bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Case for Reform of the Reserve Bank of Australia Policy and Communication Strategy
Authors: Preston Bruce
Published: February 2020

At any time, the public should be able to evaluate whether the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) interest rate decisions are consistent with achieving statutory mandates. The RBA's current policy and communication strategy makes this difficult. The mandates, as interpreted by the RBA, fail to provide a clearly identifiable performance benchmark. And the supporting communication strategy falls short of a commitment to explain the economic basis of why and how interest rate decisions achieve mandated objectives. Examples of both concerns are given from various public documents. Basic reforms would improve the accountability and effectiveness of monetary policy.
Labour and the Culture Wars of Modern Politics
Authors: Lawrence Jon
Published: February 2020

Anyone who attempts to understand and reverse the major defeat suffered by Labour in the December 2019 general election needs first to appreciate why comparisons with the defeats of the 1980s are so unhelpful. In 1983 Labour was all but wiped out across southern England, but held on comfortably across the ‘red wall’. By contrast, in 2019 Labour did well in cities and university towns across the south, and appears to have solved its historic problem with the southern, educated middle class. However, this has been at the expense of alienating working class voters across the country, not just in its former industrial heartlands. But this is not inevitable. A reanalysis of testimony from hundreds of interviews with working people across England from the 1940s onwards allows insights into attitudes and values that are often obscured by survey techniques. Crucially, it points to a broad‐based vernacular liberalism at odds with the culture wars model of a terminal crisis for social democracy.
Tracing the Provenance of Urbanist Ideals: A Critical Analysis of The Quito Papers
Authors: Lawton Philip
Published: February 2020

In this essay, I undertake a critical analysis of the UN‐Habitat publication, The Quito Papers. I begin by unpacking the representation within The Quito Papers of the Charter of Athens of 1941 as an outcome of CIAM IV in 1933. Here, the ways in which the authors centralize the Charter of Athens within their critique of contemporary urbanization is critically analysed. Ultimately, I argue that what emerges is a simplification of the complex intertwining of urbanization and urbanist ideals. Based on this, I situate what is presented in The Quito Papers as alternative imaginaries—centred largely on European ideals of urbanism—within the context of urban change since the 1970s. This includes a discussion of the manner in which these ideals are promoted within urbanist discourse, including the role of the authors themselves in their engagement with UN‐Habitat. Finally, I situate some of the arguments contained in The Quito Papers within current debates in urban theory. I contend that the relationship between processes of urbanization and the ideals of modernist urbanism are more genealogical than direct. Furthermore, I argue that it is through this relationship that broader power dynamics and their resultant inequalities can be further examined and challenged.
Elective Egg Freezing for Non‐Medical Reasons
Authors: Anderson RA , Davies MC , Lavery SA ,   the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Published: February 2020

Plain language summary

Although a woman’s fertility declines markedly in her late‐30s and early‐40s, gradually more and more women start a family at this stage of their lives, with the average age of childbirth progressively increasing. More women are storing their eggs (oocytes) to give them the potential opportunity to have a baby in the future. Nonetheless, the number of egg freezing cycles accounts for less than 2% of IVF cycles, and the number of cycles using stored eggs is even lower. The technology for freezing eggs changed dramatically about a decade ago with the development of a technique of rapid freezing called vitrification, which gives success rates almost as good as using fresh eggs. The growing use of this technique, and the publicity surrounding how this technique may have been promoted, has led to this paper.

It is essential that women are very clearly informed about the likely success rates of egg freezing, particularly as it is entirely provided by the private sector, with the associated concerns of financial costs and inappropriate or inaccurate marketing. Its success is strongly dependent on the age of the woman at the time of freezing her eggs, with much higher success rates in those aged 35 years and under. Current legislation only allows women to store eggs for 10 years, which conflicts with the better success rates when women do so at a younger age. The reasons behind the increase in egg freezing are complex, but the most common reason given by women storing eggs is that they do not have a partner and are concerned that by the time they do find themselves in a relationship within which they wish to start a family, they may not be able to.

We conclude that elective egg freezing provides women with an opportunity to take action about the drop in their fertility, but at present most women who are doing this are already in their later 30s when the success rates are limited. We strongly support the need for improved and continuing education of both women and men regarding the decline in female fertility with age.
A method to generate multilocus barcodes of pinned insect specimens using MiSeq
Authors: Akankunda Trace , To Hien , Rodriguez Lopez Carlos , Leijs Remko , Hogendoorn Katja
Published: February 2020

For molecular insect identification, amplicon sequencing methods are recommended because they offer a cost‐effective approach for targeting small sets of informative genes from multiple samples. In this context, high‐throughput multilocus amplicon sequencing has been achieved using the MiSeq Illumina sequencing platform. However, this approach generates short gene fragments of <500 bp, which then have to be overlapped using bioinformatics to achieve longer sequence lengths. This increases the risk of generating chimeric sequences or leads to the formation of incomplete loci. Here, we propose a modified nested amplicon sequencing method for targeting multiple loci from pinned insect specimens using the MiSeq Illumina platform. The modification exists in using a three‐step nested PCR approach targeting near full‐length loci in the initial PCR and subsequently amplifying short fragments of between 300 and 350 bp for high‐throughput sequencing using Illumina chemistry. Using this method, we generated 407 sequences of three loci from 86% of all the specimens sequenced. Out of 103 pinned bee specimens of replicated species, 71% passed the 95% sequence similarity threshold between species replicates. This method worked best for pinned specimens aged between 0 and 5 years, with a limit of 10 years for pinned and 14 years for ethanol‐preserved specimens. Hence, our method overcomes some of the challenges of amplicon sequencing using short read next generation sequencing and improves the possibility of creating high‐quality multilocus barcodes from insect collections.
Scat on the doorstep: Refuge choice in a group‐living lizard is influenced by the presence of scat piles
Authors: Thompson Shelley A. , Pearson Sarah K. , While Geoffrey M. , Chapple David G. , Gardner Michael G.
Published: February 2020

Group living often requires strong levels of communication between individuals. This communication is usually studied in the context of visual or auditory communication. However, chemical communication is the most widely used form of communication. We examined the role of chemical communication in mediating social decisions in a group‐living lizard, Egernia stokesii. Specifically, we examined the extent to which scat‐piling, a behaviour by which individuals deposit scat in a communal area, affected the refuge choice of individual E. stokesii. To achieve this, we examined individual refuge choice in response to scat piles or single scats and against two types of scat stimuli, one being their own scat and the other being scat belonging to an unrelated and unfamiliar conspecific. We show that lizards behave differently when presented with a scat pile compared with a single scat, and whether the scat stimulus was their own or sourced from an unfamiliar conspecific. When scats were in piles, individuals spent more time inspecting, more time in, and more often chose the treatment refuge as their final refuge choice, at a trial’s end, when the treatment was their own scat compared with when the treatment was the refuge with the unfamiliar scat. In contrast, for individual scat treatments, individuals spent more time inspecting and more often ended up in the treatment refuge with an unfamiliar scat compared with when the treatment was their own scat. These results suggest that individuals are responding to information contained within multiple components of the scats – both their volume and their source. These results have implications for understanding how social aggregations are maintained within squamates, where sociality has evolved independently from other vertebrate lineages.
Extinction threat to neglected Plinia edulis exacerbated by climate change, yet likely mitigated by conservation through sustainable use
Authors: Lima Valdeir Pereira , Marchioro Cesar Augusto , Joner Fernando , ter Steege Hans , Siddique Ilyas
Published: February 2020

Forecasting the impacts of climate change on species distribution has several implications for conservation. Plinia edulis is a rare and threatened tree species from Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest. In this study, we assessed the impact of global climate change on the distribution of P. edulis. Additionally, we evaluated the efficacy of the Brazilian protected network to conserve this species. Ecological niche models were built using the maximum entropy method based on occurrence records and environmental predictors. Models predicted a reduction of climatically suitable areas for P. edulis in all evaluated scenarios in the coming years. Furthermore, we observed that Brazilian protected areas (PAs) are ineffective to conserve this species. Given the fact that P. edulis is a promising tree species rarely found within Brazilian PAs and threatened by global climate change, we strongly recommend the cultivation of this multipurpose species in agroforestry systems, landscaping and homegardens in order to promote its conservation through sustainable use.
Accuracy of colposcopy‐directed biopsy vs dynamic spectral imaging directed biopsy in correctly identifying the grade of cervical dysplasia in women undergoing conization: A methodological study
Authors: Booth Berit Bargum , Petersen Lone Kjeld , Blaakaer Jan , Johansen Tonje , Mertz Henrik , Dahl Katja , Bor Pinar
Published: February 2020

Introduction

Dynamic spectral imaging (DSI) colposcopy has previously been found to improve sensitivity of CIN2+ detection. The aim of this study was to compare the histological diagnosis of colposcopic‐directed biopsies (CDB) with that of DSI‐directed biopsies in women undergoing conization, using the histological diagnosis of the conization specimen as gold standard.

Material and methods

Women referred for colposcopy were included in a prospective cohort study at Randers Regional Hospital, Denmark, from January 2016 to February 2019. All women had four cervical punch biopsies taken. The first biopsy was taken from the area that appeared most abnormal by conventional colposcopy (ie, CDB) and the second biopsy from the area that appeared most abnormal using the DSI map. An additional two biopsies were taken either from other visible lesions or as random biopsies. Biopsies were analyzed separately. If any biopsies revealed cervical dysplasia of such a degree that excisional treatment was recommended, the patient was referred for conization. Subsequently, we compared the histological diagnosis of CDB and DSI‐directed biopsies with that of the cone biopsy.

Results

A total of 573 women were enrolled, 170 of which underwent conization. In women with an adequate colposcopy and representative biopsies (n = 124) there was an overall agreement rate between the worst biopsy diagnosis (of any four) and the conization diagnosis in 95.2% (95% CI 89.8‐98.2) of women. CDB diagnosis agreed with the cone diagnosis in 80.6% (95% CI 72.6‐87.2) of women. DSI‐directed biopsy agreed with the cone diagnosis in 83.9% (95% CI 76.2‐89.9) of women. The difference in detection rate between the CDB and the DSI‐directed biopsy was, however, not significant (P = .54). Taking four biopsies increases the detection rate of cervical dysplasia to 95.2%, which was a significant increase from both CDB alone (P = .0008) and DSI‐directed biopsy alone (P = .0053).

Conclusions

We found no significant difference in the ability to identify the cervical dysplasia grade between CDB and DSI‐directed biopsies. A higher detection rate of cervical dysplasia was achieved with four biopsies than with one CDB biopsy or one DSI‐directed biopsy.
Antibiotics promote abdominal fat accumulation in broilers
Authors: Li Dongfeng , Zhang Kun , Pan Zaixu , Yu Minli , Lu Yinglin , Wang Guiying , Wu Junfeng , Zhang Jin , Zhang Kangning , Du Wenxing
Published: February 2020

Antibiotics stimulate the growth of animals but result in drug residues and bacterial resistance. In this study, the negative effect of antibiotics on abdominal fat deposition was evaluated in broilers. The results showed that adding both chlortetracycline (50 g/1,000 kg) and tylosin (50 g/1,000 kg) significantly increased abdominal fat weight, abdominal fat percentage (p < .05), and triglyceride and cholesterol levels (p < .05) in blood. Also, both products synchronously stimulated intestinal absorption and synthesis of liver fat. The expression levels of the peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ (PPARγ), diacylgycerol acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and fatty acid‐binding protein (FABP4) genes in abdominal fat tissue significantly increased (p < .05 or 0.01) when antibiotics were added to the feed. However, no significant difference was found in expression of the fatty acid synthesis (FAS) or acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC) genes. Further in vitro study results revealed that antibiotics had no effect on fat content or the related gene expression levels in preadipocytes. In summary, the antibiotics induced fat deposition in adipose tissues by activating extracellular absorption of fatty acids from intestinal absorption and synthesis of liver fat. However, it shows no direct regulation by adipose tissue.
Temporal and environmental correlates of carbon stocks in a regenerating tropical forest
Authors: Capellesso Elivane Salete , Cequinel Anamaria , Marques Renato , Marques Marcia Cristina Mendes
Published: February 2020

Questions

Carbon dynamics in tropical forests is influenced by a variety of biotic and abiotic factors that act over temporal and spatial scales. At the local scale, carbon stock and dynamics can be determined by the environment and ecosystem diversity. Also, during forest regeneration, which is a temporal process, it is expected that those factors that influence carbon also change over time. Here we examine how carbon stock and dynamics are influenced by forest age, environment and functional diversity during forest regeneration. Using the relative effects of the different drivers of carbon dynamics, we attempt to discern the mechanisms (mass effect or niche complementarity) that explain those processes.

Location

We carried out this study in Atlantic Forest of different ages during natural regeneration in southern Brazil.

Methods

We measured environmental characteristics (soil physical and chemical attributes and canopy openness), estimated functional diversity and above‐ground carbon and its dynamics over time. We examined univariate and multivariate predictors of carbon stock and dynamics using structural equation models.

Results

We found that age had the strongest influence on carbon stock, while environmental characteristics, functional and taxonomic diversities were much less important or unimportant. Our results suggest that the influence of time on tropical forest carbon dynamics overlaps and outweighs the effects due to environmental limits and mechanisms mediated by diversity (mass effects, niche complementarity).

Conclusions

Natural regeneration can be an effective strategy for restoring carbon sequestration and methods that use manipulation of regenerating forests with the hope of improving the process are unlikely to bring additional advantage in terms of carbon sequestration.
Association between hydroxycarbamide exposure and neurocognitive function in adolescents with sickle cell disease
Authors: Partanen Marita , Kang Guolian , Wang Winfred C. , Krull Kevin , King Allison A. , Schreiber Jane E. , Porter Jerlym S. , Hodges Jason , Hankins Jane S. , Jacola Lisa M.
Published: February 2020

Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at increased risk for neurocognitive impairments. While disease‐modifying treatment, such as hydroxycarbamide (hydroxyurea), may decrease this risk, it has not been systematically investigated in children with SCD. We screened neurocognitive functioning in 103 adolescents with SCD (16–17 years, 50% female) and compared outcomes between patients with a history of exposure to hydroxycarbamide (n = 12 HbSC/HbSβ+ thalassaemia; n = 52 HbSS/HbSβ0 thalassaemia) and those never treated with hydroxycarbamide (n = 31 HbSC/HbSβ+ thalassaemia; n = 8 HbSS/HbSβ0 thalassaemia). Demographic distributions were similar between the groups. After adjusting for socioeconomic status, the hydroxycarbamide group had significantly higher scores on nonverbal IQ (HbSC/HbSβ thalassaemia: P = 0·036, effect size [d] = 0·65), reaction speed (HbSS/HbSβ0 thalassaemia: P = 0·002, d = 1·70), sustained attention (HbSS/HbSβ0 thalassaemia: P = 0·014, d = 1·30), working memory (HbSC/HbSβ+ thalassaemia: P = 0·034, d = 0·71) and verbal memory (HbSC/HbSβ+ thalassaemia: P = 0·038, d = 0·84) when compared to those who did not receive hydroxycarbamide. In patients with HbSS/HbSβ0 thalassaemia, longer treatment duration with hydroxycarbamide was associated with better verbal memory (P = 0·009) and reading (P = 0·002). Markers of hydroxycarbamide effect, including higher fetal haemoglobin (HbF), higher mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and lower white blood cell count (WBC), were associated with better verbal fluency (HbF: P = 0·014, MCV: P = 0·006, WBC: P = 0·047) and reading (MCV: P = 0·021, WBC: P = 0·037). Cognitive impairment may be mitigated by exposure to hydroxycarbamide in adolescents with SCD.
Three lessons for gender equity in biodiversity conservation
Authors: Lau Jacqueline D.
Published: February 2020

Amid a growing global agenda, biodiversity conservation has embraced gender equity as a pillar of equitable and effective practice. Gender equity has become enshrined in the global environment and development agenda through global commitments, policy and funding. However, for various reasons, conservation biodiversity often takes a simplistic view of gender as synonymous with women or as a dualism between women and men. This narrow view risks promoting inequitable processes and ineffective outcomes. Deeper engagement with feminist theory, and feminist political ecology in particular, could help advance biodiversity conservation's approach to how gender is understood, framed and integrated. Engaging with lessons from feminist political ecology can help advance gender equity in conservation through attention to power dynamics, intersectionality, and subjectivity.
Lossy‐Context Surprisal: An Information‐Theoretic Model of Memory Effects in Sentence Processing
Authors: Futrell Richard , Gibson Edward , Levy Roger P.
Published: February 2020

A key component of research on human sentence processing is to characterize the processing difficulty associated with the comprehension of words in context. Models that explain and predict this difficulty can be broadly divided into two kinds, expectation‐based and memory‐based. In this work, we present a new model of incremental sentence processing difficulty that unifies and extends key features of both kinds of models. Our model, lossy‐context surprisal, holds that the processing difficulty at a word in context is proportional to the surprisal of the word given a lossy memory representation of the context—that is, a memory representation that does not contain complete information about previous words. We show that this model provides an intuitive explanation for an outstanding puzzle involving interactions of memory and expectations: language‐dependent structural forgetting, where the effects of memory on sentence processing appear to be moderated by language statistics. Furthermore, we demonstrate that dependency locality effects, a signature prediction of memory‐based theories, can be derived from lossy‐context surprisal as a special case of a novel, more general principle called information locality.
The prognostic value of the serum albumin level for long‐term prognosis in patients with acute pulmonary embolism
Authors: Tanık Veysel Ozan , Çınar Tufan , Karabağ Yavuz , Şimşek Barış , Burak Cengiz , Çağdaş Metin , Rencüzoğulları İbrahim
Published: February 2020

Introduction and objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of serum albumin (SA) level with long‐term prognosis in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE).

Materials and methods

We retrospectively enrolled 269 patients with acute PE. The SA level was obtained within 12‐24 hours following admission. The primary endpoints were the incidence of short‐ and long‐term mortality in acute PE patients. The mean duration of the study follow‐up was 21 ± 19 months.

Results

During the follow‐up period, short‐ and long‐term mortality rates were higher in patients who had low SA level compared to those who did not have. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, the SA level was found to be independently associated with long‐term mortality (HR: 0.47, 95%CI: 0.28‐0.78, P = 0.004). In receiver operating characteristics analysis, the SA level of ≤3.17 predicted long‐term mortality with a sensitivity of 77.5% and a specificity of 79.5% (area under the curve 0.82, 95%CI: 0.76‐0.87, P < 0.001). In addition, when the SA plus simplified pulmonary embolism severity index (sPESI) risk score compared to the sPESI risk score alone, it produced a net reclassification improvement of 0.22 with P < 0.001, that is a 22% improved classification.

Conclusion

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that the low SA level is a strong and independent predictor for long‐term mortality in patients with acute PE.
Decreasing organic carbon bioreactivity in European rivers
Authors: Berggren Martin , Al‐Kharusi Enass Said
Published: February 2020

European rivers experience increased loading of total organic carbon (TOC) from terrestrial sources due to factors involving changes in land use, climate and soil acidity. However, little is known about how increased TOC is linked to changes in the bioreactivity of organic matter in these rivers on a continental scale.

We compiled paired measurements of TOC and biological oxygen demand in 5‐day 20°C dark incubations from 3,486 EU monitoring rivers. Assuming first‐order decay and a fixed respiratory quotient, annual average TOC and biological oxygen demand values were used to calculate 11,060 values of the decay coefficient k.

The k decreased by two orders of magnitude as a power function of increasing TOC. This relationship could partly be explained by carbon quality, as the C:N ratio of the organic matter was the lowest in high‐reactivity low‐TOC rivers, and vice versa. A trend analysis showed that TOC increased by 18% from 1996 to 2012, while k decreased by as much as 50%. As a consequence, the biological oxygen demand in the water decreased over time in spite of the water browning trend (increased TOC).

Together, these results suggest that reactivity is low near terrestrial hot spots for TOC export, and low during years with high terrestrial TOC loading, but increases in rivers with low TOC concentrations where internal processes in the water have high relative influence on bulk TOC quality. Thus, browning of European freshwaters is linked to strong decreases in TOC reactivity on a continental scale, suggesting that the impacts of browning on microbial water deoxygenation and greenhouse gas production are less severe than previously thought.
Mapping the black box of intraministerial organization: An analytical approach to explore structural diversity below the portfolio level
Authors: Bertels Jana , Schulze‐Gabrechten Lena
Published: February 2020

This article explores the structural diversity of intraministerial organization over time. Based on organization theory, it proposes a generic typology for intraministerial units applicable to any hierarchically structured government organization. We empirically investigate the critical case of the German federal bureaucracy. By classifying its subunits, we analyze the longitudinal development of structural differentiation and its correspondence to denominational variety. The data stem from a novel international dataset, covering all ministries between 1980 and 2015. We find that intraministerial structure differentiates over time, across and within ministries. A stable core of traditional Weberian structure is complemented by structurally innovative intraministerial units. We conclude that the German federal bureaucracy is more diverse than suggested in previous literature. Our findings indicate that less Weberian bureaucracies are at least as structurally diverse and that more reform‐driven bureaucracies will have experienced at least as many changes in structural diversity.
Severe asthma assessment, management and the organisation of care in Australia and New Zealand: expert forum roundtable meetings
Authors: Maltby Steven , McDonald Vanessa M. , Upham John W. , Bowler Simon D. , Chung Li P. , Denton Eve J. , Fingleton James , Garrett Jeffrey , Grainge Christopher L. , Hew Mark , James Alan L. , Jenkins Christine , Katsoulotos Gregory , King Gregory G. , Langton David , Marks Guy B. , Menzies‐Gow Andrew , Niven Robert M. , Peters Matthew , Reddel Helen K. , Thien Francis , Thomas Paul S. , Wark Peter A. B. , Yap Elaine , Gibson Peter G. ,   Severe Asthma Expert Forum contributors
Published: February 2020

Severe asthma imposes a significant burden on individuals, families and the healthcare system. Treatment is complex, due to disease heterogeneity, comorbidities and complexity in care pathways. New approaches and treatments improve health outcomes for people with severe asthma. However, emerging multidimensional and targeted treatment strategies require a reorganisation of asthma care. Consensus is required on how reorganisation should occur and what areas require further research. The Centre of Excellence in Severe Asthma convened three forums between 2015 and 2018, hosting experts from Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The forums were complemented by a survey of clinicians involved in the management of people with severe asthma. We sought to: (i) identify areas of consensus among experts; (ii) define activities and resources required for the implementation of findings into practice; and (iii) identify specific priority areas for future research. Discussions identified areas of unmet need including assessment and diagnosis of severe asthma, models of care and treatment pathways, add‐on treatment approaches and patient perspectives. We recommend development of education and training activities, clinical resources and standards of care documents, increased stakeholder engagement and public awareness campaigns and improved access to infrastructure and funding. Further, we propose specific future research to inform clinical decision‐making and develop novel therapies. A concerted effort is required from all stakeholders (including patients, healthcare professionals and organisations and government) to integrate new evidence‐based practices into clinical care and to advance research to resolve questions relevant to improving outcomes for people with severe asthma.
Elevated [CO2] and warming increase the macronutrient use efficiency and biomass of Stylosanthes capitata Vogel under field conditions
Authors: Carvalho Juliana Mariano , Barreto Rafael Ferreira , Prado Renato de Mello , Habermann Eduardo , Martinez Carlos Alberto , Branco Roberto Botelho Ferraz
Published: February 2020

Stylosanthes capitata Vogel is a C3 forage legume widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical pastures. However, the nutrient dynamics of this species under future climate change is unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the nutrient content, nutrient accumulation, nutrient use efficiency and growth of S. capitata exposed to increased [CO2] and temperature under field conditions using two levels of atmospheric [CO2] (ambient and elevated—600 ppm) and two canopy temperature (ambient and elevated—2°C). Treatments were applied at field conditions, for 30 days, using a free‐air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) and a free‐air temperature‐controlled enhancement (T‐FACE) systems. Warming showed no effects on macronutrient content, but increased the accumulation of nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulphur, the nutrient use efficiency and root dry mass. Elevated [CO2] alone had no effect on most of the parameters evaluated. However, the combination of elevated [CO2] with warming improved the nutrient accumulation, nutrient use efficiency and whole‐plant growth more than under isolated conditions of elevated [CO2] or warming. Based on our short‐term results, we concluded that an increment of atmospheric [CO2] and temperature will benefit S. capitata growth, suggesting no alterations in the actual fertilizer programs for this species.
Contemporary range position predicts the range‐wide pattern of genetic diversity in balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera L.)
Authors: Gougherty Andrew V. , Chhatre Vikram E. , Keller Stephen R. , Fitzpatrick Matthew C.
Published: February 2020

Aim

Patterns of genetic diversity within species’ ranges can reveal important insights into effects of past climate on species’ biogeography and current population dynamics. While numerous biogeographic hypotheses have been proposed to explain patterns of genetic diversity within species’ ranges, formal comparisons and rigorous statistical tests of these hypotheses remain rare. Here, we compared seven hypotheses for their abilities to describe the geographic pattern of two metrics of genetic diversity in balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera), a northern North American tree species.

Location

North America.

Taxon

Balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera L.).

Methods

We compared seven hypotheses, representing effects of past climate and current range position, for their ability to describe the geographic pattern of expected heterozygosity and per cent polymorphic loci across 85 populations of balsam poplar. We tested each hypothesis using spatial and non‐spatial least‐squares regression to assess the importance of spatial autocorrelation on model performance.

Results

We found that both expected heterozygosity and per cent polymorphic loci could best be explained by the current range position and genetic structure of populations within the contemporary range. Genetic diversity showed a clear gradient of being highest near the geographic and climatic range centre and lowest near range edges. Hypotheses accounting for the effects of past climate (e.g. past climatic suitability, distance from the southern edge), in contrast, had comparatively little support. Model ranks were similar among spatial and non‐spatial models, but residuals of all non‐spatial models were significantly autocorrelated, violating the assumption of independence in least‐squares regression.

Main conclusions

Our work adds strong support for the “Central‐Periphery Hypothesis” as providing a predictive framework for understanding the forces structuring genetic diversity across species’ ranges, and illustrates the value of applying a robust comparative model selection framework and accounting for spatial autocorrelation when comparing biogeographic models of genetic diversity.
Transitions between biomes are common and directional in Bombacoideae (Malvaceae)
Authors: Zizka Alexander , Carvalho‐Sobrinho Jefferson G. , Pennington R. Toby , Queiroz Luciano P. , Alcantara Suzana , Baum David A. , Bacon Christine D. , Antonelli Alexandre
Published: February 2020

Aim

To quantify evolutionary transitions between tropical evergreen rain forest and seasonally dry biomes, to test whether biome transitions affect lineage diversification and to examine the robustness of these results to methodological choices.

Location

The tropics.

Time period

The Cenozoic.

Major taxa studied

The plant subfamily Bombacoideae (Malvaceae).

Methods

We inferred ancestral biomes based on a fossil‐dated molecular phylogeny of 103 species (59% of the clade) and recorded the number of transitions among biomes using biogeographical stochastic mapping based on the dispersal‐extinction‐cladogenesis model. We then estimated diversification rates using state‐specific speciation and extinction rate (SSE) methods. Furthermore, we tested the sensitivity of the results to model choice, phylogenetic uncertainty, measurement error and biome definition.

Results

We found numerous transitions from evergreen rain forest to seasonally dry biomes, and fewer in the opposite direction. These results were robust to methodological choices. Biome type did not influence diversification rates, although this result was subject to uncertainty, especially related to model choice and biome definition.

Main conclusions

Our results contradict the idea of evolutionary biome conservatism in Bombacoideae, and support previous findings that evergreen rain forests serve as a source for the flora of seasonally dry biomes. The impact of biome classification and biome definition on the results suggest caution when using a biome concept for biogeographical reconstruction and diversification rate analysis.
A meta‐analysis of research on digital game‐based science learning
Authors: Tsai Yu‐Ling , Tsai Chin‐Chung
Published: February 2020

This meta‐analysis investigates the relative effectiveness of game‐based science learning against other instructional methods (Gameplay design) as well as against science game variants enriched with mechanisms (Game‐mechanism design). An overall medium effect size for Gameplay design (k = 14, Nes = 14, gRE = 0.646, p = .000), and an overall small‐to‐medium effect size for Game‐mechanism design (k = 12, Nes = 13, adjusted gRE = 0.270, p = .001) are reported. Further, the results of subgroup analyses suggest that students across educational levels all significantly benefit from game‐based science learning although there is no significant difference between the subgroup mean effects. Further, learning and gaming mechanisms play equal roles significantly increasing students' scientific knowledge gains. With these promising results, however, high variance within the subgroups of educational levels and those of gaming mechanisms indicate that gaming mechanisms should be developed with care to meet students' different needs in different educational levels.
Increased melanomacrophage centres in the liver of reproductively dysfunctional female greater amberjack Seriola dumerili (Risso, 1810)
Authors: Passantino Letizia , Zupa Rosa , Pousis Chrysovalentinos , Mylonas Constantinos C. , Hala Edmond , Jirillo Emilio , Corriero Aldo
Published: February 2020

The greater amberjack Seriola dumerili is a new aquaculture fish that may display reproductive dysfunctions. During extensive follicular atresia, which is a common reproductive dysfunction in females during vitellogenesis, part of the reabsorbed yolk returns to the liver to be metabolized and recycled. Melanomacrophage centres (MMCs) are aggregates of macrophage‐like cells that play a role in the destruction, detoxification and recycling of endogenous and exogenous materials, and have been associated with systemic stress. Wild and captive‐reared greater amberjack were sampled in the Mediterranean Sea during two different phases of the reproductive cycle. The liver of reproductively dysfunctional captive‐reared females sampled during the spawning season showed a high density of both MMCs and apoptotic cells. A weak liver anti‐cytochrome P450 monooxygenase 1A immunoreactivity was observed, suggesting that the examined fish were not exposed to environmental pollutants. We propose that the observed increase in MMCs and apoptosis in captive‐reared fish was related to the hepatic overload associated to the metabolism of yolk proteins reabsorbed during extensive follicular atresia. Since follicular atresia is a frequent physiological and pathological event in teleosts, we suggest that the reproductive state should be always assessed when MMCs are used as markers of exposure to stress or pollutants.
OPTIMAL TIMING AND TERMS IN A VERTICAL MERGER WITH TWO SOURCES OF UNCERTAINTY
Authors: Chen Zhuming , Zhang Sijia , Lin Tao
Published: February 2020

In this article we provide the optimal timing and equilibrium terms of a vertical merger with two sources of uncertainty in the production chain, namely, marginal cost of raw material and price level of final product. By eliminating monopoly power and transaction cost in the production process between upstream and downstream firms, a vertical merger can increase social welfare, which is consistent with the literature. The optimal threshold of a vertical merger is negatively correlated with transaction cost in the intermediate product market. Vertical mergers also accelerate when merging provides natural hedging for the postmerger firm, that is, when the correlation between the two uncertainties increases.
Preheart failure comorbidities and impact on prognosis in heart failure patients: a nationwide study
Authors: Christiansen M. N. , Køber L. , Torp‐Pedersen C. , Gislason G. H. , Schou M. , Smith J. G. , Vasan R. S. , Andersson C.
Published: February 2020

Background

Data regarding the impact of preheart failure (HF) comorbidities on the prognosis of HF are scarce, especially in the younger HF patients.

Objectives

To investigate pre‐existing comorbidities in HF patients versus matched controls and to assess their impact on mortality.

Methods

We included all first‐time in‐hospital and outpatient diagnoses of HF from 1995 to 2017, and comorbidities antedating the HF‐diagnosis in the Danish nationwide registries. HF patients were matched with up to five controls. One‐year all‐cause mortality rates and population attributable risk (PAR) were estimated for three separate age groups (≤50, 51–74 and >74 years).

Results

Totally 280 002 patients with HF and 1 166 773 controls were included. Cardiovascular comorbidities, for example, cerebrovascular disease and ischaemic heart disease were more frequent in the oldest (17.9% and 29.7% in HF vs. 9.8% and 10.7% in controls) compared to the youngest age group (3.9% and 15.2% in HF vs. 0.7% and 0.9% in controls). Amongst patients with HF, 1‐year mortality rates (per 100 person‐years) were highest amongst those with >1 noncardiovascular comorbidity: ≤50 years (10.4; 9.64–11.3), 51–74 years (23.3; 22.9–23.7), >74 years (58.5; 57.9–59.0); hazard ratios 245.18 (141.45–424.76), 45.85 (42.77–49.15) and 24.5 (23.64–25.68) for those ≤50, 51–74 and >74 years, respectively. For HF patients ≤50 years, PAR was greatest for hypertension (17.8%), cancer (14.1%) and alcohol abuse (8.5%). For those aged >74 years, PAR was greatest for hypertension (23.6%), cerebrovascular disease (6.2%) and cancer (7.2%).

Conclusions

Heart failure patients had a higher burden of pre‐existing comorbidities, compared to controls, which adversely impacted prognosis, especially in the young.
Proposing a conceptual framework of spiritual care competence for Chinese nurses
Authors: Cao Yuling , Kunaviktikul Wipada , Petrini Marcia , Sripusanapan Acharaporn
Published: February 2020

Spiritual care competence of nurses is crucial to satisfy the spiritual needs of the clients, but the dearth of conceptual frameworks has hindered the clarification of the construct, especially for nurses in the People's Republic of China. This article developed a 3*3*3 matrix framework to clarify the components of spiritual care competence for Chinese nurses through the synthesis of existing empirical and theoretical work, which includes three aspects (awareness, understanding, and application) on three levels (intrapersonal, interpersonal, and transpersonal) of three contents of spirituality (namely, worldview, connectedness, and transcendence). The proposed framework can be used as a model to promote spiritual care competence of nurses in China. Adoption of the framework to guide studies would allow for the design of interventions for the attainment of this competence.
Coping with multiple chronic conditions: An integrative review
Authors: Cheng Cheng , Inder Kerry , Chan Sally Wai‐Chi
Published: February 2020

There is a paucity of summarized evidence concerning coping with multiple chronic conditions. An integrative review approach was used to synthesize current evidence on: (i) coping in forms of perceptions and strategies, (ii) relationship between coping and health‐related outcomes, and (iii) factors related to coping. Five electronic databases were searched without time limitation. Thirty‐two studies met inclusion criteria and were included for full‐text review: 24 qualitative, seven quantitative, and one mixed‐methods study. Studies were assessed for quality using an appraisal system of rigor and relevance. A constant comparison method was used to synthesize findings from eligible studies. This review synthesized perceptions of multiple chronic conditions involving negative moods and physical limitations, and strategies of coping with multiple chronic conditions including problem‐ and emotion‐focused strategies. Findings suggested that coping is a promising path to manage multiple chronic conditions and emphasized that appropriate coping might have positive impacts on health‐related outcomes. Five impact factors including age, gender, clusters of multiple chronic conditions, social support, and ethnicity and culture were associated with people's coping. Future healthcare plans should address the physical and psychological needs of people with multiple chronic conditions and highlight the importance of modifying their illness perceptions and enhancing appropriate coping strategies.
Exploration of clients living with HIV needs for reporting on experiences with sex
Authors: Leyva‐Moral Juan M. , Feijoo‐Cid Maria , Torrella Domingo Ariadna , Planas Ribas Bibiana , Badia Royes Rosa , Martín Castillo Mario , Navarro Mercadé Jordi , Aguayo‐Gonzalez Mariela
Published: February 2020

Talking about sex with people living with HIV receives insufficient attention in health care. A cross‐sectional and exploratory study describes the preferences of people living with HIV to talk about sex with specialized HIV physicians and nurses in a clinic in Barcelona (Spain). A 27‐item self‐administered questionnaire was used between June 2017 and May 2018. One hundred fourteen people agreed to participate. Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. Most of the participants reported “never or almost never” having been asked about sex practices in visits with the HIV specialist physician (n = 65 [57.0%]) or nurse (n = 74 [64.9%]). Older participants stated that neither physicians nor nurses talked about sex during visits. Women felt that physicians hardly ever asked about their sexual practices. Men who had sex with other men indicated that their physicians always asked about their sex practices compared with heterosexuals living with HIV. Health professionals should reformulate how to talk about sex with people living with HIV to facilitate communication and provide adequate care.
Tracking of cutaneous vascular structural changes post‐UV irradiation using optical coherence tomography angiography
Authors: Ninomiya Masato , Hara Yusuke , Kubo Yoshihide , Yamashita Toyonobu , Katagiri Chika
Published: February 2020

Background

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation to skin induces biological responses to protect and heal the wounded tissue. Cutaneous blood vessels play an important role in maintaining skin homeostasis, by inducing angiogenesis and vasodilation. However, the vascular dynamics in vivo, such as morphological changes over time and their depth dependency, are not fully understood.

Methods

Ten Asian males were enrolled in this study and received UV (UVA + UVB) irradiation at two minimal erythema dose (MED) to the inner upper arm. Changes in epidermal thickness and vascular structures associated with UV irradiation were evaluated over time for 28 days by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). This technique enables non‐invasive visualization of three‐dimensional vascular networks in human skin based on OCT assessment of skin structures with near‐infrared light.

Results

Notable dilation of vascular structures and increases in epidermal thickness were observed after UV irradiation. Vessel density was markedly increased from the papillary dermis to the upper reticular dermis at a depth of 200 µm. These increases in vascular density showed significant persistence even at 28 days after UV irradiation.

Conclusion

We visualized the vascular structural changes caused by UV irradiation and revealed that the effects of a single UV irradiation at 2 MED persisted for up to 28 days after exposure. The OCTA technique allows not only the in situ assessment of micro‐vasculature in human skin but also its monitoring of vascular dynamics over time.
You Don't Always Get What You Want: The Effect of Financial Incentives on State Fiscal Health
Authors: McDonald Bruce D. , Decker J. W. , Johnson Brad A. M.
Published: February 2020

Governments frequently use financial incentives to encourage the creation, expansion, or relocation of businesses within their borders. Research on financial incentives gives little clarity as to what impact these incentives may have on governments. While incentives may draw in more economic growth, they also pull resources from government coffers, and they may commit governments to future funding for public services that benefit the incentivized businesses. The authors use a panel of 32 states and data from 1990 to 2015 to understand how incentives affect states’ fiscal health. They find that after controlling for the governmental, political, economic, and demographic characteristics of states, incentives draw resources away from states. Ultimately, the results show that financial incentives negatively affect the overall fiscal health of states.