bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nestedness interacts with subnetwork structures and interconnection patterns to affect community dynamics in ecological multilayer networks
Authors: Yan Chuan
Published: January 2022

Ecological networks describe ecological interactions among species in ecosystems. In natural ecosystems, plant–mutualist (PM) and plant–herbivore (PH) networks are two of the most documented bipartite ecological networks, which are often interconnected through shared plants to form multilayer networks (here referred to as ecological networks with multiple interaction types). Recent developments in multilayer networks have challenged the effects of topological properties on biodiversity and stability once found in ecological networks with a single interaction type.

In this study, my goal was to theoretically test the effects of the nested topology of subnetworks (i.e. plant–mutualist and plant–herbivore networks) on the local stability and persistence of the entire community and determine how their effect sizes were dependent on subnetwork structures and interconnection patterns.

I used a simple algorithm to construct plant–mutualist or plant–herbivore networks with different levels of nestedness while fixing connectance and network size. By artificially interconnecting plant–mutualist and plant–herbivore networks through shared plants, I also manipulated the inter‐subnetwork connection patterns as positive, negative and no correlations between the number of interacting partners of shared plants of two subnetworks. Community dynamics were simulated to show how subnetwork nestedness interacted with other network properties to affect local stability and persistence of multilayer networks.

I found that low nestedness of both plant–mutualist and plant–herbivore subnetworks promoted stability and persistence. Effect sizes of the focal PM‐ or PH‐subnetwork nestedness were positively associated with the nestedness levels of the interconnected subnetworks. A positive correlation between the mutualistic and herbivory generalism of plants also led to higher (signed) effect sizes of subnetwork nestedness. Further analyses showed that the effect sizes of the subnetwork nestedness also depended on subnetwork complexity and intraguild competition intensity. Finally, the modularity of interconnected subnetworks had little association with the effect sizes of subnetwork nestedness irrespective of interconnection patterns.

The results demonstrate that the effects of topological structures (such as nestedness) on community dynamics in single‐interaction networks may be altered by the architectures of multilayer networks, which highlights the need to study the interactions between the architectures of within‐ and inter‐subnetworks in affecting ecosystem stability and biodiversity.
Differentiating phonological delay from phonological disorder: Executive function performance in preschoolers
Authors: Waring Rebecca , Rickard Liow Susan , Dodd Barbara , Eadie Patricia
Published: January 2022

Background

The conversational speech of most children can be understood by people outside the family by the time they reach 4 years. However, for some children, speech sound disorders (SSDs) persist into their early school years, and beyond, despite adequate hearing, oromotor function, and language learning opportunities. One explanation for children's SSDs are domain‐general cognitive‐linguistic deficits that impair the child's ability to correctly derive rules governing how speech sounds legally combine to form words in a specific language.

Aims

To explore whether there are differences in performance on executive function tasks between children who make speech errors characteristic of phonological delay and those who make speech errors characteristic of phonological disorder.

Methods & Procedures

Twenty‐six children aged from 3;6 to 5;2 (13 with phonological delay and 13 with phonological disorder), matched pairwise for age and sex (nine males), were assessed on tasks measuring cognitive flexibility (rule abstraction and cognitive shift) and phonological working memory.

Outcome & Results

For the cognitive flexibility tasks, the performance of children with phonological delay was significantly better than that for children with phonological disorder, but there were no group differences for the phonological working memory task.

Conclusions & Implications

Children with phonological disorders might benefit from intervention programmes that incorporate training in cognitive flexibility.

What is already known on the subject

Children with phonological delay and phonological disorder comprise the two largest SSD subgroups that present to speech‐language therapy clinics. Evidence suggests domain‐general cognitive processes (e.g., phonological working memory, ability to revise faulty underlying representations, rule abstraction, and cognitive shift) influence phonological development. Differences between the two subgroups in the types of speech errors, linguistic abilities, developmental trajectories, and responses to intervention have been reported, yet little is known about the underlying cognitive‐linguistic deficits.

What this paper adds to existing knowledge

The results of this study suggest that children with phonological delay and phonological disorder have distinct patterns of performance on executive function tasks: Children with phonological disorder showed deficits in domain general rule‐abstraction and cognitive shift when compared to children with phonological delay.

What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?

The findings draw attention to: (1) the importance of differential diagnosis of phonological delay and phonological disorder; (2) the role of domain‐general cognitive processes in explaining why children make particular types of errors; and (3) the need to develop innovative and tailored intervention techniques that target specific underlying deficits.
Linking Entrepreneurial Orientation to Environmental Collaboration: A Stakeholder Theory and Evidence from Multinational Companies in an Emerging Market
Authors: Bouguerra Abderaouf , Hughes Mathew , Cakir M. Selim , Tatoglu Ekrem
Published: January 2022

Revisiting stakeholder theory as a potential theory of the firm giving rise to expectations about organizing, we analyze when and under what circumstances entrepreneurially oriented firms increase their environmental collaboration with suppliers. Specifically, we investigate the association between entrepreneurial orientation and environmental collaboration with suppliers by accounting for the degree of employees’ work engagement and market environment complexity as stakeholder‐oriented moderators of this relationship. We test our hypotheses using multi‐level analyses on 249 managers nested in 66 multinational companies (MNCs) in Turkey. We find that entrepreneurial orientation positively impacts environmental collaboration with suppliers. A high level of work engagement (as an organizing principle favouring a stakeholder focus) and a low level of market environment complexity (as an organizing principle favouring the customer as an instrumental stakeholder) moderate this linkage. We enrich the debate on entrepreneurial orientation, strategy, and environmental sustainability by providing logic rooted in stakeholder theory of the conditions under which MNCs’ entrepreneurial orientation in emerging markets prioritizes and privileges environmental collaboration with suppliers.
Data‐driven mergers and personalization
Authors: Chen Zhijun , Choe Chongwoo , Cong Jiajia , Matsushima Noriaki
Published: January 2022

This article studies tech mergers that involve a large volume of consumer data. The merger links the markets for data collection and data application through a consumption synergy. The merger‐specific efficiency gains exist in the market for data application due to the consumption synergy and data‐enabled personalization. Prices fall in the market for data collection but generally rise in the market for data application as the efficiency gains are extracted away through personalized pricing. When the consumption synergy is large enough, the merger can result in monopolization of both markets. We discuss policy implications including various merger remedies.
Local consolidative therapy for synchronous oligometastatic non‐small cell lung cancer treated with first‐line pembrolizumab: A retrospective observational study
Authors: Chen Ya , Wang Yanan , Yang Zhengyu , Hu Minjuan , Lu Jun , Zhang Yanwei , Qian Fangfei , Zhang Bo , Wang Shuyuan , Wang Kai , Zhang Wei , Han Baohui
Published: January 2022

Background

Local consolidative therapy (LCT) has emerged as a treatment option in patients with oligometastatic non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) undergoing chemotherapy or targeted therapy. However, the current literature lacks evidence as to whether LCT improves survival in NSCLC patients receiving immunotherapy. Our study aimed to assess whether LCT combined with pembrolizumab ± chemotherapy could improve the survival of patients with synchronous oligometastatic NSCLC.

Methods

Patients with NSCLC, without EGFR or ALK genetic aberrations, who were treated with first‐line pembrolizumab ± chemotherapy, were included in the study. Survival analysis of the LCT and non‐LCT groups was compared.

Results

A total of 231 patients were included in the study. The median follow‐up time was 15.24 months. Median progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of the entire cohort were 12.00 and 23.43 months, respectively. Of the 231 patients included, 76 patients received LCT combined with pembrolizumab ± chemotherapy (LCT group) while 155 patients received pembrolizumab ± chemotherapy alone (non‐LCT group). Of note, the PFS of the LCT and non‐LCT groups was 13.97 and 10.08 months (p = 0.016), respectively. The OS were 30.67 and 21.97 months (p = 0.011), respectively. The PFS and OS were significantly improved with LCT for patients with brain or lung metastases but not bone metastases. No significant increase in treatment‐related toxicity was observed in the LCT group.

Conclusions

The present study shows that LCT to metastatic sites is an option for consideration in patients with synchronous oligometastatic NSCLC during first‐line pembrolizumab treatment, with significantly improved PFS and OS compared with systemic treatment alone.
ESCROpath, a Bayesian mixing model to quantify diets and trophic flows in aquatic food webs
Authors: Lobry Jérémy , Mounier Florence , Ballutaud Marine , Chevillot Xavier , Gascuel Didier , Budzinski Hélène , Labadie Pierre , Drouineau Hilaire
Published: January 2022

Food‐web modelling is a key tool to provide a global and comprehensive knowledge on community structure, biodiversity and ecosystem processes and functioning. In particular, it allows computing integrative and holistic indices describing food web characteristics, topology and functioning. However, one of the main sources of uncertainty in most food‐web models is the estimation of diet matrices.

In the present work, we propose an innovative approach that combines (a) a Bayesian mixing model using both isotopes and contaminants as chemical tracers with (b) classical mass‐balance equations. This dual approach allows the simultaneous estimation of diet composition, isotopic enrichment, contaminant biomagnification, and contaminants and biomass flows in the whole food web. This original model named ESCROpath also provides food‐web indices derived from ecological network analysis (ENA). As a case study, the approach was implemented in the Gironde estuarine food web (SW France) for which isotopes, contaminants and trophic data exist. Two sets of priors were constructed accounting for more or less uncertainty in trophic parameter estimates. Outputs were compared with previous published Ecopath results.

A constrained calibration led to very similar outputs as Ecopath (which shows that the method is able to find the initial set of parameters if it is forced to do so), whereas a free calibration led to slight differences in trophic parameters and ENA indice estimations (which shows that the Ecopath solution was not fully optimal). Quite different diet matrices and estimations of flows distribution within the food web can thus be obtained.

ESCROpath is an original flexible food‐web modelling tool that, for the first time, makes it possible to go from a model mainly built on an ‘estimate’ of the parameters based on expert knowledge (which constitutes the main criticism formulated against Ecopath) to a statistical Bayesian framework for the estimation of the trophic parameters. It thus provides a very integrated framework for food‐web modelling by estimating simultaneously trophic parameters, diet compositions and trophic enrichment/magnification factors. By doing this, it notably provides reliable and robust uncertainty estimations for output parameters.
Witnessing “imperfect victims”
Authors: HUSSAIN SALMAN
Published: January 2022

After the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan's military government unleashed a program of extrajudicial detentions to surveil and track down “Islamic terrorists.” These men are known as the “missing” or “disappeared” persons in the movement mobilized by their families to protest the abductions. Ethnographic research with the families of “missing persons” in Pakistan, however, involves working with people whom I call “imperfect victims”—that is, persons who do not easily fit the subject position of those occupying the “suffering slot.” Such imperfect victims often rely on nonnormative ethics of grief and sacrifice to help them make sense of violence stemming from larger political‐economic structures of power. An ethnography of imperfect victims responds to calls for going beyond the “suffering subject” in anthropology. It does so by questioning the humanitarian assumption in anthropology that suffering is a common, apolitical ground for all humanity and that a politics of solidarity can be built on the suffering of others. [witnessing, suffering subject, ethnography, human rights, disappearances, missing persons, Pakistan, South Asia]
Narrative review of the systemic inflammatory reaction to cardiac surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass
Authors: Squiccimarro Enrico , Stasi Alessandra , Lorusso Roberto , Paparella Domenico
Published: January 2022

Background

Data from large cardiac surgery registries have been depicting a downward trend of mortality and morbidities in the last 20 years. However, despite decades of medical evolution, cardiac surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass still provoke a systemic inflammatory response, which occasionally leads to worsened outcome. This article seeks to outline the mechanism of the phenomenon.

Methods

A thorough review of the literature has been performed. Criteria for considering studies for this non‐systematic review were as follows: observational and interventional studies investigating the systemic inflammatory response to cardiac surgery, experimental studies describing relevant molecular mechanisms, and essential review studies pertinent to the topic.

Results

The intrinsic variability of the inflammatory response to cardiac surgery, together with its heterogenous perception among clinicians, as well as the arduousness to early discriminate high‐responder patients from those who will not develop a clinically relevant reaction, concurred to hitherto unconclusive randomized controlled trials. Furthermore, peremptory knowledge about the pathophysiology of maladaptive inflammation following heart surgery is still lacking.

Conclusions

Systemic inflammation following cardiac surgery is a frequent entity that occasionally becomes clinically relevant. Specific genomic differences, age, and other preoperative factors influence the magnitude of the response, which elements display extreme redundancy and pleiotropism that the target of a single pathway cannot represent a silver bullet.
Previous intravitreal injection as a risk factor of posterior capsule rupture in cataract surgery: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Bjerager Jakob , van Dijk Elon H. C. , Holm Lars Morten , Singh Amardeep , Subhi Yousif
Published: January 2022

Purpose

Intravitreal injections and cataract surgery are two common procedures in the elderly. Posterior capsular rupture (PCR) is a rare but important complication of cataract surgery. We systematically reviewed the literature on previous intravitreal injections as a risk factor of PCR and performed meta‐analyses to provide pooled summary risk estimates.

Methods

We searched 13 literature databases on 1 June 2021 for studies evaluating the risk of PCR in eyes undergoing cataract surgery with data on previous intravitreal injections. Data extraction was made independently by two authors and discussed afterwards until reaching consensus. Random effects meta‐analyses on the pooled odds ratio (OR) of PCR in eyes with previous intravitreal injections were made using MetaXL 5.3.

Results

Six studies on 1 051 097 eyes undergoing cataract surgery were eligible for the qualitative and quantitative review. Previous history of intravitreal injections was present in 7034 eyes (majority was anti‐VEGF). Our meta‐analyses revealed that any previous intravitreal injection was a risk factor for PCR with an OR of 2.30 (95% CI 1.39–3.81). For each previous intravitreal injection, the risk of PCR was OR 1.04 (95% CI 1.01–1.08) (equivalent of relative risk ~1.04). In other words, risk of PCR increases by 4% for each previous intravitreal injection.

Conclusions

Previous intravitreal injection is a risk factor for PCR and should be taken into account when planning cataract surgery. However, to be regarded as a clinically significant risk of PCR, a substantial number of previous intravitreal injection (e.g. ≥10) should have been administered, considering that the a priori risk of PCR is very low (~1%).
Vector control reduces the rate of species invasion in the world's largest freshwater ecosystem
Authors: Ricciardi Anthony , MacIsaac Hugh J.
Published: January 2022

The Great Lakes‐St Lawrence River basin is the world's most invaded freshwater system. Ballast water release from transoceanic shipping is deemed responsible for 65% of invasions in the basin since the modern St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959. Regulations requiring mid‐ocean exchange of ballast water applied in 1993 failed to stem ship‐mediated invasions because the procedure was not mandated for all ships. In 2006 and 2008, Canada and the United States, respectively, mandated that all transoceanic ships should conduct open ocean flushing to ensure that partially filled ballast tanks intended for discharge into the Great Lakes contained water of salinity ≥30 ppt before entering the Seaway. These regulations have been strictly enforced through record inspections and tests of ballast tank salinities of inbound ships. Before‐and‐after comparisons of total organismal abundance and species richness in ballast tanks revealed a substantial reduction in invasion risk from ships that conducted saltwater flushing. Since 2006, the rate of discovery of newly established non‐native species in the Great Lakes declined by 85% to its lowest level in two centuries. While multiple factors could plausibly contribute to this decline, empirical evidence supports the 2006/2008 ballast water regulation as the primary cause, highlighting the benefit of internationally coordinated vector control.
Fostering landscape immunity to protect human health: A science‐based rationale for shifting conservation policy paradigms
Authors: Reaser Jamie K. , Hunt Brooklin E. , Ruiz‐Aravena Manuel , Tabor Gary M. , Patz Jonathan A. , Becker Daniel J. , Locke Harvey , Hudson Peter J. , Plowright Raina K.
Published: January 2022

Anthropogenic land use change is a major driver of zoonotic pathogen spillover from wildlife to humans. According to the land use‐induced spillover model, land use change alters environmental conditions that in turn alter the dynamics between zoonotic pathogens and their wildlife hosts. Thus, in response to the global spread of the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus (the agent of COVID‐19 disease), there have been renewed calls for landscape conservation as a disease preventive measure, including by the G7 Ministers responsible for Climate and the Environment. Landscape immunity, as a new construct, points to four paradigm shifts the world must favor to effectively mitigate pandemic risks. We provide a landscape immunity primer for policy makers and make the case for “world views” that placeHomo sapienswithin ecological systems, regard human health as an ecological service, prioritize investments in prevention, and apply ecological restoration to human health goals. Crisis is a conversation starter for reimagining and recommitting ourselves to what is most vital and generative. We urge world leaders to make the move to a nature‐positive world.
Influence of feeder cells on transcriptomic analysis of pluripotent stem cells
Authors: Wan Haifeng , Fu Rui , Tong Man , Wang Yukai , Wang Libin , Wang Siqi , Zhang Ying , Li Wei , Wang Xiu‐Jie , Feng Guihai
Published: January 2022

Objectives

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are of great importance in both scientific research and regenerative medicine. The most classic and widely used culture method for hPSCs is co‐culture with feeder cells, usually mouse embryonic fibroblasts. However, whether these feeder cell residues can affect the transcriptomic data analysis of hPSCs, especially gene or miRNA expression quantification, is still largely unknown.

Methods and Results

In this study, reanalysis of published mRNA‐Seq and miRNA‐Seq data sets revealed the existence of feeder cell‐derived reads in the hPSC transcriptomic samples. We identified potentially influenced human genes and miRNAs due to misalignment of sequencing fragments affected by mouse feeder cells. Furthermore, we developed an optimized miRNA analysis pipeline to avoid quantification bias from different miRNA isoforms in the same family. Finally, by comparing the levels of feeder cell residues in hPSC samples isolated by different methods, we found that fluorescence‐activated cell sorting and adhesion methods were more effective in feeder cell removal than the gradient centrifugation method.

Conclusions

Collectively, our results demonstrate that feeder cell residues affect the transcriptomic data analysis of hPSCs. To minimize the impact of feeder cell contamination in hPSC samples, we provide solutions for both data analysis and sample preparation.
Saving species beyond the protected area fence: Threats must be managed across multiple land tenure types to secure Australia's endangered species
Authors: Kearney Stephen G. , Carwardine Josie , Reside April E. , Adams Vanessa M. , Nelson Rebecca , Coggan Anthea , Spindler Rebecca , Watson James E. M.
Published: January 2022

The main effort to secure threatened species globally is to set aside land and sea for their conservation via governance arrangements such as protected areas. But not even the biggest protected area estate will cover enough area to halt most species declines. Consequently, there is a need for assessments of how species habitats are distributed across the tenure landscape, to guide policy and conservation opportunities. Using Australia as a case study, we assess the relationship between land tenure coverage and the distributions of nationally listed threatened species. We discover that on average, nearly half (48%) of Australian threatened species' distributions occur on privately owned (freehold) lands, despite this tenure covering only 29% of the continent. In contrast, leasehold lands, which cover 38% of Australia, overlap with only 6% of species' distributions while protected area lands (which cover 20%) have an average of 35% of species' distributions. We found the majority (75%; n = 1199) of species occur across multiple land tenures, and those species that are confined to a single tenure were mostly on freehold lands (13%; n = 201) and protected areas (9%; n = 139). Our findings display the opportunity to reverse the current trend of species decline with increased coordination of threat management across land tenures.
Endemism, projected climate change, and identifying species of critical concern in the Scrub Mint clade (Lamiaceae)
Authors: Naranjo Andre A. , Melton Anthony E. , Soltis Douglas E. , Soltis Pamela S.
Published: January 2022

Recent studies have revealed that narrow endemics, particularly those native to the North American Coastal Plain, are experiencing range contractions due to human development and anthropogenic‐driven climate warming. We model how the projected distributions of a group of scrub‐adapted plant species with similar evolutionary histories change in response to warming climates. The Scrub Mint clade (Lamiaceae) (SMC), which comprises 24 species in Dicerandra, Conradina, Stachydeoma, Piloblephis, and Clinopodium, including federally or state‐listed threatened and endangered species, occurs in the scrub and sandhill biomes of the North American Coastal Plain. Georeferenced occurrence points were used to develop species distribution models (SDMs) to assess both present and predicted future ranges of all SMC species under future climate change. Future SDMs show that suitable environments for 67% of the SMC species would cover reduced geographical areas than at present. This loss of habitat is most pronounced in species of the Florida peninsula but is also prevalent in species found farther north. We use SDMs to identify the most at‐risk species and geographic areas. Narrowly endemic species were more susceptible to habitat loss than those species with wider ranges. Using a large dataset and modeling habitat suitability at this regional scale, we demonstrate that scrub‐adapted species are highly vulnerable to habitat reduction as a result of climate change.
Do aphids in Dutch sweet pepper greenhouses carry heritable elements that protect them against biocontrol parasitoids?
Authors: Beekman Mariska M. , Donner Suzanne H. , Litjens Jordy J. H. , Dicke Marcel , Zwaan Bas J. , Verhulst Eveline C. , Pannebakker Bart A.
Published: January 2022

Biological control (biocontrol) of crop pests is a sustainable alternative to the use of biodiversity and organismal health‐harming chemical pesticides. Aphids can be biologically controlled with parasitoid wasps; however, variable results of parasitoid‐based aphid biocontrol in greenhouses are reported. Aphids may display genetically encoded (endogenous) defences that increase aphid resistance against parasitoids as under high parasitoid pressure there will be selection for parasitoid‐resistant aphids, potentially affecting the success of parasitoid‐based aphid biocontrol in greenhouses. Additionally, aphids may carry secondary bacterial endosymbionts that protect them against parasitoids. We studied whether there is variation in either of these heritable elements in aphids in greenhouses of sweet pepper, an agro‐economically important crop in the Netherlands that is prone to aphid pests and where pest management heavily relies on biocontrol. We sampled aphid populations in organic (biocontrol only) and conventional (biocontrol and pesticides) sweet pepper greenhouses in the Netherlands during the 2019 crop growth season. We assessed the aphid microbiome through both diagnostic PCR and 16S rRNA sequencing and did not detect any secondary endosymbionts in the two most encountered aphid species, Myzus persicae and Aulacorthum solani. We also compared multiple aphid lines collected from different greenhouses for variation in levels of endogenous‐based resistance against the parasitoids commonly used as biocontrol agents. We found no differences in the levels of endogenous‐based resistance between different aphid lines. This study does not support the hypothesis that protective endosymbionts or the presence of endogenous resistant aphid lines affects the success of parasitoid‐based biocontrol of aphids in Dutch greenhouses. Future investigations will need to address what is causing the variable successes of aphid biocontrol and what (biological and management‐related) lessons can be learned for aphid control in other crops, and biocontrol in general.
Adolescent sibling caregiving and responsibility: Retrospective reports among Mexican‐origin young adults
Authors: Kline Gabrielle C. , Killoren Sarah E.
Published: January 2022

Objective

This research examines links between Mexican‐origin young adults' cultural values and sibling caregiving behaviors during adolescence and responsibility in young adulthood.

Background

Responsibility is an important marker of young adulthood, and this skill may be transmitted to youth through familism values. Familism values may guide how youth engage in behaviors (e.g., sibling caregiving), which may help foster responsibility skills during young adulthood.

Results

Using cultural ecological framework and cultural transmission model, we examined associations among familism values, sibling caregiving, and responsibility among 219 Mexican‐origin young adults. We tested a multigroup model with path analysis based on gender and found no gender differences. Family obligation and family referent were positively associated with sibling caregiving. Family support and family referent were positively associated with responsibility. Sibling caregiving was positively associated with responsibility. We found two significant indirect effects. Familism obligation and family referent values were positively associated with sibling caregiving, which in turn was positively associated with responsibility.

Conclusion

Findings highlight how cultural values and sibling caregiving can be linked to responsibility during young adulthood.

Implications

Sibling caregiving during youth may provide opportunities to build valuable skills in young adulthood. Cultural values may inform family behaviors and in turn young adulthood responsibility.
High potential of stable carbon sequestration in phytoliths of China's grasslands
Authors: Song Zhaoliang , Wu Yuntao , Yang Yuanhe , Zhang Xiaodong , Van Zwieten Lukas , Bolan Nanthi , Li Zimin , Liu Hongyan , Hao Qian , Yu Changxun , Sun Xiaole , Song Alin , Wang Wenying , Liu Congqiang , Wang Hailong
Published: January 2022

Phytolith carbon (C) sequestration plays a key role in mitigating global climate change at a centennial to millennial time scale. However, previous estimates of phytolith‐occluded carbon (PhytOC) storage and potential in China's grasslands have large uncertainties mainly due to multiple data sources. This contributes to the uncertainty in predicting long‐term C sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems using Earth System Models. In this study, we carried out an intensive field investigation (79 sites, 237 soil profiles [0–100 cm], and 61 vegetation assessments) to quantify PhytOC storage in China's grasslands and to better explore the biogeographical patterns and influencing factors. Generally, PhytOC production flux and soil PhytOC density in both the Tibetan Plateau and the Inner Mongolian Plateau had a decreasing trend from the Northeast to the Southwest. The aboveground PhytOC production rate in China's grassland was 0.48 × 106 t CO2 a–1, and the soil PhytOC storage was 383 × 106 t CO2. About 45% of soil PhytOC was stored in the deep soil layers (50–100 cm), highlighting the importance of deep soil layers for C stock assessments. Importantly, the Tibetan Plateau had the greatest contribution (more than 70%) to the PhytOC storage in China's grasslands. The results of multiple regression analysis indicated that altitude and soil texture significantly influenced the spatial distribution of soil PhytOC, explaining 78.1% of the total variation. Soil phytolith turnover time in China's grasslands was mainly controlled by climatic conditions, with the turnover time on the Tibetan Plateau being significantly longer than that on the Inner Mongolian Plateau. Our results offer more accurate estimates of the potential for phytolith C sequestration from ecological restoration projects in degraded grassland ecosystems. These estimates are essential to parameterizing and validating global C models.
The effects of environmental regulation on chemical industry location: Evidence from the region along the Yangtze River, China
Authors: Zou Hui , Duan Xuejun , Wang Lei , Jin Tingting
Published: January 2022

Environmental regulation is an important factor affecting the relocation of polluting industries. This study explores the spatial pattern evolution of the chemical industry, regional differences in environmental regulation, and the corresponding pollution haven effect in the region along the Yangtze River from 2000 to 2013. We found that the distribution of the chemical industry had shifted from developed regions (downstream regions) to developing regions (middle and upper reaches) reflecting the emergence of pollution paradise effects. This is mainly due to differences in the level of government enforcement and public supervision. Based on the spatial relationship analysis, the pollution haven effect is divided into two stages (i.e., irresolution and continuous effective), reflecting the process of environmental regulation from a failure to inhibit the growth of the chemical industry (before 2004) to significant inhibition (after 2009, when the provincial governments in the lower reaches took serious steps to improve environmental regulation), thereby promoting the transfer of the chemical industry from downstream to upstream. This study provides evidence from China, leading to a better understanding of environmental regulation and the pollution haven effect for the chemical industry, which is representative of other polluting industries and developing countries.
IS FISCAL POLICY MORE EFFECTIVE DURING RECESSIONS?
Authors: Alloza Mario
Published: January 2022

This article estimates the impact of government spending shocks on economic activity during periods of boom and recession. I estimate these effects using an eclectic approach that employs (i) different strategies to identify exogenous variation in government spending, (ii) different methods to compute dynamic responses, and (iii) different measures of the state of business cycles. I find that government spending shocks have larger impacts on output during expansions than during recessions. Importantly, I explore the reasons why my results differ from other work in the literature and highlight the empirical implications of the information used to define periods of recession.
Efficacy of fluorescent microscopy versus modified Fite‐Faraco stain in skin biopsy specimens of leprosy cases – a comparative study
Authors: Kalagarla Sravani , Alluri Rajitha , Saka Satya , Godha Venkataramana , Undavalli Navya , Kolalapudi Seetharam Anjaneyulu
Published: January 2022

Background

Histopathological examination of skin remains the cornerstone in the diagnosis of leprosy. At a few centers, fluorescent microscopy has been found to be useful in detecting more acid‐fast bacilli (AFB) compared to modified Fite‐Faraco staining but is sparsely documented. Hence, we studied the sensitivity of fluorescent microscopy and modified Fite‐Faraco stain in the detection ofMycobacterium lepraein tissue sections.

Methods

Patients attending our outpatient department during January 2019 to June 2020 with the clinical features of leprosy were examined, and the diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology after informed consent. Tissue sections were stained by fluorescent stain and modified Fite‐Faraco stain. Bacillary index was calculated for each case.

Results

Forty patients were recruited after following the inclusion and exclusion criteria. AFB were demonstrated in 20 patients by modified Fite‐Faraco stain and in 27 patients with fluorescent stain. The sensitivity of fluorescent staining method (67.5%) was higher than modified Fite‐Faraco stain (50%). Bacillary index was increased in 26 out of 40 cases by the fluorescent staining compared to the modified Fite‐Faraco staining. Chi‐square value was 69.3 andPvalue was 0.000, indicating a statistically significant correlation.

Limitations

Fluorescent microscope is expensive, and trained people are needed to identify the bacilli.

Conclusion

Fluorescent staining is more sensitive than modified Fite‐Faraco staining in the detection of AFB in tissue sections. The bacilli detected per field were high with the fluorescent staining compared to the modified Fite‐Faraco method.
Inward‐looking policies, finite change, and employment: The capital reallocation effect
Authors: Marjit Sugata , Gupta Kausik
Published: January 2022

It is well recognized that there emerged a trend of inward‐looking trade policies even before the COVID pandemic crippled the world. These were reflected in both BREXIT and US‐China trade conflicts. As countries become inward‐oriented, usually local prices start rising. With this backdrop, this paper explores how rising local prices are likely to affect employment in the short and long runs when we accommodate for the finite change in a general equilibrium structure whereby sectors not only contract but might also close down altogether due to the capital reallocation effect following a price incentive.
Identification of the influential odorants for the unpleasant rancid smell of ripe noni fruit (Morinda citrifolia)
Authors: Zhao Huiyan , Ren Luting , Shen Ru , Guo Shuntang , Peng Xingyun
Published: January 2022

In this study, the volatile changes of noni fruit in various ripening stages were analysed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Eleven of the 35 identified volatiles were found odour‐active through gas chromatography–olfactometry. Based on the aroma extract dilution analysis, hexanoic acid, octanoic acid and their methyl esters were considered as the key odorants for the smell of noni fruit. Results also indicated that the sensory perception of the rancid smell was resulted from the antagonistic effects of the key acid and methyl ester odorants. This study may facilitate the improvement of the acceptability of noni processed foods in the future.
Effects of potato starch on the characteristics, microstructures and quality attributes of indica rice flour and instant rice noodles
Authors: Chen Jin , Yang Sha , Zhang Mengna , Shan Changsong , Chen Zhigang
Published: January 2022

The effects of partial replacement (0%–20%, w/w) of rice flour by potato starch (PS) on the physicochemical properties, microstructures, texture and in vitro digestibility of indica rice flour (IRF) and instant rice noodles (IRN) were systematically investigated. Accordingly, the addition of PS significantly increased the peak viscosity (2876.00–3221.00 mPa·s) and tan δ values (0.14–0.22) but lowered the setback values (2169.00–1036.50 mPa) of the pastes. Rice noodles with 5%–15% PS (PS and IRF at the mixing ratios of 5:95, 10:90, 15:85 and 20:80, respectively) addition exhibited modulated appearance and textural properties. The mutually exclusive phosphate groups of PS facilitated the expansion of starch granules, contributing to the formation of more compact microstructure and higher‐ordered crystalline structures (confirmed by scanning electron microscope and X‐ray diffraction), endowing rice noodles with better cooking and digestive attributes, and visibly increased slowly digestible starches content (26.09%–31.34%). The quality attributes of rice noodles could be accurately predicted by the physicochemical properties of rice flour referring to Pearson’s correlation analysis. The study demonstrates that the blending of PS is both an effective and economical pathway in improving the nutritional and textural properties of IRN.
Effects of isomalt on the quality of wheat flour dough and spicy wheat gluten sticks
Authors: Jia Ziyang , Yang Heng , Zhang Yudong , Ding Wenping , Shuang Yuan , Fu Yang , Xie Qianran , Dong Tongjun , Wu Yan , Wang Xuedong
Published: January 2022

The effects of different isomalt concentrations on the quality of wheat flour dough and spicy wheat gluten sticks (SWGS) were evaluated at the physical, structural and molecular levels. The results showed that the radial expansion rate (RER) and oil absorption rate (OAR) of SWGS increased first and then decreased with increased isomalt supplementation, which reached the maximum at 3 wt%. The pasting properties of wheat starch also changed, and the peak viscosity, breakdown and setback were decreased with the addition of isomalt. Dynamic rheological properties results showed that the storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G'') increased with the addition of isomalt, which may be attributed to the reinforcement of gluten network structure by hydrogen bonding of isomalt. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images illustrated that the SWGS surface becomes smooth and the broken gluten structure was reduced after the addition of different isomalt levels compared with the control group. Overall, the wheat flour dough quality analysis showed that the addition of isomalt could generate a close binding with wheat starch and protein and further strengthen the internal structure of gluten through isomalt hydrogen bonds.
Bioactive compounds in mothers milk affecting offspring outcomes: A narrative review
Authors: Gregg Brigid , Ellsworth Lindsay , Pavela Gregory , Shah Kruti , Berger Paige K. , Isganaitis Elvira , VanOmen Sheri , Demerath Ellen W. , Fields David A.
Published: January 2022

Background

Compared to the exhaustive study of transgenerational programming of obesity and diabetes through exposures in the prenatal period, postnatal programming mechanisms are understudied, including the potential role of breast milk composition linking maternal metabolic status (body mass index and diabetes) and offspring growth, metabolic health and future disease risk.

Methods

This narrative review will principally focus on four emergent bioactive compounds [microRNA's (miRNA), lipokines/signalling lipids, small molecules/metabolites and fructose] that, until recently were not known to exist in breast milk. The objective of this narrative review is to integrate evidence across multiple fields of study that demonstrate the importance of these compositional elements of breast milk during lactation and the subsequent effect of breast milk components on the health of the infant.

Results

Current knowledge on the presence of miRNA's, lipokines/signalling lipids, small molecules/metabolites and fructose in breast milk and their associations with infant outcomes is compelling, but far from resolved. Two themes emerge: (1) maternal metabolic phenotypes are associated with these bioactives and (2) though existing in milk at low concentrations, they are also associated with offspring growth and body composition.

Conclusion

Breast milk research is gaining momentum though we must remain focused on understanding how non‐nutritive bioactive components are affected by the maternal phenotype, how they subsequently impact infant outcomes. Though early, there is evidence to suggest fructose is associated with fat mass in the 1st months of life whereas 12,13 diHOME (brown fat activator) and betaine are negatively associated with early adiposity and growth.
"It is not O.K to think that you are good just because you have graduated from overseas": Agency and contextual factors affecting Vietnamese returning graduates
Authors: Tran Ly Thi , Bui Huyen , Tan George , Rahimi Mark
Published: January 2022

Over the past decade, a growing number of graduates, originally from key source countries of international students such as China and Viet Nam, have returned home after graduation from overseas universities. In particular, there seems to be a recent surge in the number of international graduates heading home due to the high unemployment, tightening migration, rising national protectionism and emerging challenges, exacerbated by the COVID‐19 pandemic, in major host countries such as Australia, the UK and the United States. While there has been emerging empirical research on international returning graduates’ contributions to their home country development, little is known about graduates’ own perceptions of the impacts of the contextual factors on their homecoming decision and their home labour market navigation. Draving on a qualitative study, this article responds to this critical gap in the literature by conceptualising returnee employability as a dynamic interactive process between multiple forces in the host and home labour markets and broader socio‐economic contexts, and between these forces and returnee agency. It identified interrelated contextual factors in the host and home contexts that drive Vietnamese graduates home, including challenges in securing migration, and insecure job prospects facing them in Australia and simultaneously, greater employment and business opportunities at home. In particular, the study found that contextual factors such as sector characteristics, types of employers, economic performance and cultural practices create an institutional environment, in which returnees’ agency is enacted, resulting in different returnees’ labour market navigation experiences and employment outcomes. Significant recommendations for key stakeholders in both home and host countries to support international graduate employability are provided.
Men, families, and the reconceptualization of masculinities
Authors: Roy Kevin M. , Allen Samuel H.
Published: January 2022

Family science brings new perspectives to the study of masculinity in the social sciences and public health. Families are spaces to both examine and to change expectations for masculinity, in part through encouraging the expression of multiple masculinities. In this article we identify two unique theoretical contributions of family science: reconceptualizing masculinities as family‐level processes, and as intergenerational processes that emerge over time. We situate the social construction of masculinities within family relationships over time, as well as in structural contexts and institutions guided by laws and policies. Finally, we provide four dimensions of masculinities as tools for new research: families and enabling of hegemonic masculinity; families and development of alternative masculinities; mental health consequences of family‐level masculinity processes; and expanding masculinities beyond the body with a gender‐inclusive approach.
Distinct limbic dopamine regulation across olfactory‐tubercle subregions through integration of in vivo fast‐scan cyclic voltammetry and optogenetics
Authors: Bhimani Rohan V. , Yates Ryan , Bass Caroline E. , Park Jinwoo
Published: January 2022

The olfactory tubercle (OT), an important component of the ventral striatum and limbic system, is involved in multi‐sensory integration of reward‐related information in the brain. However, its functional roles are often overshadowed by the neighboring nucleus accumbens. Increasing evidence has highlighted that dense dopamine (DA) innervation of the OT from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) is implicated in encoding reward, natural reinforcers, and motivated behaviors. Recent studies have further suggested that OT subregions may have distinct roles in these processes due to their heterogeneous DA transmission. Currently, very little is known about regulation (release and clearance) of extracellular DA across OT subregions due to its limited anatomical accessibility and proximity to other DA‐rich brain regions, making it difficult to isolate VTA–DA signaling in the OT with conventional methods. Herein, we characterized heterogeneous VTA–DA regulation in the medial (m) and lateral (l) OT in “wild‐type,” urethane‐anesthetized rats by integrating in vivo fast‐scan cyclic voltammetry with cell‐type specific optogenetics to stimulate VTA–DA neurons. Channelrhodopsin‐2 was selectively expressed in the VTA–DA neurons of wild‐type rats and optical stimulating parameters were optimized to determine VTA–DA transmission across the OT. Our anatomical, neurochemical, and pharmacological results show that VTA–DA regulation in the mOT is less dependent on DA transporters and has greater DA transmission than the lOT. These findings establish the OT as a unique, compartmentalized structure and will aid in future behavioral characterization of the roles of VTA–DA signaling in the OT subregions in reward, drug addiction, and encoding behavioral outputs necessary for survival.

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