The term “water pocket” describes invisible en– and subglacial water reservoirs that can cause sudden glacial outburst floods. However, there is currently no consensus on its definition and the formation and rupture mechanisms of water pockets remain poorly understood. This study aims to understand the mechanisms behind water pocket outburst floods (WPOFs) from alpine glaciers by analyzing their spatial and temporal distribution, pre-event meteorological conditions, and the glacio-geomorphic features of the glaciers from which the floods originate. To this end, we updated an inventory of known WPOFs in the Swiss Alps to 91 events from 37 individual glaciers. Most WPOFs occurred between June and September. Meteorological data indicate anomalously high temperatures during the days preceding most events and heavy precipitation on 25% of days for which WPOFs occur, indicating that water pockets typically rupture during periods of high water input. We propose four mechanisms of water pocket formation: temporary subglacial channel blockage (which is the mechanism suggested most often for our inventory), hydraulic barriers, water-filled crevasses, and accumulation of liquid water behind barriers of cold ice (thermal barriers). Overall, our analysis highlights the challenge of understanding WPOFs due to the sub-surface nature of water pockets, emphasizing the need for field-based research to improve their detection.

Systematic reviews are essential for evidence-based health care, but conducting them is time- and resource-consuming. To date, efforts have been made to accelerate and (semi-)automate various steps of systematic reviews through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and the emergence of large language models (LLMs) promises further opportunities. One crucial but complex task within systematic review conduct is assessing the risk of bias (RoB) of included studies. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test the LLM Claude 2 for RoB assessment of 100 randomized controlled trials, published in English language from 2013 onwards, using the revised Cochrane risk of bias tool (‘RoB 2’; involving judgements for five specific domains and an overall judgement). We assessed the agreement of RoB judgements by Claude with human judgements published in Cochrane reviews. The observed agreement between Claude and Cochrane authors ranged from 41% for the overall judgement to 71% for domain 4 (‘outcome measurement’). Cohen’s κ was lowest for domain 5 (‘selective reporting’; 0.10 (95% confidence interval (CI): −0.10–0.31)) and highest for domain 3 (‘missing data’; 0.31 (95% CI: 0.10–0.52)), indicating slight to fair agreement. Fair agreement was found for the overall judgement (Cohen’s κ: 0.22 (95% CI: 0.06–0.38)). Sensitivity analyses using alternative prompting techniques or the more recent version Claude 3 did not result in substantial changes. Currently, Claude’s RoB 2 judgements cannot replace human RoB assessment. However, the potential of LLMs to support RoB assessment should be further explored.

We present a 1000 km transect of phase-sensitive radar measurements of ice thickness, basal reflection strength, basal melting and ice-column deformation across the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS). Measurements were gathered at varying intervals in austral summer between 2015 and 2020, connecting the grounding line with the distant ice shelf front. We identified changing basal reflection strengths revealing a variety of basal conditions influenced by ice flow and by ice–ocean interaction at the ice base. Reflection strength is lower across the central RIS, while strong reflections in the near-front and near-grounding line regions correspond with higher basal melt rates, up to 0.47 ± 0.02 m a−1 in the north. Melting from atmospherically warmed surface water extends 150–170 km south of the RIS front. Melt rates up to 0.29 ± 0.03 m a−1 and 0.15 ± 0.03 m a−1 are observed near the grounding lines of the Whillans and Kamb Ice Stream, respectively. Although troublesome to compare directly, our surface-based observations generally agree with the basal melt pattern provided by satellite-based methods but provide a distinctly smoother pattern. Our work delivers a precise measurement of basal melt rates across the RIS, a rare insight that also provides an early 21st-century baseline.

The European Clozapine Task Force is a group of psychiatrists and pharmacologists practicing in 18 countries under European Medicines Agency (EMA) regulation, who are deeply concerned about the underuse of clozapine in European countries. Although clozapine is the most effective antipsychotic for people with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, a large proportion of them do not have access to this treatment. Concerns about clozapine-induced agranulocytosis and stringent blood monitoring rules are major barriers to clozapine prescribing and use. There is a growing body of evidence that the incidence of clozapine-induced agranulocytosis is very low after the first year of treatment. Maintaining lifelong monthly blood monitoring after this period contributes to unjustified discontinuation of clozapine. We leverage recent and replicated evidence on the long-term safety of clozapine to call for the revision and updating of the EMA’s blood monitoring rules, thus aiming to overcome this major barrier to clozapine prescribing and use. We believe the time has come for relaxing the rules without increasing the risks for people using clozapine in Europe.

Rift propagation, rather than basal melt, drives the destabilization and disintegration of the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf. Since 2016, rifts have episodically advanced throughout the central ice-shelf area, with rapid propagation events occurring during austral spring. The ice shelf's speed has increased by ~70% during this period, transitioning from a rate of 1.65 m d−1 in 2019 to 2.85 m d−1 by early 2023 in the central area. The increase in longitudinal strain rates near the grounding zone has led to full-thickness rifts and melange-filled gaps since 2020. A recent sea-ice break out has accelerated retreat at the western calving front, effectively separating the ice shelf from what remained of its northwestern pinning point. Meanwhile, a distributed set of phase-sensitive radar measurements indicates that the basal melting rate is generally small, likely due to a widespread robust ocean stratification beneath the ice–ocean interface that suppresses basal melt despite the presence of substantial oceanic heat at depth. These observations in combination with damage modeling show that, while ocean forcing is responsible for triggering the current West Antarctic ice retreat, the Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf is experiencing dynamic feedbacks over decadal timescales that are driving ice-shelf disintegration, now independent of basal melt.

Linkage fabrics are gaining in popularity and finding applications in architecture, aerospace, healthcare, and fashion because they can deliver materials with bespoke flexibility and strength through the geometric design of linkage nodes. In this article, we provide a perspective on linkage fabrics as a new class of programmable materials. We describe the theory and design principles of these linkage fabrics and show how they can be designed and simulated using digital tools, and fabricated using 3D printing. This digital approach overcomes a major obstacle to the adoption of these materials, namely their complexity. We show how simulation methods can be verified and calibrated through experimental testing. This perspective article also discusses design-led research challenges for linkage fabrics such as the development of wearable assistive devices for those with physical disabilities.

The modern marine megafauna is known to play important ecological roles and includes many charismatic species that have drawn the attention of both the scientific community and the public. However, the extinct marine megafauna has never been assessed as a whole, nor has it been defined in deep time. Here, we review the literature to define and list the species that constitute the extinct marine megafauna, and to explore biological and ecological patterns throughout the Phanerozoic. We propose a size cut-off of 1 m of length to define the extinct marine megafauna. Based on this definition, we list 706 taxa belonging to eight main groups. We found that the extinct marine megafauna was conspicuous over the Phanerozoic and ubiquitous across all geological eras and periods, with the Mesozoic, especially the Cretaceous, having the greatest number of taxa. Marine reptiles include the largest size recorded (21 m; Shonisaurus sikanniensis) and contain the highest number of extinct marine megafaunal taxa. This contrasts with today’s assemblage, where marine animals achieve sizes of >30 m. The extinct marine megafaunal taxa were found to be well-represented in the Paleobiology Database, but not better sampled than their smaller counterparts. Among the extinct marine megafauna, there appears to be an overall increase in body size through time. Most extinct megafaunal taxa were inferred to be macropredators preferentially living in coastal environments. Across the Phanerozoic, megafaunal species had similar extinction risks as smaller species, in stark contrast to modern oceans where the large species are most affected by human perturbations. Our work represents a first step towards a better understanding of the marine megafauna that lived in the geological past. However, more work is required to expand our list of taxa and their traits so that we can obtain a more complete picture of their ecology and evolution.

Zipserite is a new mineral species discovered in a sample collected from the old mine dumps of the abandoned epithermal deposit Nagybörzsöny in Hungary. Zipserite occurs as anhedral to subhedral, lath-like grains, up to 500 μm in size, in hydrothermally strongly altered rocks. It is found at a contact between bismuth and bismuthinite, also associated with rare ikunolite and joséite-A. Zipserite is silvery white with a metallic lustre. Mohs hardness is ca. 2–3 and the calculated density is 7.815 g.cm–3. In reflected light, zipserite is grey–white, with colour and reflectance essentially matching those of bismuthinite. Bireflectance is weak, internal reflections not present. Anisotropy is moderately strong, with dark blue and grey colours of anisotropy. Reflectance values for the four Commission on Ore Mineralogy wavelengths of zipserite in air [Rmax, Rmin (%) (λ in nm)] are: 48.4, 46.4 (470); 47.8, 45.9 (546); 47.8, 45.8 (589); and 47.5, 45.6 (650). The empirical formula, based on electron-microprobe analyses, is (Bi4.74Pb0.31)Σ5.05(S3.38Se0.56Te0.02)Σ3.96, that can be simplified as Bi5(S,Se)4. The ideal end-member formula of zipserite is Bi5S4, which requires Bi 89.07 and S 10.93, total 100 wt.%. Zipserite possesses a fascinating crystal structure. The average structure is trigonal, with space group P$\bar{3}$m, a = 4.162(1) Å, c = 16.397(1) Å, V = 245.94(4) Å3 and Z = 2. The structure is built by the alternation of a double bismuth layer Bi2 and the Bi3S4 block which is a three octahedra thick layer. Its general formula can be expressed as Bi2 + Bi3S4, which corresponds directly to the observed stacking. At 98 K, the structure can be described using the superspace formalism with an R-centred trigonal unit cell a = 4.209(2) Å, c0 = 5.616(6) Å, a modulation vector q ≈ 4/3 c* and the superspace group R$\bar{3}$m(00γ)00. Zipserite is not only a new mineral but also the first named member of a new sub-group of compounds within the broader family of bismuth chalcogenides, characterised by complex stacking of structural units (Bi2 layers and Bi3S4 blocks). Some of these phases are being investigated as promising thermoelectric materials and synthetic analogues of zipserite could also be inspected for similar physical properties.

Electronic measurement systems in the THz frequency range are often bulky and expensive devices. While some compact single-chip systems operating in the high millimeter-wave frequency range have recently been published, compact measurement systems in the low THz frequency range are still rare. The emergence of new silicon-germanium (SiGe) semiconductor technologies allow the integration of system components, like oscillators, frequency multipliers, frequency dividers, and antennas, operating in the low THz frequency range, into a compact monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC), which contains most components to implement a low-cost and compact frequency-modulated continuous-wave-radar transceiver. This article presents a single transceiver solution containing all necessary components. It introduces a $0.48\,\mathrm{THz}$ radar transceiver MMIC with a tuning range of $43\,\mathrm{GHz}$ and an output power of up to $-9.4\,\mathrm{dBm}$ in the SG13G3 $130\,\mathrm{nm}$ SiGe technology by IHP. The MMIC is complemented by a dielectric lens antenna design consisting of polytetrafluoroethylene, providing up to $39.3\,\mathrm d\mathrm B\mathrm i$ of directivity and half-power beam widths of 0.95∘ in transmit and receive direction. The suppression of clutter from unwanted targets deviating from antenna boresight more than 6∘ is higher than $24.6\,\mathrm d \mathrm B$ in E- and H-Plane.

Like coeval classical kingdoms of Southeast Asia, the Dali Kingdom (937–1253 CE) of Yunnan adopted politico-religious ideologies for Buddhist kingship. Understanding Buddhist kingship as a medium for bolstering both spiritual and temporal authority, this article investigates if relations between twelfth-century Duan monarchs and their Gao ministers of state were the same as those depicted in post-thirteenth-century sources and scrutinises the argument for the eighteenth monarch Duan Zhixing (r.1173–1200) promoting himself as a dharmarāja to assert superiority over his Gao ministers. I reframe Duan-Gao relations from one of tension and conflict to one of collaboration, and postulate twelfth-century Duan-Gao relations then changing before the 1250s, when thirteenth century sources mention Gao domination. I argue for a working hypothesis of the dissemination of Duan Zhixing's politico-religious ideology dovetailing with administration at the kingdom's core areas. Dissemination was implemented by Gao ministers of state and monks from the royal Chongsheng Temple, and the process reveals a collaborative rather than confrontational relationship between Duan monarchs and the Gao clan.

An individual’s birthweight, a marker of in utero exposures, was recently associated with certain psychiatric conditions. However, studies investigating the relationship between an individual’s preterm birth status and/or birthweight and risk for depression during adulthood are sparse; we used data from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) to investigate these potential associations. At study entry, 86,925 postmenopausal women reported their birthweight by category (<6 lbs., 6–7 lbs. 15 oz., 8–9 lbs. 15 oz., or ≥10 lbs.) and their preterm birth status (full-term or ≥4 weeks premature). Women also completed the Burnham screen for depression and were asked to self-report if: (a) they had ever been diagnosed with depression, or (b) if they were taking antidepressant medications. Linear and logistic regression models were used to estimate unadjusted and adjusted effect estimates. Compared to those born weighing between 6 and 7 lbs. 15 oz., individuals born weighing <6 lbs. (βadj = 0.007, P < 0.0001) and ≥10 lbs. (βadj = 0.006, P = 0.02) had significantly higher Burnam scores. Individuals born weighing <6 lbs. were also more likely to have depression (adjOR 1.21, 95% CI 1.11–1.31). Individuals born preterm were also more likely to have depression (adjOR 1.18, 95% CI 1.02–1.35); while attenuated, this association remained in analyses limited to only those reportedly born weighing <6 lbs. Our research supports the role of early life exposures on health risks across the life course. Individuals born at low or high birthweights and those born preterm may benefit from early evaluation and long-term follow-up for the prevention and treatment of mental health outcomes.

We recently reported on the radio-frequency attenuation length of cold polar ice at Summit Station, Greenland, based on bi-static radar measurements of radio-frequency bedrock echo strengths taken during the summer of 2021. Those data also allow studies of (a) the relative contributions of coherent (such as discrete internal conducting layers with sub-centimeter transverse scale) vs incoherent (e.g. bulk volumetric) scattering, (b) the magnitude of internal layer reflection coefficients, (c) limits on signal propagation velocity asymmetries (‘birefringence’) and (d) limits on signal dispersion in-ice over a bandwidth of ~100 MHz. We find that (1) attenuation lengths approach 1 km in our band, (2) after averaging 10 000 echo triggers, reflected signals observable over the thermal floor (to depths of ~1500 m) are consistent with being entirely coherent, (3) internal layer reflectivities are ≈–60$\to$–70 dB, (4) birefringent effects for vertically propagating signals are smaller by an order of magnitude relative to South Pole and (5) within our experimental limits, glacial ice is non-dispersive over the frequency band relevant for neutrino detection experiments.

Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in ocean water is a major sink of fossil fuel derived CO2. Carbon isotopes in DIC serve as tracers for oceanic water masses, biogeochemical processes, and air-sea gas exchange. We present a timeseries of surface DIC δ13C and Δ14C values from 2011 to 2022 from Newport Beach, California. This is a continuation of previous timeseries (Hinger et al. 2010; Santos et al. 2011) that together provide an 18-year record. These data show that DIC Δ14C values have declined by 42‰ and that DIC δ13C values have declined by 0.4‰ since 2004. By 2020, DIC Δ14C values were within analytical error of nearby clean atmospheric CO2 Δ14C values. These long-term trends are likely the result of significant fossil fuel derived CO2 in surface DIC from air-sea gas exchange. Seasonally, Δ14C values varied by 3.4‰ between 2011 and 2022, where seasonal δ13C values varied by 0.7‰. The seasonal variation in Δ14C values is likely driven by variations in upwelling, surface eddies, and mixed layer depth. The variation in δ13C values appears to be driven by isotopic fractionation from marine primary producers. The DIC δ13C and Δ14C values record the influence of the drought that began in 2012, and a major upwelling event in 2016.