bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An improved process-oriented hydro-biogeochemical model for
simulating dynamic fluxes of methane and nitrous oxide in alpine
ecosystems with seasonally frozen soils
Authors: Zhang Wei , Yao Zhisheng , Li Siqi , Zheng Xunhua , Zhang Han , Ma Lei , Wang Kai , Wang Rui , Liu Chunyan , Han Shenghui , Deng Jia , Li Yong
Published: January 2021

Abstract. To evaluate the sustainability of terrestrial ecosystems, the hydro-biogeochemical model Catchment Nutrient Management Model – DeNitrification-DeComposition (CNMM-DNDC) was established to simultaneously quantify ecosystem productivity and losses of nitrogen and carbon at the site or catchment scale. As a process-oriented model, this model is expected to be universally applied to different climate zones, soils, land uses and field management practices. This study, as one of many efforts to fulfil such an expectation, was performed to improve the CNMM-DNDC by incorporating a physical-based soil thermal module to simulate the soil thermal regime in the presence of freeze-thaw cycles. The modified model was validated with simultaneous field observations in three typical alpine ecosystems (wetlands, meadows and forests) within a catchment located in the seasonally frozen region of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Then, the model was further applied to evaluate its performance in simulating the effects of alpine wetland degradation on methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes. The validation showed that the modified CNMM-DNDC was able to simulate the observed seasonal dynamics of soil temperature, moisture, and fluxes of CH4 and N2O in the three typical alpine ecosystems, with index of agreement values of 0.91–1.00, 0.49–0.83, 0.57–0.88 and 0.26–0.47, respectively. Consistent with the emissions determined from the field observations, the simulated aggregate emissions of CH4 and N2O were significantly reduced due to wetland degradation and were dominated by a reduction in CH4 emissions. This study indicates the potential for utilizing the process-oriented model CNMM-DNDC to predict hydro-biogeochemical processes, as well as related gas emissions, in seasonally frozen regions. As the original CNMM-DNDC was previously validated in some unfrozen regions, the modified CNMM-DNDC could be applied to evaluate the sustainability of various ecosystems under different climates, soils and field management practices at the site or catchment scale.
Impact of mid-glacial ice sheets on deep ocean circulation and global climate
Authors: Sherriff-Tadano Sam , Abe-Ouchi Ayako , Oka Akira
Published: January 2021

Abstract. This study explores the effect of southward expansion of Northern Hemisphere (American) mid-glacial ice sheets on the global climate and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) as well as the processes
by which the ice sheets modify the AMOC. For this purpose, simulations of
Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 (36 ka) and 5a (80 ka) are performed with an
atmosphere–ocean general circulation model. In the MIS3 and MIS5a
simulations, the global average temperature decreases by 5.0
and 2.2 ∘C, respectively, compared with the preindustrial climate
simulation. The AMOC weakens by 3 % in MIS3, whereas it strengthens by
16 % in MIS5a, both of which are consistent with an estimate based on
231Pa ∕ 230Th. Sensitivity experiments extracting the effect of the
southward expansion of glacial ice sheets from MIS5a to MIS3 show a global
cooling of 1.1 ∘C, contributing to about 40 % of the total
surface cooling from MIS5a to MIS3. These experiments also demonstrate that
the ice sheet expansion leads to a surface cooling of 2 ∘C over
the Southern Ocean as a result of colder North Atlantic Deep Water. We find
that the southward expansion of the mid-glacial ice sheet exerts a small
impact on the AMOC. Partially coupled experiments reveal that the global
surface cooling by the glacial ice sheet tends to reduce the AMOC by
increasing the sea ice at both poles and, hence, compensates for the
strengthening effect of the enhanced surface wind over the North Atlantic.
Our results show that the total effect of glacial ice sheets on the AMOC is
determined by two competing effects: surface wind and surface cooling.
The relative strength of surface wind and surface cooling effects depends on
the ice sheet configuration, and the strength of the surface cooling can be
comparable to that of surface wind when changes in the extent of ice sheet
are prominent.
A new dataset of river flood hazard maps for Europe and
the Mediterranean Basin region
Authors: Dottori Francesco , Alfieri Lorenzo , Bianchi Alessandra , Skoien Jon , Salamon Peter
Published: January 2021

Abstract. Continental scale hazard maps for riverine floods have grown in importance in the last years. Nowadays, they are used for a variety of research and commercial activities, such as evaluating present and future risk scenarios and adaptation strategies, as well as a support of national and local flood risk management plans. Here, we present a new set of hazard maps for river flooding that covers most of the geographical Europe and all the river basins entering the Mediterranean and Black Seas in the Caucasus, Middle East and Northern Africa countries. Maps represent inundation along 329’000 km of river network at 100 m resolution, for six different flood return periods. The input river flow data is produced by the hydrological model LISFLOOD, while inundation simulations are performed with the 2D hydrodynamic modelling LISFLOOD-FP. To provide an overview of the skill of the new maps, we undertake a detailed validation exercise of the new maps using official hazard maps for Hungary, Italy, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom. We find that modelled maps can identify on average two-thirds of reference flood extent, however they also overestimate flood-prone areas for flood probabilities below 1-in-100-year, while for return periods equal or above 500 years the maps can correctly identify more than half of flooded areas. We attribute the observed skill to a number of shortcomings of the modelling framework, such as the absence of flood protections and rivers with upstream area below 500 km2, and the limitations in representing river channels and topography of low land areas. In addition, the large variability of reference maps affects the correct identification of the areas for the validation, thus penalizing scores. However, modelled maps achieve comparable results to existing large-scale flood models when using similar parameters for the validation. We conclude that recently released high-resolution elevation datasets combined with reliable data of river channel geometry may greatly contribute to improve future versions of continental-scale flood hazard maps. The database is available for download at https://data.jrc.ec.europa.eu/dataset/1d128b6c-a4ee-4858-9e34-6210707f3c81 (Dottori et al., 2020a).
Complementing regional moment magnitudes to GCMT: a
perspective from the rebuilt ISC Bulletin
Authors: Di Giacomo Domenico , Harris James , Storchak Dmitry A.
Published: January 2021

Abstract. Seismologists and geoscientists in general often need earthquake catalogues for various types of research. This input usually contains basic earthquake parameters such as location (longitude, latitude, depth and origin time) as well as magnitude information. For the latter, the moment magnitude Mw has became the most sought after magnitude scale in the seismological community to characterize the size of an earthquake. In this contribution we provide an informative account of the Mw content for the newly rebuilt Bulletin of the International Seismological Centre (ISC, http://www.isc.ac.uk/), which is regarded as the most comprehensive record of the Earth's seismicity. From it, we extracted a list of hypocentres with Mw from a multitude of agencies reporting data to the ISC. We first summarize the main temporal-spatial features of the Mw provided by global agencies (i.e., providing results for moderate to great earthquakes worldwide) and regional ones (i.e., also providing results or small earthquakes in a specific area). Then we discuss their comparisons, not only by considering Mw but also the surface wave magnitude MS and short-period body wave magnitude mb. By using the Global Centroid Moment Tensor solutions as authoritative global agency, we identify regional agencies that best complement it and show examples of frequency-magnitude distributions in different areas obtained both from the Global Centroid Moment Tensor alone and complemented by Mw from regional agencies. The work done by the regional agencies in terms of Mw is fundamental to improve our understanding of the seismicity of an area and we call for the implementation of procedures to compute Mw in a systematic way in areas currently not well covered in this respect, such as vast parts of continental Asia and Africa. In addition, more studies are needed to clarify the causes of the apparent overestimation of global Mw estimations compared to regional Mw. Such difference is also observed in the comparisons of Mw with MS and mb. The results presented here are obtained from the dataset (Di Giacomo and Harris, 2020, https://doi.org/10.31905/J2W2M64S) stored at the ISC Dataset Repository (http://www.isc.ac.uk/dataset_repository/).
Machine learning methods to assess the effects of a non-linear
damage spectrum taking into account soil moisture on winter wheat
yields in Germany
Authors: Peichl Michael , Thober Stephan , Samaniego Luis , Hansjürgens Bernd , Marx Andreas
Published: January 2021

Abstract. Agricultural production is highly dependent on the weather. The mechanisms of action are complex and interwoven, making it difficult to identify relevant management and adaptation options. The present study uses random forests to investigate such highly non-linear systems for predicting yield anomalies in winter wheat at district level in Germany. In order to take into account sub-seasonality, monthly features are used that explicitly take soil moisture into account in addition to extreme meteorological events. Clustering is used to show spatially different damage potentials, such as a higher susceptibility to drought damage from April to July in eastern Germany compared to the rest of the country. The variable that explains most differences is soil moisture in March, where higher soil moisture has a detrimental effect on crop yields. In general, soil moisture explains more yield variations than the meteorological variables, while the top 25 cm of soil moisture is a better yield predictor than the total soil column. The approach has proven to be suitable to explain historical extreme yield anomalies for years with exceptionally high losses (2003, 2018) and gains (2014) and the spatial distribution of these anomalies. The highest test R-square is about 0.70. Furthermore, the sensitivity of yield variations to soil moisture and extreme meteorological conditions, as shown by the visualisation of average marginal effects, contributes to the promotion of targeted decision support systems.
Anasporidesmiella gen. nov. for an atypical Sporidesmiella species and for A. manifesta sp. nov.
Authors: Zhang Kai , Guo Weihua , Heredia Gabriela , Delgado-Zúñiga José P. , Ma Jian , Castañeda-Ruiz Rafael F.
Published: January 2021

The authors describe and illustrate new genus, Anasporidesmiella, typified by Sporidesmiella angustobasilaris [≡ A. angustobasilaris, comb. nov.], and a new species, A. manifesta . Anasporidesmiella is characterized by macronematous
mononematous brown conidiophores frequently reduced to monoblastic determinate conidiogenous cells and solitary cylindrical distoseptate brown conidia with truncated or rounded bases. Anasporidesmiella manifesta is distinguished by cylindrical 7–12-distoseptate reddish-brown conidia
with rounded basal cells. Several illustrations of conidiogenous cells and conidia of the Sporidesmiella species complement the discussion of the new genus.
Corynespora sinensis sp. nov. from Jiangxi, China
Authors: Xu Zhao-Huan , Kuang Wei-Gang , Qiu Ling , Zhang Xiu-Guo , Castañeda-Ruíz Rafael F. , Ma Jian
Published: January 2021

A new asexual fungus, Corynespora sinensis, is described and illustrated. It was found on dead branches of unidentified plants in Jiangxi Province, China, and is characterized by its smooth ellipsoid, obclavate, or fusiform 3(–4) distoseptate conidia produced in simple
chains of 2. A synopsis of Corynespora species described since 2010 is provided.
Forskeren som minst mulig voksen
Authors: Helgesen Mai Brit
Published: January 2021

Denne artikkelen tar for seg metodologiske utfordringer knyttet til forskerens deltakelse i produksjon av datamaterialet. Tema her er å undersøke hvordan kunnskap om barn fremstilles ved å avklare hvilke væremåter og posisjoner forskeren inntar som observatør av de sosiale samhandlingene, som finner sted mellom deltakerne i barnehagen. Det empiriske materialet som presenteres i artikkelen er en del av et større materiale, som er samlet inn i en barnehage. Empirien ble samlet inn ved hjelpav deltakende observasjon som metode.
El lugar proyectado y múltiple
Authors: Montes Juan Pablo
Published: January 2021

¿Cómo la arquitectura asume las variables del lugar en tiempos de simultaneidad virtual? ¿Puede el topos proyectado reemplazar al territorio extenso? Desde la filosofía contemporánea del espacio, este trabajo aborda la genealogía del concepto de lugar hasta su entendimiento contemporáneo, y explora sus diferentes expresiones concretas, como la hibridación ideo-material de las aplicaciones virtuales, la economía participativa, o la uberización de la ciudad. El interés de este texto se centra en estas nuevas aproximaciones que reestructuran la realidad al mismo tiempo ideológica y económico-material con que se desenvuelve la sociedad posmoderna. Este artículo busca sentar las bases para la elaboración de un concepto que propone, el de sintopía, capaz de describir y explicar este estos otros cambios de paradigma en el uso del lugar y el espacio urbanoarquitectónico contemporáneo.
Editorial
Authors: Campos Gajardo Alicia
Published: January 2021

Editorial
Entre rezos, festejos y disputas por un santo esqueleto
Authors: Gutiérrez Portillo Ángel Alejandro
Published: January 2021

Este es un estudio religioso que versa sobre la religiosidad popular que se da en torno al culto a San Pascual Bailón en Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México. La particularidad de este santo radica en que su representación es un esqueleto de madera ataviado con una túnica franciscana que permanece en un carretón-ataúd, el cual es venerado por miles de personas en diversas latitudes del Estado. En ese sentido, el objetivo del trabajo es describir y analizar cómo a partir de las transformaciones sociorreligiosas contemporáneas en Chiapas, se han modificado diversas prácticas de la Mayordomía y Priostería de Tuxtla que repercuten en el culto a San Pascual Bailón. Para ello, en la investigación se presentan los pormenores del origen del culto a San Pascualito hasta nuestros días. Asimismo, se expone la etnografía de la fiesta patronal, donde se distingue, la forma en que el pueblo vive la devoción a San Pascualito y la manera en la que se conjugan diversas expresiones religiosas.
Cross-country clustering of labor and education markets in the system of strategic economic
Authors: Shaulska Larysa , Doronina Olha , Naumova Maryna , Honcharuk Nataliia , Bondarevska Kseniia , Tomchuk Olesia
Published: January 2021

The study focuses on the clustering of European countries in terms of labor market and education indicators, as well as the justification of strategic directions for ensuring GDP growth. It is proved that the management of the national economy in modern conditions acquires supranational features and can be effective, provided that the same approaches to the strategic management of facilities that have the same characteristics (belonging to the same cluster) are used. A comparative analysis of the development trends of labor markets of the EU and Ukraine is carried out. Using the K-means method, three cross-country clusters were formed according to indicators of the labor market and education. The applied use of the formed clusters of European countries according to indicators of the labor market and education is that for each cross-country cluster strategic directions of economic development can be justified by regulating the situation on the labor market and in the field of education. On the example of Slovakia, Austria, Greece and Ukraine, models that describe the impact on GGP of labor market and education indicators for countries are constructed. As a result of the study, strategic directions for each cluster are substantiated, which should ensure economic growth.
Identification and prioritization of the challenges of using cryptocurrencies in international transactions
Authors: Tavasoli Amirhamzeh
Published: January 2021

Cryptocurrencies have attracted the attention of many investors, entrepreneurs, regulators and the public today. By popular definition, the cryptocurrency is an asset in a blockchain that can be transferred between actors on the scene of exchange and hence used as a payment instrument. Completely decentralized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have attracted public interest and are far more successful than previous e-money. Despite the importance of these currencies, in third world countries like Iran country, people don't interest in using these types of currencies to their trading. So, in this study, we find and rank the challenges of using cryptocurrencies in international trading. To this end, the challenges of using cryptocurrencies were identified by reviewing the literature. Then, the identified factors were prioritized using the AHP technique. In general, four criteria and twenty-eight criteria were compared. The results show that technical factors are the most important criteria in comparison with the purpose;  the risk-taking is the most important person reason; the negative attitude to cryptocurrencies in society is the most important social reason; the lack of sufficient funds to develop the use of cryptocurrencies, and the failure to properly find the parties to the transaction is the most important technical reason which can affect cryptocurrencies adoption in international trading.
Improvement of Tax Regulation Arrangements for the Russian Stock Market
Authors: Koren Andrei V , Danilovskikh Tatyana E , Pustovarov Artem A.
Published: January 2021

The paper discusses various options for taxation of transactions with securities issued by Russian companies. The study aims to solve the problem of low investor activity in the Russian stock market by transforming the current tax legislation. An assessment of the factors restraining the development of the primary public offerings market is given. The problems of the existing methodology for the formation of the tax base when calculating income tax and personal income tax on transactions with exchange-traded financial assets are analysed. A methodology for providing tax benefits and tax incentives for investors is proposed. An assessment of the effectiveness of tax benefits using an individual investment account is given. A comparative analysis of the amount of taxes paid is carried out depending on the status of an investor and the type of securities. A detailed description of the methods for calculating taxes on stocks, bonds and futures is given. The results of the study consist in substantiating theoretical and practical provisions that allow us to develop an effective mechanism for taxing financial transactions in the securities market. The need is theoretically substantiated and the significance of state support in the stock market for citizens of the Russian Federation is determined. Mechanisms are proposed for cancelling separate accounting for several types of tax bases. The main problems are found and ways to improve the mechanism of taxation of transactions made on the Russian stock market are developed.
Economic Effect of Language Ability on Income and Employment: The Evidence from China
Authors: Wang Lucong , Dai Jingchao
Published: January 2021

As a tool of communication and a carrier of information, language learning needs to pay the price and cost, language ability is also a form of human capital, which has an impact on income and employment. In order to found the economics effects of language ability, we studied relationship between language ability and income using China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data from 2010 to 2016. We found that improvement of both Mandarin proficiency and English proficiency can significantly promote the total income and wage income. Considering the missing variables in the model and the endogeneity problem of reverse causality, instrumental variables were used to deal with the endogeneity problem, and the income effect of language ability still existed. From the perspective of the influence mechanism, social capital is an important channel through which language ability affects the total income of employees.
Produtividade e componentes de rendimento de híbridos de milho em função da distribuição espacial na linha de semeadura
Authors: Castanho Felipe , El Kadri Ceccatto Smaylla , Lopes dos Santos Esmael
Published: January 2021

Spatial uniformity in the distance between plants in the sowing line and at the time of emergence is essential to achieve high productive ceilings in the corn crop. The objective was to evaluate the productivity of two corn hybrids as a function of the spatial distribution in the sowing line. The experiment was carried out in the municipality of Cambé-PR in the second corn harvest in 2016. The hybrids of Formula TL (Syngenta) and 2A401 Pw (Dow) were evaluated. The experimental design used was in randomized blocks with four replications. The experimental unit consisted of four lines of six meters in length and 0.70 m of line spacing. Five treatments (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 grouped plants) were performed, characterized by the spatial distribution in the sowing line.The data were subjected to analysis of variance by the F test, using the SISVAR software and the comparison of means was performed by the Tukey test. There is genetic variability for grain yield in terms of plant distribution in the sowing line. In the broken plants component, the two hybrids studied presented similar percentages, and more pronounced differences in the variable bedded plants. The Formula hybrid was able to compensate for the spaces left by the unevenness in the seeding line.
Algal Terpenoids: A Potential Source of Antioxidants for Cancer Therapy
Authors: Tamanna Ferdous Umme , Norhana Balia Yusof Zetty
Published: January 2021

In cancer treatment, increase in drug resistance and decrease in new chemotherapeutic drugs have become a pressing problem. Hence, searching for novel anticancer agents with less toxicity and high sensitivity is expanding gradually. Many preclinical and clinical studies indicate that natural antioxidants can help combating carcinogenicity and reduce the adverse effects on cancer therapy, when used alone or as adjuvant in chemotherapy. Consequently, marine algae pave the way for exploring more potential antioxidant compounds which have pharmaceutical importance. Algal terpenoids comprise a large group of bioactive compounds that have excellent antioxidative property and can be used as source of antioxidant in cancer therapy. This chapter summarizes the potential role of terpenoids from algal sources in inhibiting cancer cells, blocking cell cycle, hindering angiogenesis and metastasis as well as in inducing apoptosis.
Occupational Health Issue in a 2G Bioethanol Production Plant
Authors: Pietrangeli Biancamaria , Lauri Roberto
Published: January 2021

The interest of scientists and health authorities in occupational risk related to biofuels production has recently increased due to the development of agro-industrial waste recycling processes in the framework of the European circular economy strategy and energy production from renewable sources. A common biofuel is the bioethanol, which is a leading candidate to substitute the gasoline as a transport fuel and it can be produced via biomass fermentation process. In biofuels production plants, some work activities in processing of biomass, are sources of airborne dust and the employers should demonstrate that adequate control measures have been implemented in order to prevent workers exposure. In the chapter, the production process of a 2G bioethanol plant has been analyzed in order to specify the process phases, which could generate occupational health issue related to airborne dust, and to provide technical recommendations.
Innate Immunity Modulation during Zika Virus Infection on Pregnancy: What We Still Need to Know for Medical Sciences Breakthrough
Authors: Azamor Tamiris , Torrentes-Carvalho Amanda , Vasconcelos Zilton , Paula Dinis Ano Bom Ana , Gil Melgaço Juliana
Published: January 2021

Zika virus (ZIKV), an arthropod-borne flavivirus, was classified as reemerging infectious disease and included as neglected tropical disease. During the recent ZIKV outbreak in South America, it has been demonstrated that ZIKV infection during pregnancy is strongly associated with fetal loss, malformations and neurological disorders in newborns. Despite the first line of host immune defense is related to innate immunity activation, the immunological homeostasis is essential for pregnancy success. Although the dynamic changes in maternal-fetal immunity is not completely understood and poorly investigated, the knowledge of immune responses during gestation is very important for infectious disease prevention and control, as ZIKV. Here, we put together more and new information about the innate immunity during gestation, highlighting three parts probably involved with clinical outcome and/or not well explored in literature: 1) type III interferon; 2) innate regulatory cells; and 3) cell death pathways modulation. Additionally, we will be focused on discussing how the dynamic responses of innate immune system during pregnancy and its effects in newborns, could be modulated by ZIKV, as well as how efforts on development of new/old drugs and vaccines could be effective for ZIKV prevention and control to provide a successful pregnancy.
What Is the Future of the Lower Mekong Basin Struggling against Human Activities? A Review
Authors: Le Meur Mathieu , Le Phu Vo , Gratiot Nicolas
Published: January 2021

The Mekong River (MR) is recognized the 12th biggest rivers in the world. The Mekong watershed is the biggest one in Southeast Asia (795,000 km2), is densely populated (70 million people), is considered as the most productive one in Southeast Asia and is economically essential to the region. However, nowadays, the Lower Mekong River (LMR) and its delta are facing several emerging and critical anthropogenic stressors (dams construction, climate change, water poor quality, delta sinking). This review attempts to: (i) present the Mekong regional characteristics (geography, topological settings, climatic conditions, hydrology, demographic features and the anthropogenic activities), (ii) present the different factors that endanger the LMR, including the dam’s impacts, the climate change, the delta subsidence, and the degradation of the water quality, (iii) make comparison with different big rivers around the world and (iv) promote future decisions in order to minimize the negative impacts and seek for a trajectory that assures well-being and sustainability. International consultation and cooperation leading to sustainable management is now of a pivotal importance to try to avoid the deterioration of the LMR and its delta.
Adjustment of the PID Gains Vector Due to Parametric Variations in the Plant Model in Terms of Internal Product
Authors: Pinheiro de Moura José , Viana da Fonseca Neto João
Published: January 2021

The tuning of the gains of a controller with proportional-integral-derivative (PID) actions has been prevalent in the industry. The adjustment of these gains in PID controllers is often determined by classical methods, such as Ziegler-Nichols, and trial and error. However, these methods fail to deliver satisfactory performance and often do not meet specific project demands because of the inherent complexity of industrial processes, such as plant parameter variations. To solve the tuning problem in highly complex industrial processes, a controller adjustment method based on the internal product of PID terms is proposed, and a propagation matrix (PM) is generated by the numerator coefficients of the plant transfer function (TF). In the proposed method, each term of the PID controller is influenced by each of the numerator and the denominator coefficients. Mathematical models of practical plants, such as unloading and resumption of bulk solids by car dumpers and bucket wheel resumption, were employed to evaluate the proposed method. The obtained results demonstrated an assertive improvement in the adjustment gains from PID actions, thereby validating it as a promising alternative to conventional methods.
Tropheryma whippleiEndocarditis
Authors: García-Álvarez Lara , Antonio Oteo José
Published: January 2021

Tropheryma whipplei mainly known as the causative agent of classical Whipple’s disease, also produces acute, sub-acute and chronic localized forms of infection such as endocarditis. The development of molecular tools has allowed increasing the number of cases of endocarditis due to blood culture use to be negative in T. whipplei endocarditis and most of the cases are confirmed post-surgery when molecular analyses of heart valves are performed. Although, T. whipplei endocarditis is an uncommon condition with an atypical presentation it must be considered in the diagnosis of blood culture negative endocarditis and in patients with heart failure in which valve affectation is present. Other clinical features such as long lasting arthralgia can be present in a high percentage of the patients. It is important to know that few cases are diagnosed in the context of the classical Whipple’s disease. The prognosis is very good when an appropriate surgical management and antimicrobial-specific treatment is given. This chapter describes the epidemiological, clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatments for T. whipplei endocarditis.
Dioxin and Furan Emissions from Gasification
Authors: Masoumeh Safavi Seyedeh , Richter Christiaan , Unnthorsson Runar
Published: January 2021

PCDD/Fs are a 75-member family of toxic chemicals that include congeners (members) that have serious health effects including congeners that are classified group 1 carcinogens, endocrine disruptors and weakening or damage to the immune system. Municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerations had historically been implicated as the major source of PCDD/Fs distributed by air. As a result of awareness and legislation most European MSW incinerators were either shut down or equipped with modern air pollution control systems necessary to achieve MSW incineration with PCDD/F emissions within regulatory limits set by national and international laws (typically <0.1 ng TEQ/Nm3). There is a common belief that gasification of waste and/or biomass, unlike incineration, inherently and always achieve emission below regulatory and detectable limits. However, a review of the literature suggests that the belief that the substitution of incineration with gasification would always, or necessarily, reduce PCDD/Fs emissions to acceptable levels is overly simplistic. This chapter discusses the mechanisms of PCDD/Fs formation, the operational measures and parameter ranges that can be controlled during gasification to minimize PCDD/Fs formation, and methods for post-formation PCDD/F removal are reviewed. The purpose of this chapter is to assist researchers and practitioners in formulating waste management policies and strategies, and in conducting relevant research and environmental impact studies.
Edward Bellamy's Religious Radicalism
Authors: Saltmarsh John A. ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

This essay offers a critical reinterpretation of Edward Bellamy's Utopian novel. Looking Backward, that focuses on the moral destructiveness of industrial capitalism, Bellamy's attempt to restore Christian values and republican traditions led him to confront his own religious upbringing revolting against harsh Calvinism as well as the feminization of Protestantism. These theological dilemmas were compounded by both his belief that the Church was corrupted by the dictates of the capitalists and his need to find a spiritual relation between the individual and the infinite outside the Church. He reached a resolution to his spiritual consternation through his fiction, most forcefully in Looking Backward, which approximated a new "Bible" for industrial America.
Is There a Christian Political Economy?
Authors: Patton Judd W. ,   Institute for Interdisciplinary Research
Published: January 2021

Normative economic analysis has generally been accepted as a bona fide research area within the economics profession, although few have chosen to pursue it. Some scholars have taken up the challenge and developed their own vision of "Christian economies" by applying Judeo-Christian ethics to economic problems. A few economists have engaged in extraordinary science positing a revelational body of economic thought that is something more than a patchwork of ethical and positive theory, and beyond the positive-normative dichotomy. Their episteme reveals a comprehensive, unified body of economic and moral principles that are inextricably interrelated and encompass all human action. This latter worldview-the subject of this essay-proposes a distinct set of conclusions on economic policy and a role for government that is uniquely Christian.
Seasonal dacha settlement pattern as indicator of spatial development contrasts
Authors: Makhrova A.G.
Published: January 2021

The paper reveals the degree of spatial contrasts in Central Russia operating a number of seasonal population indicators at municipal level along cross-section lines. The first cross section runs from St. Petersburg along the corridor passing Leningrad, Novgorod, Tver, Moscow oblasts, Moscow city, and further down to southern border of Tula oblast. The second one stretches from the southern border of Kaluga oblast via Moscow city and Yaroslavl oblasts to the northeastern periphery of Kostroma oblast. Cross-sections based on agricultural census data provided background for revealing trends in seasonal settlement pattern. First pole indicated comprises suburbs within metropolitan areas, especially Moscow and St. Petersburg, with a growing or stable network of summer settlements, the other pole covers the environs of local towns and smaller urban settlements with shrinking settlement network. In the surroundings of both capitals, regional centers and within the cities the share of unused suburban housing tends to be low, while on periphery number of plots not in use is much more significant. The infrastructure of the settlements also has a center-periphery gradient: supply of infrastructures is higher in better-located settlements within cities and their surroundings and much worse at the regional periphery. Trends in development of dachas settlements pattern generally indicate contrasts in the spatial development at national level, when the demand for suburban housing is concentrated in and around major cities because of continued population concentration, while the network of summer settlements on the periphery is shrinking due to depopulation
Territorial distribution of investments in Russian cities in 2015-2018
Authors: Zemlianskii D. Yu. , Chuzhenkova V.A.
Published: January 2021

This article is devoted to analysis of the territorial investment distribution in Russian Federation cities in depending on population and economics-geographical factors. The main aim is gives raised researchers influence to the regional heterogeneity of investments distribution in cities and investment aspects of big cities development. Herewith, the shortage of works, devoted to investment situation in cities with population less 100 thousand, is remained. The work conclusions are based on the analysis of the investment distributions to the main capital for 1066 Russian Federation cities over the period from 2015 to 2018 years. Based on this analysis, conclusions are made about hard investment territorial distribution dependence from the regional situation. The cities influence to the investment situation firstly manifests in the Moscow and the St. Petersburg agglomerations. But even other cities over a million people mostly depends on its regional economic. It was found, that investment distribution dependence from the city’s population has a nonlinear character. The distortions appear because of small oil-gas cities and the large and largest cities underinvestments. The polarization is especially strong among the small towns: 2% of all the settlement with population less than 50% concentrates almost quarter of investments for this cities group. It was found, that the investment activity for most of the cities doesn’t bring comparable results for cities economics and budget.
Social-economic aspects of German universities innovation activities
Authors: Romanova E.V. , Nikiforova N.Y.
Published: January 2021

Under conditions of growing competitive pressure, a role of universities in the development of innovations at both national and regional levels increases. At the same time, there is a shift from the dominant cooperative ties between the state and the enterprises in an industrial society to the ties between the state and enterprises and universities in the knowledge society. This work performed characterization of Germany by the level of innovative development. 4 types of Regional Innovation Systems were identified: innovation core, strong business- innovators, clusters with high level of governmental support, innovation periphery. Further, the territory was investigated for the formation of the research and educational function of universities and 5 types of regions with different types of universities (leading, high, medium, underdeveloped and backward) were identified. An analysis of the laws governing university participation in innovation processes has shown that their innovation activity is formed under the influence of both the regional innovation environment and institutional factors. In the western part of the country, the nature of research activity of universities is driven mainly by their intensity of cooperation with businesses while in the eastern part it is determined by the level of state support for R & D.
Multilevel Planarity
Authors: Barth Lukas , Brückner Guido , Jungeblut Paul , Radermacher Marcel
Published: January 2021

In this paper, we introduce and study multilevel planarity, a generalization of upward planarity and level planarity.
Let $G = (V, E)$ be a directed graph and let $\ell: V \to \mathcal P(\mathbb Z)$ be a function that assigns a finite set of integers to each vertex.
A multilevel-planar drawing of $G$ is a planar drawing of $G$ such that for each vertex $v\in V$ its $y$-coordinate $y(v)$ is in $\ell(v)$, and each edge is drawn as a strictly $y$-monotone curve.

We present linear-time algorithms for testing multilevel planarity of embedded graphs with a single source and of oriented cycles.
Complementing these algorithmic results, we show that multilevel-planarity testing is $\textsf{NP}$-complete even in very restricted cases.
Image evaluation performance of diagnostic radiographers: benchmarking new graduates
Authors:   , Akimoto Tatsuhito
Published: January 2021

Aim: Preliminary clinical evaluation (PCE) is a new clinical role of diagnostic radiographers in the United Kingdom (UK). Radiographers participating in PCE are now expected, not only to view radiographs and make reliable clinical decisions, but also to express the clinical findings in unambiguous written forms. The Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR) (2013) expects that newly qualified radiographers have the underpinning education and training to take part in PCE. However, the feasibility of PCE by radiographers, especially newly qualified radiographers, has not been empirically challenged. This research therefore set out to determine whether final year diagnostic radiography students at the point of graduation and qualification were capable of providing reliable PCE. Method: An X-ray image evaluation test was conducted to assess PCE performance of the final year undergraduate diagnostic radiography students. An image bank, consisting of 30 appendicular radiographs, was developed for the test. A total of 87 students from nine universities in England and Wales took the test. The students provided their clinical decisions (normal or abnormal) and comments (PCE). Accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were calculated based on their decisions. A PCE taxonomy was developed to classify comments and identify types and frequencies of PCE errors. The comments were also systematically evaluated with a scoring system, which was developed to assess three essential components of skeletal trauma reports: type, location and displacement/dislocation of fractures. Comments were further analysed by the results of the scoring. Results: The results demonstrated that mean sensitivity and specificity of the student group were 79.62 % (95% CI: 77 – 82%) and 67.13% (95% CI: 64 – 71%) respectively. Accuracy was 73.37% (95% CI: 72 – 75%). PCE error classification found that the students made more false positives than false negatives. A further analysis of the comments using the scoring system indicated that, although many commented on types and locations of abnormalities, very few described displacement/dislocations of fractures. Conclusion: Low specificity with higher rate of false positive decisions suggests that education providers should collaborate in partnership with clinical placement sites to devote greater focus on evaluation of normal radiographs. A certain proportion of newly qualified radiographers may benefit from post qualification learning to provide more reliable PCE. Preceptorship, which is a transitional phase for newly qualified radiographers to become independent practitioners, could incorporate PCE training as one of its key educational components. The error classification system and scoring model are ideally suited for regular audits at any stage of image evaluation learning and practicing.
Corona, Krise und Diskurs. Einige ethische Implikationen der deutschen Debatte zur Covid-Pandemie
Authors: Hess-Lüttich Ernest W.B.
Published: January 2021

The following article is dedicated to reporting on the current corona pandemic out of interest in discourse ethics and embeds it in the larger context of crisis communication. Following on from the currently known biological-epidemiological facts, it recalls the scientific, political, and moral responsibility of the actors in this exceptional global situation, the economic and ecological causes and consequences, and the consequences that would have to be drawn for crisis management in the event of multiple disasters.
Bifurcation Disease: The Role of Proximal Optimisation Technique
Authors: Shah Bhupesh , Sardava Nishit , Chaturvedi Nikita
Published: January 2021

Bifurcation lesions are both complex and challenging coronary lesion subsets in terms of lower procedural success and increased rates of long-term adverse cardiac events. Here described is a challenging case of a bifurcation lesion in a 60-year-old diabetic female with multi-vessel coronary artery disease. She presented with chest pain associated with perspiration, chest discomfort and mild breathlessness. In view of the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome, all diseased vessels were stented and kissing balloon and Proximal Optimisation Techniques (POT) were performed yielding excellent results. This case emphasises the importance of POT, kissing balloon, and re-POT techniques in bifurcation intervention procedures that have been proven to facilitate success in such procedures. Moreover, interventional cardiologists should be familiar with all bifurcation techniques.
Global analysis of RNA–protein interactions in TNF‐α induced alternative splicing in metabolic disorders
Authors: Louis Jiss Maria , Agarwal Arjun , Aduri Raviprasad , Talukdar Indrani
Published: January 2021

In this report, using the database of RNA‐binding protein specificities (RBPDB) and our previously published RNA‐seq data, we analyzed the interactions between RNA and RNA‐binding proteins to decipher the role of alternative splicing in metabolic disorders induced by TNF‐α. We identified 13 395 unique RNA–RBP interactions, including 385 unique RNA motifs and 35 RBPs, some of which (including MBNL‐1 and 3, ZFP36, ZRANB2, and SNRPA) are transcriptionally regulated by TNF‐α. In addition to some previously reported RBPs, such as RBMX and HuR/ELAVL1, we found a few novel RBPs, such as ZRANB2 and SNRPA, to be involved in the regulation of metabolic syndrome‐associated genes that contain an enrichment of tetrameric RNA sequences (AUUU). Taken together, this study paves the way for novel RNA–protein interaction‐based therapeutics for treating metabolic syndromes.
Agricultural exports and retaliatory trade actions: An empirical assessment of the 2018/2019 trade conflict
Authors: Grant Jason H. , Arita Shawn , Emlinger Charlotte , Johansson Robert , Xie Chaoping
Published: January 2021

We estimate the ex‐post agricultural trade impacts of retaliatory measures imposed by foreign countries in response to United States' Section 232 and 301 tariffs using a theoretically consistent, monthly, product line gravity equation. Retaliation led to significant US agricultural export losses of $13.5 to $18.7 billion on an annualized basis. Considerable heterogeneity exists in the average treatment effect of retaliation. First, retaliatory trade actions presented a strong within‐year seasonal impact. Nearly 70% of aggregate trade losses occurred during the US's peak export marketing season. Second, U.S. trade losses were particularly pronounced on homogeneous bulk commodities, whereas product differentiation dampened the impact of retaliation. Third, with few exceptions, the counterfactually estimated direct trade losses line up well with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) trade damage estimates for trade aid programs distributed to farmers impacted by the trade dispute. Finally, we find little evidence that U.S. exports were able to be reoriented to alternative, nonretaliating markets—an indication of high bilateral trade frictions and the destructive consequences of retaliatory trade actions.