effect that is enhanced by evolutionary algorithms in order to improve decision-making and increase flexibility. Fuzzy logic is integrated to capture uncertainty, while evolutionary algorithms and learning curves are used to handle the supply chain's dynamic character. To maximize the fuzzy model parameters and enable automatic adaptation and evolution over time, the evolutionary algorithm is presented. The model dynamically adapts to changing situations through the optimization process, which helps to promote more effective and flexible decision-making. In the dynamic landscape of supply chain management, the integration of evolutionary algorithms with fuzzy models and learning curves has shown promise in enhancing decision-making processes. This research investigates and compares the performance of three popular evolutionary algorithms-Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), and Genetic Algorithm (GA)-in optimizing a Fuzzy Supply Chain Model with Learning Effect. The objective is to determine which algorithm offers superior adaptability and efficiency for addressing uncertainties and dynamic learning environments.

The Antarctic marginal ice zone is the regularly wave-affected outer band of the sea ice covered Southern Ocean. The ice cover in the marginal ice zone is typically unconsolidated and contains smaller, thinner ice floes than the inner ice pack, which makes it a highly dynamic region and susceptible to rapid expansion or contraction. Here, an unsupervised statistical method is used to cluster sea ice data from 2010–2019 simulated by a global sea ice model (CICE6 combined with a waves propagation module), such that it defines a sea ice region with marginal ice zone characteristics. Floe size is shown to be the key variable in classifying the marginal ice zone in the statistical method. The method is shown to give marginal ice zone widths similar to those derived from satellite observations of wave penetration distances, but contrasts with those using the 15–80\% areal sea ice concentration definition, particularly during austral winter. Using the proposed definition, the marginal ice zone is found to undergo a seasonal transition due to new ice formation in winter, increased drift in spring, and increased rates of wave-induced breakup and melting in summer. The study motivates incorporation of wave and floe-scale processes in sea ice models, and the methods are available for application to outputs from high-resolution and coupled sea ice–ocean–wave models for more detailed studies of the marginal ice zone (in both hemispheres).

Starting from the fully-compressible Euler equations, a two-way-coupled system governing the long-wave behaviour of thin layers (with respect to the radius of Earth) representing the ocean and atmosphere, under an isentropic constraint, was derived. This approach incorporates bathymetry and topographic features as well as three-dimensional atmospheric non-uniformities through their depth-average over a spherical shell. Linear analysis of the obtained system yields two pairs of gravito-acoustic waves which are found to be representative of the fast-travelling atmospheric wave (with a propagation speed mainly governed by the atmospheric-layer-averaged speed of sound) and the slower-travelling gravity waves in the ocean (with a propagation speed mainly governed by local water depth). Remarkably, the 'Proudman resonance', observed in the forced shallow-water equation framework and invoked to justify, in part, observed large wave-heights, vanishes in favour of a continuous transition past the critical water depth, occurring when the two wave propagation speeds are closest. Two-dimensional non-linear global simulations were performed, using atmospheric conditions on the day, showcasing the predictive ability of the model. Local maxima of water-height disturbance in the farfield from the volcano, linked to the atmospheric wave deformation over time, are observed, emphasising the importance of the atmospheric-layer modelling and two-way coupling for any daylong predictions. An efficient implementation of the modelling strategy was carried out in the open source computational framework dNami to demonstrate the ability to perform faster-than-real-time simulations despite the additional equations in the governing system. Future work would see the strategy extended to incorporate additional layers and physics e.g. ocean and atmosphere stratification, interaction with the upper atmosphere.

A document by David Ortega-Paredes. Click on the document to view its contents.

IntroductionInferring generalizable patterns in species dynamics, distributions, and functional variation are central aims of ecology and evolutionary biology (MacArthur, 1972). Trait-based approaches, which quantify phenotypic characteristics that impact organisms’ fitness and/or functional role, provide a tractable comparative framework for understanding communities, ecosystems, and evolutionary processes (Mcgill et al., 2006; Violle et al., 2007). Functional trait studies have proliferated over the past two decades, addressing foundational questions in community ecology (Cadotte et al., 2015; Mcgill et al., 2006; Violle and Jiang, 2009), biogeography (Violle et al., 2014), and conservation biology (Cadotte et al., 2011; Wellnitz and Poff, 2001) across taxonomic groups. These works emphasize the promise of trait-based research for generating novel insights into central ecological concepts and theories.Increasingly, bee researchers are recognizing the utility of trait-based approaches for a wide variety of applications in ecological research. Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila) represent more than 20,000 species worldwide and display dramatic interspecific variation in morphology and behavior (Figure 1), including traits that mediate pollination services and responses to global environmental change (Supplementary Table 1). Exploration of functional traits has long been a cornerstone of bee research, yet only recently have these traits been systematically applied in bee ecological studies as a comparative framework for understanding community-level processes. Given their major functional role as the primary animal pollinators of terrestrial ecosystems (Ollerton et al., 2011), the bees represent a group ripe for exploration through a functional ecological lens.Here, we review an emerging body of literature that quantifies functional traits across bee communities to address questions in bee ecology. In doing so, we address the following questions: How have functional traits been used to study bee ecology? What have been the major outcomes and limitations in bee functional trait research? How might this framework be leveraged to address urgent questions in the study of global bee declines? We review the variety of methods used to quantify bee trait variation, highlight common methodological problems and inconsistencies, and recommend best practices. Additionally, we describe geographic, taxonomic, and trait biases across the body of bee functional trait work, and highlight research areas that merit particular attention in future studies. Finally, we emphasize the value of open trait data sharing, and propose a roadmap toward a global bee functional trait database, including an initial aggregated dataset of 3369 morphological measurements from 1209 bee species.

A document by Kamal Acharya. Click on the document to view its contents.

Marine Ecosystem Models (MEMs) are increasingly forced with Earth System Models (ESMs) to better understand marine ecosystem dynamics, and to analyse the effects of alternative management efforts for marine ecosystems under potential scenarios of global change. However, policy and commercial activities typically occur on seasonal-to-decadal time scales, a time span widely used in the global climate modelling community but where the skill level assessments of MEMs are in their infancy. This is mostly due to technical hurdles that prevent the global MEM community from performing large ensemble simulations with which to undergo systematic skill assessments. Here, we developed a novel distributed execution framework constructed of low-tech and freely available technologies to enable the systematic execution and analysis of linked ESM / MEM prediction ensembles. We apply this framework on the seasonal-to-decadal time scale, and assess how retrospective forecast uncertainty in an ensemble of initialised decadal Earth System Model predictions affects a mechanistic and spatiotemporal explicit global MEM. Our results indicate that ESM internal variability has a relatively low impact on the MEM predictability in comparison to the broad assumptions related to reconstructed fisheries. We also observe that the results are also sensitive to the ESM specificities. Our case study warrants further systematic explorations to disentangle the impacts of climate change, fisheries scenarios, MEM internal ecological hypotheses, and ESM variability. Most importantly, our case study demonstrates that a simple and free distributed execution framework has the potential to empower any modelling group with the fundamental capabilities to operationalize marine ecosystem modelling.

Mantle convection plays a fundamental role in driving evolution of oceanic and continental lithosphere. In turn it impacts a broad suite of processes operating at or close to Earth’s surface including landscape evolution, glacio-eustasy, magmatism and climate. A variety of theoretical approaches now exist to simulate mantle convection. Outputs from such simulations are being used to parameterise models of landscape evolution and basin formation. However, the substantial body of existing simulations has generated a variety of conflicting views on the history of dynamic topography, its evolution and key parameters for modelling mantle flow. The focus of this study is on developing strategies to use large-scale quantitative stratigraphic observations to asses model predictions and identify simulation parameters that generate realistic predictions of Earth surface evolution. Spot measurements of uplift or subsidence provide useful target observations but are often controlled by tectonic processes, yet avoiding areas where tectonics have influenced vertical motions is challenging. To address this issue, we use large inventories of stratigraphic data from across North America with contextual geophysical and geodetic data to constrain the regional uplift and subsidence history. We demonstrate that a suite of fairly typical simulations struggle to match the amplitude, polarity and timing of observed vertical motions. Building on recent seismological advances, we then explore strategies for understanding patterns of continental uplift and subsidence that incorporate (and test) predicted evolution of the lithosphere, asthenosphere and deep mantle. Our results demonstrate the importance of contributions from the uppermost mantle in driving vertical motions of continental interiors.

The northeastern part of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre is a key passage for the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation upper cell. To this day, the precise pathway and intensity of bottom currents in this area have not reached a consensus. In this study, we make use of regional high resolution numerical modeling to suggest that the main bottom current flowing south of Iceland originates from both the Faroe-Bank Channel and the Iceland-Faroe Ridge (with about equal contributions) and then flows along the topographic slope centered. When flowing over the rough topography, this bottom current generates a bottom mixed layer reaching 200 m height. We further demonstrate that many submesoscale structures are generated at the southernmost tip of the Icelandic shelf, thus spreading water masses in the open Iceland Basin. These findings have major implication in the better understanding of the transport of dense water masses in the North Atlantic.

This paper provided a comprehensive review of previous research on technologies surrounding gamified Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) and the effects of this amalgamation of Extended Reality (XR) on English language teaching and learning. A total of 138 articles were examined from six perspectives: explore the development of XR technology for use in education, especially English language learning; examine gamification; its theoretical background and the role motivation plays in gamified contexts; investigate if the pedagogical strategies associated with the integration of gamification techniques with XR technologies can improve English language learning; identify the potential benefits and challenges of using AR/VR technologies for teaching English; and detect current research limitations and gaps. It was found that immersing learners into virtual and augmented worlds can improve vocabulary, bridge formal and informal learning, enable interaction and collaborative learning, provide opportunities for situated learning, and reduce anxiety. Overall, gamified AR had a meaningful effect on student learning outcomes. Review implications include the need for: more prepared instructors utilizing XR technology; sufficient theoretical backing, such as frameworks and models; and research that compares traditional approaches and XR technology for teaching English.

This paper provided a comprehensive review of previous research on technologies surrounding gamified Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) and the effects of this amalgamation of Extended Reality (XR) on English language teaching and learning. A total of 138 articles were examined from six perspectives: explore the development of XR technology for use in education, especially English language learning; examine gamification; its theoretical background and the role motivation plays in gamified contexts; investigate if the pedagogical strategies associated with the integration of gamification techniques with XR technologies can improve English language learning; identify the potential benefits and challenges of using AR/VR technologies for teaching English; and detect current research limitations and gaps. It was found that immersing learners into virtual and augmented worlds can improve vocabulary, bridge formal and informal learning, enable interaction and collaborative learning, provide opportunities for situated learning, and reduce anxiety. Overall, gamified AR had a meaningful effect on student learning outcomes. Review implications include the need for: more prepared instructors utilizing XR technology; sufficient theoretical backing, such as frameworks and models; and research that compares traditional approaches and XR technology for teaching English.