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MRDAM: satellite cloud image super-resolution via multi-scale residual deformable attention mechanism
Get PDFHigh-resolution meteorological satellite cloud imagery plays a crucial role in diagnosing and forecasting severe convective weather phenomena characterized by suddenness and locality, such as tropical cyclones. However, constrained by imaging principles and various internal/external interferences during satellite data acquisition, current satellite imagery often fails to meet the spatiotemporal resolution requirements for fine-scale monitoring of these weather systems. Particularly for real-time tracking of tropical cyclone genesis-evolution dynamics and capturing detailed cloud structure variations within cyclone cores, existing spatial resolutions remain insufficient. Therefore, developing super-resolution techniques for meteorological satellite cloud imagery through software-based approaches holds significant application potential. This paper proposes a Multi-scale Residual Deformable Attention Model (MRDAM) based on Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), specifically designed for satellite cloud image super-resolution tasks considering their morphological diversity and non-rigid deformation characteristics. The generator architecture incorporates two key components: a Multi-scale Feature Progressive Fusion Module (MFPFM), which enhances texture detail preservation and spectral consistency in reconstructed images, and a Deformable Attention Additive Fusion Module (DAAFM), which captures irregular cloud pattern features through adaptive spatial-attention mechanisms. Comparative experiments against multiple GAN-based super-resolution baselines demonstrate that MRDAM achieves superior performance in both objective evaluation metrics (PSNR/SSIM) and subjective visual quality, proving its superior performance for satellite cloud image super-resolution tasks
Wheat in 2025: challenges for sustainable production and consumption
Get PDFWheat is the dominant food crop in its contribution to global nutrition and production has, and may continue to, increase in line with the increase in the global population. However, the production of wheat for breadmaking in Western Europe and other countries with high input systems is highly dependent on nitrogen fertilisation in order to produce grain with high protein content, raising concerns about sustainability and adverse impacts on the environment. In addition, the consumption of wheat is decreasing in some countries due to concerns about adverse effects of wheat, and particularly gluten, on health. The scientific basis for these concerns is discussed and strategies proposed to reduce nitrogen inputs for breadmaking and address the concerns of consumers
Effective computations for weakly optimal subvarieties
Get PDFRen and the second author established that the weakly optimal subvarieties (e.g. maximal weakly special subvarieties) of a subvariety V of a Shimura variety arise in finitely many families. In this article, we refine this theorem by (1) constructing a finite collection of algebraic families whose fibers are precisely the weakly optimal subvarieties of V; (2) obtaining effective degree bounds on the weakly optimal locus and its individual members; (3) describing an effective procedure to determine the weakly optimal locus
Postoperative complications after paediatric cardiac surgery: the role of ethnicity and deprivation – a national cohort study
No full textAim To understand whether the risk of complications following paediatric cardiac surgery differs according to a child’s ethnicity or the degree of residential deprivation.
Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the National Congenital Heart Disease Audit, including children younger than 18 years who underwent cardiac surgery between April 2015 and March 2022 across 10 paediatric cardiac surgical centres in England and Wales. We examined the occurrence of six defined postoperative complications and used previously reported descriptive models to account for case complexity. Multivariable analysis was used to assess the association between complications and individual ethnicity and socioeconomic deprivation.
Results There were 23 423 30-day postoperative episodes. Children of Asian ethnicity were more likely to have a functionally univentricular heart or congenital cardiac risk factors, while children of Black ethnicity were more likely to have Down syndrome and prematurity than children of the remaining ethnicities. Children from the most versus the least deprived areas had higher rates of congenital comorbidity, functionally univentricular heart, high illness severity and urgent operations. After adjusting for case complexity, children from high compared with low deprivation areas had greater odds of prolonged pleural effusion (p=0.05), extracorporeal life support (p=0.001) and unplanned reintervention within 30 days (p=0.04).
Conclusions Greater area deprivation in England is associated with increased preoperative medical complexity and a higher incidence of certain postoperative complications among children with congenital heart disease (CHD). Further research is needed to explore the relationship between ethnic background and perioperative outcomes in CHD and to develop pathways to improvement based on social factors
Establishing a European Heliophysics Community (EHC)
No full textEurope hosts a large and highly active community of scientists working in the broad domain of Heliophysics. This broad discipline addresses plasmas in the regions of space and atmosphere influenced by the Sun and solar wind. However, this community has historically been fragmented, both geographically and thematically, which has limited the potential for strategic coordination, collaboration, and growth. This has recently prompted a grass-roots community-building effort to foster communication and interactions within the European Heliophysics Community (EHC). This white paper outlines the motivation, priorities, and initial steps towards establishing the EHC, and presents a vision for the future of Heliophysics in Europe. As a crucial first step of this endeavour, a dedicated EHC website is now available: https://www.heliophysics.eu/ (last access: November 2025)
Using live-action 360-degree video to assess the impact of exposure duration on eyewitness identification accuracy at high confidence in children and adults
No full textThe pristine conditions hypothesis postulates that highly confident witnesses will be highly accurate, even when witnessing conditions are poor. Recent research has extended this to children and concluded that, on average, child-eyewitnesses who are highly confident are rather accurate (i.e., 85-97%, Winsor et al., 2021). However, this has only been tested in good witnessing conditions. Since then, research in adults has shown that, in some poor witnessing conditions, the high confidence-accuracy relationship breaks down. We sought to determine if highly confident child and adult eyewitnesses would be highly accurate even in poor witnessing conditions. We presented 1,055 participants (485 young children, 357 older children, and 213 adults) with a 360-degree live-action mock-crime video in a virtual reality headset. To test whether witnessing conditions impact children’s confidence-accuracy relationship, we manipulated exposure duration (short-6s, long-34s) at encoding and the presence of the culprit in the lineup identification task. Surprisingly, memory strength was weak for all age groups under good and poor witnessing conditions. There were so few high confidence identifications in adults that the confidence-accuracy relationship could not be plotted. Importantly, we found that the pristine conditions hypothesis does not hold regardless of the state of the witnessing condition. This research suggests that there are boundary conditions to the pristine conditions hypothesis and that further research is needed to determine the boundary conditions of the pristine conditions hypothesis
Reviving the study of late medieval ‘boutons-enseignes’ in England [in "Portable Antiquities Scheme Report"]
No full textIn England, the copper-alloy, continental button-like badges discussed here, dating to the half century or so before the Reformation, have not received the same scholarly attention as lead-alloy pilgrim badges. This note aims to revive the study in England of these badges – generally termed ‘boutons-enseignes’ following literature in France (where most have been found) – by aligning insular scholarship with recent work on the continent. Specifically, I focus on examining those designs present within the current English corpus to try to identify distinctive patterns and practices
Introduction
No full textDescribes the origins of the four articles appearing in the volume, presents primary sources and the circumstances of stencilling and stencilled music books, reviews secondary literature, and argues for the significance of the topic. The four articles are then summarised and considered in total, and areas of desirable future research identified
Investigation into the role of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and their structural analogues on the Kv7 channel function and vasodilator mechanisms
No full textFatty acids are essential components of cellular membranes. ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty
acids (PUFAs), including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), exert
significant influence on the cardiovascular, central nervous and immune systems, among
others. In the vascular system, PUFAs have been shown to induce vasodilation. Nonetheless,
most research focuses on their long-term effects within a single artery, primarily emphasising
the effects of PUFAs on the endothelial layer. This PhD project characterised not only the
underlying vasodilation mechanisms associated with the acute application of PUFAs in two
distinct tissue types, but also achieved a more comprehensive understanding of the structure-activity relationship (SAR) between PUFAs and their vascular targets.
Wire myography was used to examine the vasodilatory effects of PUFAs in rat arteries
by testing the impact of the intact endothelium on the results observed, utilising
pharmacological inhibitors, and applying a variety of structurally distinct compounds to
elucidate the SAR. Furthermore, stable cell lines expressing voltage-gated potassium channels,
KV7.4 and KV7.5, under the control of an inducible promoter, were developed, along with
plasmid DNA encoding their heterodimers and tetramers, which were used for transient
transfection. The activation of KV7 homotetramers and heterotetramers by DHA was examined
in cell lines using whole-cell patch clamp recordings.
PUFAs induced vasodilation in the aorta and the mesenteric arteries through their
activity on KV7 channels, whilst also exhibiting tissue-specific heterogeneity in their
mechanism of action. The SAR study highlighted important structural properties in the PUFAs
that are crucial for KV7 channel activation. Furthermore, these findings propose a new
hypothesis regarding the activity of DHA on KV7 channels by which they cause loss of voltage-gating sensitivity in KV7.4 and KV7.5 channels, while simultaneously increasing potassium
currents and conductance, thereby rendering the channels akin to leak channels
Adipokinetic hormone receptor is required for larval food intake and development of Plutella xylostella
No full textThe diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella L.), a notorious worldwide pest of cruciferous crops, has evolved high resistance to various commonly used chemical insecticides. In insects, the adipokinetic hormone signaling system is the key regulator that efficiently mobilizes lipid storage to sustain energy demands during their different physiological processes. In this study, we characterized the full-length adipokinetic hormone receptor of P. xylostella (PxAKHR), which encodes a 414-amino-acid protein containing seven conserved transmembrane domains. We then evaluated its potential as a pest-control target by examining its roles in food intake and larval development. Gene expression analysis showed PxAKHR was most highly expressed in third instar larvae, with high transcript levels in the fat body and gut, indicating its key roles in energy metabolism and development. Knockdown of PxAKHR via RNAi (RNA interference) led to the accumulation of triacylglycerol (TAG) and lipid, along with significant reductions in both food intake and locomotor activity in P. xylostella larvae. Furthermore, we found a notable delay in larval development of P. xylostella after the injection of dsPxAKHR. Taken together, these findings confirm that PxAKHR plays critical roles in lipid mobilization, food intake, and development regulation of P. xylostella, highlighting its potential as a promising RNAi-based pest control target