Crustal structure beneath the Trondelag Platform and adjacent areas of the Mid-Norwegian margin, as derived from wide-angle seismic and potential field data

The outer mid-Norwegian margin is characterized by strong breakup magmatism and has been extensively surveyed. The crustal structure of the inner continental shelf, however, is less studied, and its relation to the onshore geology, Caledonian structuring, and breakup magmatism remains unclear. Two Ocean Bottom Seismometer profiles were acquired across the Trøndelag Platform in 2003, as part of the Euromargins program. Additional-land stations recorded the marine shots. The P-wave data were modeled by ray-tracing, supported by gravity modeling. Older multi-channel seismic data allowed for interpretation of stratigraphy down to the top of the Triassic. Crystalline basement velocity is ~6 km s-1 onshore. Top basement is difficult to identify offshore, as velocities (5.3-5.7 km s-1) intermediate between typical crystalline crust and Mesozoic sedimentary strata appear 50-80 km from the coast. This layer thickens towards the Klakk-Ytreholmen Fault Complex and predates Permian and later structur-ing. The velocities indicate sedimentary rocks, most likely Devonian. Onshore late- to post-Caledonian detachments have been proposed to extend offshore, based on the magnetic anomaly pattern. We do not find the expected correlation between upper basement velocity structure and detachments. However, there is a distinct, dome-shaped lower-crustal body with a velocity of 6.6-7.0 km s-1. This is thickest under the Froan Basin, and the broad magnetic anomaly used to delineate the detachments correlates with this. The proposed offshore continuation of the detachments thus appears- unreliable. While we find indications of high density and velocity (~7.2 km s-1) lower crust under the Rås Basin, similar to the proposed igneous underplating of the outer margin, this is poorly constrained near the end of our profiles. The gravity field indicates that this body may be continuous from the pre-breakup basement structures of the Utgard High to the Frøya High, suggesting that it could be an island arc or oceanic terrane-accreted during the Caledonian orogeny. Thus, we find no clear evidence of early Cenozoic igneous underplating of the inner part of the shelf

Harmonic Maa{\ss}-Jacobi forms of degree 1 with higher rank indices

We define and investigate real analytic weak Jacobi forms of degree 1 and arbitrary rank. En route we calculate the Casimir operator associated to the maximal central extension of the real Jacobi group, which for rank exceeding 1 is of order 4. In ranks exceeding 1, the notions of H-harmonicity and semi-holomorphicity are the same.Comment: 28 page

Achieving impact from ecosystem assessment and valuation of urban greenspace: The case of i-Tree Eco in Great Britain

Numerous tools have been developed to assist environmental decision-making, but there has been little examination of whether these tools achieve this aim, particularly for urban environments. This study aimed to evaluate the use of the i-Tree Eco tool in Great Britain, an assessment tool developed to support urban forest management. The study employed a documentary review, an online survey, and interviews in six case study areas to examine five impacts (instrumental, conceptual, capacity-building, enduring connectivity, and culture/attitudes towards knowledge exchange) and to identify which factors inhibited or supported achievement of impact. It revealed that the i-Tree Eco projects had helped to increase knowledge of urban forests and awareness of the benefits they provide. While there was often broad use of i-Tree Eco findings in various internal reports, external forums, and discussions of wider policies and plans, direct changes relating to improved urban forest management, increased funding or new tree policies were less frequent. The barriers we identified which limited impact included a lack of project champions, policy drivers and resources, problems with knowledge transfer and exchange, organisational and staff change, and negative views of trees. Overall, i-Tree Eco, similar to other environmental decision-making tools, can help to improve the management of urban trees when planned as one step in a longer process of engagement with stakeholders and development of new management plans and policies. In this first published impact evaluation of multiple i-Tree Eco projects, we identified eight lessons to enhance the impact of future i-Tree Eco projects, transferable to other environmental decision-making tools

volumetric characterisation and correlation to established classification systems

Objective and sensitive assessment of cartilage repair outcomes lacks suitable methods. This study investigated the feasibility of 3D ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) to quantify cartilage repair outcomes volumetrically and their correlation with established classification systems. 32 sheep underwent bilateral treatment of a focal cartilage defect. One or two years post- operatively the repair outcomes were assessed and scored macroscopically (Outerbridge, ICRS-CRA), by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, MOCART), and histopathology (O'Driscoll, ICRS-I and ICRS-II). The UBM data were acquired after MRI and used to reconstruct the shape of the initial cartilage layer, enabling the estimation of the initial cartilage thickness and defect volume as well as volumetric parameters for defect filling, repair tissue, bone loss and bone overgrowth. The quantification of the repair outcomes revealed high variations in the initial thickness of the cartilage layer, indicating the need for cartilage thickness estimation before creating a defect. Furthermore, highly significant correlations were found for the defect filling estimated from UBM to the established classification systems. 3D visualisation of the repair regions showed highly variable morphology within single samples. This raises the question as to whether macroscopic, MRI and histopathological scoring provide sufficient reliability. The biases of the individual methods will be discussed within this context. UBM was shown to be a feasible tool to evaluate cartilage repair outcomes, whereby the most important objective parameter is the defect filling. Translation of UBM into arthroscopic or transcutaneous ultrasound examinations would allow non-destructive and objective follow-up of individual patients and better comparison between the results of clinical trials

Tree insect pests and pathogens: a global systematic review of their impacts in urban areas

Trees contribute greatly to urban environments and human well-being, yet relatively little is known about the extent to which a rising incidence of tree insect pests and pathogens may be affecting these contributions. To address this issue, we undertook a systematic review and synthesis of the diverse global empirical evidence on the impacts of urban tree insect pests and pathogens, using bibliographic databases. Following screening and appraisal of over 3000 articles from a wide range of fields, 100 studies from 28 countries, spanning 1979–2021, were conceptually sorted into a three-part framework: (1) environmental impacts, representing 95 of the studies, including those reporting on tree damage, mortality, reduced growth, and changes in tree function; (2) social impacts were reported by 35 of studies, including on aesthetics, human health, and safety hazards; and (3) economic impacts, reported in 24 of studies, including on costs of pest management, and economic losses. There has been a considerable increase in urban impact studies since 2011. Evidence gaps exist on impacts on climate-regulating capacity, including temperature regulation, water retention, soil erosion, and wind protection, but also on specific hazards, nuisances, human well-being, property damages, and hazard liabilities. As a knowledge synthesis, this article presents the best available evidence of urban tree insect / pathogen impacts to guide policy, management and further research. It will enable us to better forecast how growing threats will affect the urban forest and plan for these eventualities

BMD-based assessment of local porosity in human femoral cortical bone

Cortical pores are determinants of the elastic properties and of the ultimate strength of bone tissue. An increase of the overall cortical porosity (Ct.Po) as well as the local coalescence of large pores cause an impairment of the mechanical competence of bone Therefore, Ct Po represents a relevant target for identifying patients with high fracture risk. However, given their small size, the in vivo imaging of cortical pores remains challenging. The advent of modern high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) triggered new methods for the clinical assessment of Ct Po at the peripheral skeleton, either by pore segmentation or by exploiting local bone mineral density (BMD) In this work, we compared BMD-based Ct.Po estimates with highresolution reference values measured by scanning acoustic microscopy. A calibration rule to estimate local Ct.Po from BMD as assessed by HR-pQCT was derived experimentally. Within areas of interest smaller than 0.5 mm(2), our model was able to estimate the local Ct.Po with an error of 3.4%. The incorporation of the BMD mhomogeneity and of one parameter from the BMD distribution of the entire scan volume led to a relative reduction of the estimate error of 30%, if compared to an estimate based on the average BMD. When applied to the assessment of Ct.Po within entire cortical bone cross-sections, the proposed BMD-based method had better accuracy than measurements performed with a conventional threshold-based approach.</p

Correction: Large cortical bone pores in the tibia are associated with proximal femur strength

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215405.

Clustering of antibiotic resistance of E. coli in couples: suggestion for a major role of conjugal transmission

BACKGROUND: Spread of antibiotic resistance in hospitals is a well-known problem, but studies investigating the importance of factors potentially related to the spread of resistant bacteria in outpatients are sparse. METHODS: Stool samples were obtained from 206 healthy couples in a community setting in Southern Germany in 2002–2003. E. coli was cultured and minimal inhibition concentrations were tested. Prevalences of E. coli resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics according to potential risk factors were ascertained. RESULTS: Prevalences of ampicillin resistance were 15.7% and 19.4% for women and men, respectively. About ten percent and 15% of all isolates were resistant to cotrimoxazole and doxycycline, respectively. A partner carrying resistance was the main risk factor for being colonized with resistant E. coli. Odds ratios (95% CI) for ampicillin and cotrimoxazole resistance given carriage of resistant isolates by the partner were 6.9 (3.1–15.5) and 3.3 (1.5–18.0), respectively. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that conjugal transmission may be more important for the spread of antibiotic resistance in the community setting than commonly suspected risk factors such as previous antibiotic intake or hospital contacts