bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Protecting Thermally Hydrolyzed Biosolids from Pathogenic Bacterial Growth by Addition of Compost
Authors: Svennevik Oda K. , Jonassen Kjell R. , Svensson Kine , Hagen Live H. , Westereng Bjørge , Solheim Odd Egil , Nilsen Pål J. , Horn Svein J. , Bakken Lars
Published: November 2020

Sludge biosolids for agricultural application represent a valuable fertilizer but also a health risk unless pathogens are effectively reduced, and recontamination controlled. The Post Anaerobic Digestion Thermal Hydrolysis Process (Post-AD THP) is gaining interest due to improved dewaterability, reducing the volume and thus transportation costs of biosolids. However, Post-AD THP results in sterile biosolids easily exposed to recontamination by pathogens due to the lack of microbial competitors. In theory, this could be suppressed by establishing a competing community of harmless bacteria. The theory was tested by monitoring the abundance ofEscherichia coli(viable counts) and gene abundance (ddPCR) in wastewater recontaminated Post-AD THP biosolids, with and without addition of compost. Respiration, total bacterial population and bacterial diversity (16S rRNA amplicon sequencing) were used to monitor the microbial community. Biosolids from the regulatory approved methods thermophilic AD (TAD) and Pre-AD THP were tested in parallel for comparison. The results demonstrated that regulatory requirements can be reached by storing the TAD and Pre-AD THP biosolids for 3 days after recontamination and the Post-AD THP biosolids for more than 13 days. However, addition of compost suppressed growth ofE. coliin Post-AD THP biosolids, reducing the time to comply with regulative requirements. In conclusion, pathogen growth in Post-AD THP biosolids can be controlled by inoculation with compost.

Graphical abstract
An exploration of teacher and student perceptions of blended learning in four secondary mathematics classrooms
Authors: Attard Catherine , Holmes Kathryn
Published: November 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many teachers around the world to make a sudden switch from face-to-face to online teaching. This shift in practice has provided an opportunity to reconsider how technology use in mathematics education can be utilised to improve student engagement. In this study, we explore four case studies of Australian secondary mathematics classrooms conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to examine how teachers are using blended learning approaches and how their students perceive these pedagogical practices. Findings across all four sites indicate that technology use expands student opportunities to engage with mathematics learning through the provision of multiple pathways and methods of access. Specifically, we find evidence supporting the use of blended classroom teaching strategies to provide differentiation and personalised learning approaches; visualisation and dynamic manipulation of mathematics concepts; and alternative methods for teacher-student feedback and communication. We argue that the student learning experience in mathematics can be enhanced through a variety of blended learning approaches by allowing for diverse points of access to learning opportunities which are more closely aligned to individual learning needs and free from the temporal constraints of the classroom.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Towards secure deep learning architecture for smart farming-based applications
Authors: Udendhran R. , Balamurugan M.
Published: November 2020

The immense growth of the cloud infrastructure leads to the deployment of several machine learning as a service (MLaaS) in which the training and the development of machine learning models are ultimately performed in the cloud providers’ environment. However, this could also cause potential security threats and privacy risk as the deep learning algorithms need to access generated data collection, which lacks security in nature. This paper predominately focuses on developing a secure deep learning system design with the threat analysis involved within the smart farming technologies as they are acquiring more attention towards the global food supply needs with their intensifying demands. Smart farming is known to be a combination of data-driven technology and agricultural applications that helps in yielding quality food products with the enhancing crop yield. Nowadays, many use cases had been developed by executing smart farming paradigm and promote high impacts on the agricultural lands.
Does trade participation limit domestic firms’ productivity gains from inward foreign direct investment?
Authors: Belderbos René , Van Roy Vincent , Sleuwaegen Leo
Published: November 2020

We examine to what extent domestic firms reap differential productivity gains from the presence of manufacturing affiliates of multinational firms in the home country (FDI spillovers), in the context of simultaneous participation in international trade through exporting and importing. FDI spillovers can occur within the industry (horizontal) and across industries due to client (forward) or supplier (backward) linkages of multinational firms, but the mechanisms underlying spillover effects may be attenuated if local firms are less reliant on inputs, clients, and competition in the domestic market. Fixed effects panel analyses on a sample of 4594 domestic Belgian firms during 2000–2007 reveal positive effects from horizontal, backward, and forward FDI spillovers on the productivity levels of domestic firms, as long as these firms do not engage in international trade. Horizontal spillovers from FDI are weaker for firms engaging in trade, while forward FDI spillovers do not benefit importing firms. Two-way traders benefit least from FDI spillovers. Forward and backward spillovers, are enhanced by human capital levels in local firms, while horizontal spillovers are reduced. The findings are broadly consistent with the notion that trade engagement and inward FDI can be substitutes in their effects on domestic firms’ productivity.
Racial Disparities in Homicide Victimisation Rates: How to Improve Transparency by the Office of National Statistics in England and Wales
Authors: Kumar Sumit , Sherman Lawrence W. , Strang Heather
Published: November 2020

Research Question

How much racial disparity in trends of homicide victimisation rates in England and Wales is obscured by the failure of official statistics to report rates of death per 100,000 people at risk?

Data

We collected two decades of homicide victimisation counts in England and Wales, as broken out for each racial group identified by the Office of National Statistics. We also collected the estimated population size of those groups from the 2001 and 2011 Census.

Methods

We divided the number of homicides in each racial category by the estimated population size of that category, by year, for 20 years, and plotted their relationships.

Findings

While White homicide victimisation rates remained low and stable from 2000 through 2019, Black homicide victimisation ranged from 200 to 800% higher than that for the White population during that time period, at an average of 5.6 times higher for Blacks. While Black victimisation dropped by 69% from 2001 to 2012, it almost doubled (79% increase) from 2013 to 2019, rising seven times faster than the White victimisation rate. Asian rates remained stable at about twice as high as White rates. For persons aged 16 to 24, the most recent homicide rate was 24 times higher for Blacks than for Whites.

Conclusion

None of these rates per 100,000 or ratios has been reported by the Office of National Statistics. If future ONS reporting of homicide rates would include relevant denominators with raw numerators, public understanding of racial disparities in “over-policing” could be informed by potential “under-policing” relative to racial inequalities in homicide risk.
Investigation of Sloshing Effects on Flexible Aircraft Stability and Response
Authors: Pizzoli Marco
Published: November 2020

The present paper provides an investigation of the effects of linear slosh dynamics on aeroelastic stability and response of flying wing configuration. The proposal of this work is to use reduced order model based on the theory of the equivalent mechanical models for the description of the sloshing dynamics. This model is then introduced into an integrated modeling that accounts for both rigid and elastic behavior of flexible aircraft. The formulation also provides for fully unsteady aerodynamics modeled in the frequency domain via doublet lattice method and recast in time-domain state-space form by means of a rational function approximation. The case study consists of the so-called body freedom flutter research model equipped with a single tank, partially filled with water, located underneath the center of mass of the aircraft. The results spotlight that neglecting such sloshing effects considering the liquid as a frozen mass may overshadow possible instabilities, especially for mainly rigid-body dynamics.
Stationarity Preservation Properties of the Active Flux Scheme on Cartesian Grids
Authors: Barsukow Wasilij
Published: November 2020

Hyperbolic systems of conservation laws in multiple spatial dimensions display features absent in the one-dimensional case, such as involutions and non-trivial stationary states. These features need to be captured by numerical methods without excessive grid refinement. The active flux method is an extension of the finite volume scheme with additional point values distributed along the cell boundary. For the equations of linear acoustics, an exact evolution operator can be used for the update of these point values. It incorporates all multi-dimensional information. The active flux method is stationarity preserving, i.e., it discretizes all the stationary states of the PDE. This paper demonstrates the experimental evidence for the discrete stationary states of the active flux method and shows the evolution of setups towards a discrete stationary state.
Risk factors for surgical site infections after open reduction and internal fixation of acetabulum fracture in the west of Iran
Authors: Mardanpour Keykhosro , Rahbar Mahtab , Mardanpour Sourena , Rezaei Mansour
Published: November 2020

ABSTRACT

Background:

Still, surgical site infections (SSIs) remain a significant clinical problem. We aim to investigate the Incidence and risk factors (RFs) for SSIs occurrence following the open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of acetabulum fracture.

Materials and methods:

An observational cohort study conducted on 788 patients who underwent the ORIF procedures for acetabulum fracture between April 2012 and May 2019. The possible RFs associated with SSIs identified by univariate Chi-square and multivariate logistic regression models.

Results:

512 (69%) males and 276 (31%) females included. SSIs occurred in 35 of 512 males (4.03%), and 18 of 276 females (4.80%). The overall incidence of SSIs was 6.7% (53/788). In a multivariate analysis, advance age (OR, 3.21 (1.82–5.58), 95% CI,P < 0.001), male sex (OR, 1.75 (1.12–4.69), 95% CI,P < 0.003), high BMI (OR, 2.67 (1.52–5.05), 95% CI,P < 0.005) current smoking (OR, 2.31 (0.87–4.98), 95% CI,P < 0.004), low socio-educational levels (OR, 3.16 (0.65–7.43),95% CI,P < 0.005), Hospitalization > 5 days (OR, 1.54 (0.87–4.67).95% CI,P < 0.003), Deputy Chief Surgeon level (OR, 2.36 (1.32–5.41),95% CI,P < 0.003), high energy injury (OR, 2.69 (1.12–5.84),95% CI,P = 0.002), open fracture (OR, 2.69 (1.12–5.84),95% CI,P < 0.001), associated fracture (OR, 1.48 (0.59–4.51),95% CI,P < 0.002), ISS score ≥ 15(OR, 079 (025–3.66),95% CI,P = 0.001), risk score ≥ 2 (OR, 2.62 (0.72–5.46),95% CI,P = 0.001) and ASA score ≥ 1 (OR, 0.56 (0.31–1.87).95% CI,P < 0.001) were variables associated with a significantly RFs for SSIs development after ORIF of acetabulum fracture.

Conclusion:

Most SSIs can treat with antibiotics. Sometimes an additional operation or procedure may be required to manage the SSIs. Hence, prevention requires complete attention to RFs, to reduce the risk of SSI and improve the patient's defenses.

Highlights:
The effect of a nighttime zoo event on spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) behavior
Authors: Proctor Darby , Smurl Michelle
Published: November 2020

The relationship between zoo animals, particularly nonhuman primates, and visitors is complex and varies by species. Adding complexity to this relationship is the trend for zoos to host events outside of normal operating hours. Here, we explored whether a late-night haunted-house style event influenced the behavior of spider monkeys. We conducted behavioral observations both on event nights and nights without the event. The spider monkeys were active and outside more frequently on event nights compared to the control nights indicating that their typical nighttime behavior was altered. However, it is difficult to definitively conclude whether the behavioral changes were a result of the event being aversive or enriching. Our findings suggest that zoos should conduct behavioral observations of and collect physiological data from their animals, especially if they are sensitive to environmental changes, when implementing new events, including those occurring outside of normal operating hours to ensure high levels of animal welfare.
Toward a multimodal measurement model for the neurobehavioral trait of affiliative capacity
Authors: Palumbo Isabella M. , Perkins Emily R. , Yancey James R. , Brislin Sarah J. , Patrick Christopher J. , Latzman Robert D.
Published: November 2020

A growing body of research supports the value of a multimodal assessment approach, drawing on measures from different response modalities, for clarifying how core biobehavioral processes relate to various clinical problems and dimensions of psychopathology. Using data for 507 healthy adults, the current study was undertaken to integrate self-report and neurophysiological (brain potential) measures as a step toward a multimodal measurement model for the trait of affiliative capacity (AFF) – a biobehavioral construct relevant to adaptive and maladaptive social-interpersonal functioning. Individuals low in AFF exhibit a lack of interpersonal connectedness, deficient empathy, and an exploitative-aggressive social style that may be expressed transdiagnostically in antagonistic externalizing or distress psychopathology. Specific aims were to (1) integrate trait scale and brain potential indicators into a multimodal measure of AFF and (2) evaluate associations of this multimodal measure with criterion variables of different types. Results demonstrated (1) success in creating a multimodal measure of AFF from self-report and neural indicators, (2) effectiveness of this measure in predicting both clinical-diagnostic and neurophysiological criterion variables, and (3) transdiagnostic utility of the multimodal measure at both specific-disorder and broad symptom-dimension levels. Our findings further illustrate the value of psychoneurometric operationalizations of biobehavioral trait dimensions as referents for clarifying transdiagnostic relationships between biological systems variables and empirically defined dimensions of psychopathology.
World Enough, and Time: Zoë Wicomb’s David’s Story with Marcuse, Benjamin, and Chakrabarty
Authors: Forter Greg
Published: November 2020

This article contributes to recent discussions of temporality in relation to the concept of “world,” and especially, to how thinking “world” with “time” can rejuvenate postcolonial figurations of futurity. The theoretical texts I discuss include Pheng Cheah’s What Is a World?, Darieck Scott’s Extravagant Abjection, and Dipesh Chakrabarty’s Provincializing Europe. I retrieve the distinction in these works between the structural dislocations that “found” human being and decompose linear time, and more properly historical decenterings in which the heterotemporal is an effect of social processes of exploitation and (colonial-capitalist) domination. To honor this distinction, I place recent thinkers into dialogue with Walter Benjamin and Herbert Marcuse, suggesting that a post-poststructuralist reclamation of the latter is particularly overdue. The article culminates in an explication of Zoë Wicomb’s David’s Story—a work that asks us to live through its form that postcolonial mode of the nonsynchronous with which my argument is concerned.
All Power to the Party! The Sources of Ruling Party Strength in Authoritarian Regimes
Authors: Zeng Qingjie
Published: November 2020

The role of political parties in facilitating authoritarian rule has been the subject of extensive research, but parties vary widely in their institutional strength to perform regime-bolstering functions. This article synthesizes existing literature to develop a general theory that explains the sources of ruling party strength in autocracies. We argue that party strength stems from a strategic calculation by political actors who weigh the benefits of building a strong party against its costs. The relative benefits of strong parties depend on the stage of the authoritarian life cycle and factors specific to the strategic environment. The observable implications of the theory are tested using a dataset that includes all autocratic ruling parties that were in power between 1940 and 2015. Consistent with our argument, parties that originated from revolutions tend to be the strongest, whereas those created to support an incumbent dictator tend to be the weakest. A country's resource endowments and external environment also shape the dynamics for party building.
Neither survival nor accumulation: Marketisation and rural livelihood diversification in northern Vietnam
Authors: Lam Minh Chau
Published: November 2020

Building on ethnographic fieldwork in a northern Vietnamese village, this article explores how rural households have negotiated the opportunities and uncertainties of marketisation (Đổi Mới). I focus on the surprising ways local households have handled the state's push to diversify livelihoods and adopt commercial home-based sidelines: by means of beingđa gi năng, a local term that means ‘keeping many livelihood options and never putting all eggs in one basket’. In pursuit ofđa gi năng, local households have actively adopted home-based production even when they were doing well with paddy farming and faced no subsistence crisis. However, they have evaded what state officials want most: specialising in a single home-production enterprise in rational maximising ways to accumulate transformational wealth. The idea ofđa gi năngcalls into question two contrasting universal approaches to rural households’ motivations for livelihood diversification: either a desperate search for survival by passive victims of market forces, or a quest for wealth accumulation by rational maximisers without careful judgement of potential risks to one's family.
Brain response to emotional faces in anxiety and depression: neural predictors of cognitive behavioral therapy outcome and predictor-based subgroups following therapy
Authors: Klumpp Heide , Jimmy Jagan , Burkhouse Katie L. , Bhaumik Runa , Francis Jennifer , Craske Michelle G. , Phan K. Luan , Ajilore Olusola
Published: November 2020

Background

Neuroimaging studies have shown variance in brain response to emotional faces predicts cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) outcome. An important next step is to determine if individual differences in neural predictors of CBT response represent distinct patient groups.

Methods

In total, 90 patients with internalizing disorders completed a face-matching task during functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after 12 weeks of CBT and 45 healthy controls completed the task before and after 12 weeks. Patients exhibiting a pre-to-post CBT >50% reduction in symptom severity on two measures were considered treatment responders. Regions of interest (ROIs) for angry, fearful, and happy faces were submitted to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Significant ROIs were then submitted to decision tree analysis to classify responder/non-responder subgroups. Psychophysiological interactions (PPI) were used to explore functional connectivity in the region(s) that delineated subgroups.

Results

A total of 51 patients were treatment responders and ROC curve results were significant for all face types though specific regions varied. Decision tree results revealed superior occipital response to angry faces identified patient subgroups such that the subgroup with ‘high’ occipital activity had more responders than the ‘low’ occipital subgroup. Following CBT, the high, relative to low, occipital subgroup was less symptomatic. Controls exhibited stable superior occipital activation over time. Whole-brain PPI showed reduced baseline superior occipital-postcentral gyrus functional connectivity in responders compared to non-responders.

Conclusions

Preliminary findings indicate patients characterized by relatively more pre-treatment superior occipital gyrus engagement to angry faces and reduced superior occipital-postcentral gyrus connectivity, relative to non-responders, may represent a phenotype likely to benefit from CBT.
Transdiagnostic development of internalizing psychopathology throughout the life course up to age 45: a World Mental Health Surveys report
Authors: de Vries Ymkje Anna , Al-Hamzawi Ali , Alonso Jordi , Andrade Laura Helena , Benjet Corina , Bruffaerts Ronny , Bunting Brendan , de Girolamo Giovanni , Florescu Silvia , Gureje Oye , Haro Josep Maria , Karam Aimee , Karam Elie G. , Kawakami Norito , Kovess-Masfety Viviane , Lee Sing , Mneimneh Zeina , Navarro-Mateu Fernando , Ojagbemi Akin , Posada-Villa José , Scott Kate , Stagnaro Juan Carlos , Torres Yolanda , Xavier Miguel , Zarkov Zahari N. , Kessler Ronald C. , de Jonge Peter
Published: November 2020

Background

Depressive and anxiety disorders are highly comorbid, which has been theorized to be due to an underlying internalizing vulnerability. We aimed to identify groups of participants with differing vulnerabilities by examining the course of internalizing psychopathology up to age 45.

Methods

We used data from 24158 participants (aged 45+) in 23 population-based cross-sectional World Mental Health Surveys. Internalizing disorders were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). We applied latent class growth analysis (LCGA) and investigated the characteristics of identified classes using logistic or linear regression.

Results

The best-fitting LCGA solution identified eight classes: a healthy class (81.9%), three childhood-onset classes with mild (3.7%), moderate (2.0%), or severe (1.1%) internalizing comorbidity, two puberty-onset classes with mild (4.0%) or moderate (1.4%) comorbidity, and two adult-onset classes with mild comorbidity (2.7% and 3.2%). The childhood-onset severe class had particularly unfavorable sociodemographic outcomes compared to the healthy class, with increased risks of being never or previously married (OR = 2.2 and 2.0, p < 0.001), not being employed (OR = 3.5, p < 0.001), and having a low/low-average income (OR = 2.2, p < 0.001). Moderate or severe (v. mild) comorbidity was associated with 12-month internalizing disorders (OR = 1.9 and 4.8, p < 0.001), disability (B = 1.1–2.3, p < 0.001), and suicidal ideation (OR = 4.2, p < 0.001 for severe comorbidity only). Adult (v. childhood) onset was associated with lower rates of 12-month internalizing disorders (OR = 0.2, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

We identified eight transdiagnostic trajectories of internalizing psychopathology. Unfavorable outcomes were concentrated in the 1% of participants with childhood onset and severe comorbidity. Early identification of this group may offer opportunities for preventive interventions.
Retirement can wait: a phenomenographic exploration of professional baby-boomer engagement in non-standard employment
Authors: Niesel Christoph , Buys Laurie , Nili Alireza , Miller Evonne
Published: November 2020

This qualitative study explores the experiences of 23 professional baby-boomers in Australia who are challenging the traditional employment and retirement pathway through non-standard employment (NSE). We focus on professional part-time, casual and self-employed work within the kaleidoscope of various working arrangements that form NSE. Using a phenomenographic approach, we identified variations in how these older baby-boomers experience engagement in NSE. Our findings revealed five interrelated hierarchical categories of description, which posit a generally positive view of NSE and highlight financial stability, flexibility, continued activity, social ties and maintaining self-identity as key conceptions for work engagement. Our study suggests that NSE is an important and under-researched part of the labour market for baby-boomer professionals, that it can offer greater opportunities for engagement and that the traditional hard-boundary view of retirement as a defined lifestage is softening. It extends our understanding of baby-boomer engagement with NSE in the labour market and offers findings that may inform future policy and practice.
How do strategic narratives shape policy adoption? Responses to China's Belt and Road Initiative
Authors: van Noort Carolijn , Colley Thomas
Published: November 2020

Strategic narratives are increasingly considered important for domestic and international support for foreign policy. However, debate continues about why some strategic narratives successfully shape policy outcomes, while others are rejected. How states construct strategic narratives is well established. We know less about how states appropriate the strategic narratives of others, and the role this plays in policy adoption. Addressing this, we introduce a theoretical framework to trace the relationship between strategic narratives and policy adoption. Its central premise is that a state is more likely to adopt a new policy if it can strategically narrate about it in a way that promises material gain but without undermining its ontological security. We test our framework using states’ responses to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Examining the Second Belt and Road Forum in 2019, we trace how far China's strategic narratives are appropriated by multiple states – Kazakhstan, Italy, United Kingdom, Netherlands, United States, India, and Mexico. Countries appropriate China's narrative emphasis on connectivity, trade, and prosperity. However, they contest that China's intentions are benign, based on its human rights record, assertive foreign policy, and fears of indebtedness. Finally, we discuss our framework's utility in explaining what makes strategic narratives persuasive in International Relations.
A note on constituent parsing for Korean
Authors: Kim Mija , Park Jungyeul
Published: November 2020

This study deals with widespread issues on constituent parsing for Korean including the quantitative and qualitative error analyses on parsing results. The previous treebank grammars have been accepted as being interpretable in the various annotation schemes, whereas the recent parsers turn out to be much harder for humans to interpret. This paper, therefore, intends to find the concrete typology of parsing errors, to describe how these parsers deal with sentences and to show their statistical distribution, using state-of-the-art statistical and neural parsers. For doing this work, we train and evaluate the phrase structure Sejong treebank using statistical and neural parsing systems and obtain results up to a 89.18% F
$_1$
score, which outperforms previous constituent parsing results for Korean. We also define best practices for correct comparison to future work by proposing the standard corpus division for the Sejong treebank.
Weight bias among public health trainees
Authors: Sonneville Kendrin R , Rose Kelsey L , Lambrecht Nathalie J , Barry Mikayla R , Weeks Heidi M , Leung Cindy W
Published: November 2020

Objective:

To explore explicit beliefs about the controllability of obesity and the internalisation of negative weight-related stereotypes among public health trainees.

Design:

Cross-sectional online survey assessing explicit beliefs about the controllability of obesity using the Beliefs About Obese Persons Scale (BAOP) and internalisation of weight bias using the Modified Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBIS-M). Bivariate associations between BAOP and WBIS-M scores and demographic characteristics were examined using t tests or ANOVA with post hoc Tukey’s tests.

Setting:

School of Public Health at a large, Midwestern University.

Participants:

Public health students (n 322).

Results:

Relative to students who identified as male, those who identified as female had a stronger belief that obesity is not within the control of the individual (P = 0·03), yet had more internalisation of weight bias (P < 0·01). Greater weight bias internalisation was also seen among students who perceived themselves to be of a higher weight status (P < 0·001) and those who were at risk for food insecurity (P < 0·01).

Conclusions:

Public health trainees may be more attuned to the complexities of weight relative to trainees in other health-related fields, but are still susceptible to internalisation of negative weight-related stereotypes.
Body shape trajectories and risk of breast cancer: results from the SUN (‘Seguimiento Universidad De Navarra’) Project
Authors: Sanchez-Bayona Rodrigo , Sayon-Orea Carmen , Gardeazabal Itziar , Llorca Javier , Gea Alfredo , Santisteban Marta , Martín-Moreno Jose M , Toledo Estefania
Published: November 2020

Objective:

The aim of this study was to assess body shape trajectories in childhood and midlife in relation to subsequent risk of breast cancer (BC) in a Mediterranean cohort.

Design:

The ‘Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra’ (SUN) Project is a dynamic prospective cohort study of university graduates initiated in 1999. With a group-based modelling approach, we assessed body shape trajectories from age 5 to 40 years. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) for BC after the age of 40 years according to the body shape trajectory.

Setting:

City of Pamplona, in the North of Spain.

Participants:

6498 women with a mean age of 40 years (sd9).

Results:

We identified four distinct body shape trajectories (‘childhood lean-midlife increase’ (19·9 %), ‘childhood medium-midlife stable’ (53 %), ‘childhood heavy-midlife stable’ (21 %) and ‘childhood heavy-midlife increase’ (6·1 %)). Among 54 978 women-years of follow-up, we confirmed eighty-two incident cases of BC. Women in the ‘childhood lean-midlife increase’ group showed a higher risk of BC (HR = 1·84, 95 % CI 1·11, 3·04) compared with women in the ‘childhood medium-midlife stable’ category. This association was stronger for postmenopausal BC (HR = 2·42, 95 % CI 1·07, 5·48).

Conclusions:

Our results suggest a role for lifetime adiposity in breast carcinogenesis.
Association between alcohol consumption and metabolic syndrome among Chinese adults
Authors: Lin Yi , Ying Yan-Yan , Li Si-Xuan , Wang Si-Jia , Gong Qing-Hai , Li Hui
Published: November 2020

Objective:

To assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Chinese adults living in Ningbo and to examine the association between alcohol consumption and MetS and its medical components.

Design:

A representative survey in Ningbo was conducted in 2015 covering socio-demography. A FFQ together with additional questionnaires was used to collect information on alcohol consumption, diet, demography, lifestyle and medical information. Multivariable logistic regression and generalised linear models were used to examine the association between alcohol consumption and both MetS and its medical components, respectively.

Setting:

Ningbo, China.

Participants:

A total of 2853 adults ≥ 20 years (44 % men) in this final analysis.

Results:

The prevalence of frequent alcohol drinkers and MetS was 29·9 % and 28·0 %, respectively. Significantly higher prevalence of MetS and mean values of medical components were found in the group of frequent alcohol drinkers with an exception for HDL-cholesterol, compared with less or non-alcohol drinkers. Frequent alcohol consumption was associated with higher odds of developing MetS and positively associated with medical components excepting waist circumference.

Conclusions:

Frequent alcohol consumption contributed to a higher prevalence of MetS and unfavourable influence on MetS and its medical components among Chinese adults. A public health intervention on alcohol restriction is necessary for the prevention and control of the ongoing epidemic MetS.
Characterization of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) germplasm for drought tolerance
Authors: Kanbar Osama Zuhair , Chege Paul , Lantos Csaba , Kiss Erzsebet , Pauk Janos
Published: November 2020

Climate change realities such as high-temperature levels are among the causes of drought episodes affecting the productivity and yield stability of crops worldwide. Breeders, therefore, have a daunting challenge to overcome and a large gap to seal in the agricultural sector arising due to drought through the improvement of new tolerant germplasm. It is in this endeavour that the present study, which included nine winter wheat genotypes grown in the greenhouse, was conducted to evaluate their performance under well-watered and drought stress treatments for the traits: heading time, plant height, above-ground biomass, seed number/plant, grain yield/plant, harvest index, root length and root dry mass. A lower grain yield/plant was observed for each studied genotype under drought stress conditions than for those under well-watered conditions. Additionally, grain yield/plant depression varied from 69.64 to 81.73% depending on the genotype. Positive significant correlations between grain yield/plant and heading time, above-ground biomass, and seed number/plant under the drought stress treatment were obtained. Genotypes that recorded high root dry mass had both high above-ground biomass and seed number/plant under drought stress conditions. Positive correlations between grain yield/plant depression and plant height, seed number/plant, and harvest index depressions were also observed. Grain yield for each genotype under drought stress conditions was recorded, and the varieties ‘Plainsman V.’, ‘GK Berény’ and germplasm ‘PC61’, ‘PC110’ showed the best drought tolerance. These genotypes and germplasm will be used in different drought tolerance experiments and breeding programmes.
A spatial machine learning model for analysing customers’ lapse behaviour in life insurance
Authors: Hu Sen , O’Hagan Adrian , Sweeney James , Ghahramani Mohammadhossein
Published: November 2020

Spatial analysis ranges from simple univariate descriptive statistics to complex multivariate analyses and is typically used to investigate spatial patterns or to identify spatially linked consumer behaviours in insurance. This paper investigates if the incorporation of publicly available spatially linked demographic census data at population level is useful in modelling customers’ lapse behaviour (i.e. stopping payment of premiums) in life insurance policies, based on data provided by an insurance company in Ireland. From the insurance company’s perspective, identifying and assessing such lapsing risks in advance permit engagement to prevent such incidents, saving money by re-evaluating customer acquisition channels and improving capital reserve calculation and preparation. Incorporating spatial analysis in lapse modelling is expected to improve lapse prediction. Therefore, a hybrid approach to lapse prediction is proposed – spatial clustering using census data is used to reveal the underlying spatial structure of customers of the Irish life insurer, in conjunction with traditional statistical models for lapse prediction based on the company data. The primary contribution of this work is to consider the spatial characteristics of customers for life insurance lapse behaviour, via the integration of reliable government provided census demographics, which has not been considered previously in actuarial literature. Company decision-makers can use the insights gleaned from this analysis to identify customer subsets to target with personalized promotions to reduce lapse rates, and to reduce overall company risk.
A relict tropical forest bat assemblage from the early Miocene of the Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin (Castelló, Spain)
Authors: CRESPO Vicente D. , SEVILLA Paloma , MONTOYA Plini , RUIZ-SÁNCHEZ Francisco J.
Published: November 2020

We present the bat assemblage from the early Miocene (MN4, 16.9–15.95 MY) basin of Ribesalbes-Alcora, which has yielded the remains of ten chiropteran taxa. Bat assemblages are rarely recovered in the fluvio-lacustrine fossil record. A bat species described in this work,Cuvierimops penalverisp. nov., is a new form of a typically Oligocene free-tailed bat. In addition, the other molossidsHydromops helveticus,Rhizomops cf.brasiliensis,Chaerephonsp.,Tadaridasp., and the vespertilionidsMyotis cf.intermediusandMiostrellusaff.petersbuchensis, as well as undetermined fossils ascribed to the generaSubmyotodon,Plecotus, andRhinolophusare described. This is the first record of the genusRhizomopsin the early Miocene; the genusCuvierimopsis the first recording from the Neogene, while the ‘Lazarus taxon’Chaerephonis the first fossil record of this genus, registered previously only in Holocene deposits. This bat assemblage with a high abundance of molossids is typical from the early Oligocene of western Europe, while in the early Miocene from Europe the molossids are scarce. The abundance of these bats is consistent with the presence of a tropical forest surrounding a paleolake. The fossils from the Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin represent the most complete bat assemblage of the Iberian Peninsula during this age, and significantly increase our knowledge about the early Miocene bats of Europe.
Qualitätssicherung in der psychodynamischen Psychotherapie: Diagnosespezifische Verläufe, der Einfluss unterschiedlicher Respondenten und ihre Sicht auf Moderatoren der Veränderung
Authors: Seiffge-Krenke Inge , Posselt Melissa
Published: November 2020

Zusammenfassung. Diese Studie untersucht in einem naturalistischen Design die Einschätzung des Verlaufs und der Wirksamkeit ( effectiveness) psychodynamischer Langzeittherapien aus der Sicht jugendlicher Patient_innen und ihren Müttern im Kontext anderer Moderatoren der Veränderung, die Merkmale der Patient_innen, der Therapeut_innen und der Therapie umfassten. An 161 Patient_innen und ihren Müttern wurden zu drei Zeitpunkten der Therapie (Beginn, Mitte, Ende) Einschätzungen der internalizing, externalizing und Gesamtsymptombelastung mit dem Youth Self Report (YSR) und der Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) erhoben. Die Einschätzungen beider Informant_innen ergab einen Rückgang der Symptome über den Therapieverlauf mit ähnlich hohen Effektstärken (η2 = .25 für die Patient_innen, η2 = .31 für deren Mütter). Die Jugendlichen differenzierten stärker zwischen den Diagnosegruppen, gaben höhere Symptomstärken zu Beginn an und sahen in der zweiten Hälfte der Therapie geringere Veränderungen als ihre Mütter. Insbesondere für internalisierende Störungen erwiesen sich die psychodynamischen Langzeittherapien im Mütter- und Patient_innenurteil als wirksam. In Bezug auf die selten durchgeführten Kurzzeittherapien unterscheiden sich Selbst- und Fremdurteil. Bei der Untersuchung der Prädiktoren für die Therapiewirksamkeit (Differenzwert der Gesamtsymptombelastung zwischen Beginn und Ende) klärten im Mütterurteil Therapeut_innen- und Therapiemerkmale Varianz auf, während nach Einschätzung der Jugendlichen Patient_innenmerkmale den stärksten Einfluss zeigen.
Bullying-Erfahrungen bei PatientInnen einer Ambulanz für Kinder- und Jugendpsychotherapie – eine besonders gefährdete Gruppe?
Authors: Kranhold Anna-Luisa , Voigt Babett , Wolke Dieter , Krause Karen , Friedrich Sören , Margraf Jürgen , Schneider Silvia
Published: November 2020

Zusammenfassung. Fragestellung: Bullying hat kurz- und langfristige negative Auswirkungen auf die körperliche und psychische Gesundheit. Daher ist zu erwarten, dass Kinder/Jugendliche aus klinischen Einrichtungen besonders häufig von Bullying-Opfererfahrungen betroffen sind. Diese Studie beschreibt erstmalig die Prävalenz der Bullying-Rollen und -Modi bei Kindern/Jugendlichen im ambulanten psychotherapeutischen Setting in Deutschland. Methodik: 298 PatientInnen einer universitären Ambulanz für Kinder- und Jugendpsychotherapie (6–20 Jahre, 50.7 % weiblich) wurden mithilfe eines Fragebogens zu ihren Bullying-Erfahrungen innerhalb der letzten 6 Monate befragt. Ergebnisse: 24.5 % der PatientInnen berichteten von Erfahrungen aus der Opferperspektive, unabhängig ihrer TäterInnenerfahrungen. 19.1 % berichten von Opfererfahrungen, 5.4 % von gleichzeitigen Opfer-/TäterInnenerfahrungen, 2.0 % von TäterInnenerfahrungen. Es zeigte sich, dass über ein Drittel der Betroffenen mit gleichzeitiger Opfer-/TäterInnenerfahrung polyviktimisiert wurde, 86.2 % erfuhren ausschließlich traditionelle Viktimisierung und 1.4 % ausschließlich Cyber-Bullying. Der explorative Vergleich mit unselektierten Schulstichproben deutet auf signifikant mehr Opfererfahrungen und weniger TäterInnenerfahrungen hin. Es gibt keine Hinweise auf signifikante Unterschiede bezüglich gleichzeitig auftretender Opfer- und TäterInnenerfahrungen. Der explorative Vergleich mit einer stationären Vergleichsstichprobe deutet auf signifikant weniger jugendliche PatientInnen mit Opfererfahrungen oder gleichzeitig auftretender Opfer- und TäterInnenerfahrungen hin. Schlussfolgerungen: Bullying kommt im psychotherapeutischen Kontext eine besondere Bedeutung zu. Die Befunde haben wichtige Implikationen für die psychotherapeutische Praxis und Ausbildung.
Validity and Reliability of Automatically Generated Propositional Reasoning Items
Authors: Gühne Daniela , Doebler Philipp , Condon David M. , Luo Fang , Sun Luning
Published: November 2020

Abstract. This study introduces a newly developed public-domain multilingual automatic item generator that creates propositional reasoning (PR) items belonging to 15 item families by using various inference rules. Psychometric properties of the resulting written PR test were investigated in three diverse samples in English, simplified Chinese, and German, respectively. Internal consistency was good to excellent across samples. The ICAR16 short form test of cognitive abilities ( Condon & Revelle, 2014 ) was used to evaluate construct validity. Correlations of ICAR16 scores and PR scores were high. Furthermore, items within families appeared to be equivalent, with only minor differential item functioning between the Chinese- and English-speaking samples. Performance on the PR test was shown to be reasonably stable over the course of 1 week. Differences of total scores between test forms (pen and paper vs. computerized administration) were not detected. Findings suggest that the automatically generated PR test is a valuable instrument for the assessment of propositional reasoning ability.
Negative Is True Here and Now, But Not So Much There and Then
Authors: Jaffé Mariela E. , Greifeneder Rainer
Published: November 2020

Abstract. How do people judge the veracity of a message? The negativity bias in judgments of truth describes the phenomenon that the same message is more likely judged as true when framed negatively compared to positively. This manuscript investigates the negativity bias in conditions of psychological proximity and the possibility that the bias decreases when distance increases. This notion is informed by construal level theory, which holds that negative information is more salient and weighed more strongly in conditions of psychological proximity compared to distance. Against this background, we hypothesize that a negativity bias likely occurs in conditions of proximity. With increasing psychological distance, however, positively compared to negatively framed information is more likely to be judged true, therefore attenuating or even reversing the bias. Two studies provide preliminary yet weak support for this hypothesis. A final registered study put the preliminary conclusions to a critical test and yielded consistent results: We find a significant interaction between frame and distance, indicating a descriptive trend for a negativity bias in conditions of proximity, yet a positivity bias in conditions of distance. This interaction illustrates that psychological distance may impact the negativity bias in truth judgments.
Modeling Holocene Peatland Carbon Accumulation in North America
Authors: Zhuang Qianlai , Wang Sirui , Zhao Bailu , Aires Filipe , Prigent Catherine , Yu Zicheng , Keller Jason K. , Bridgham Scott
Published: November 2020

Peatlands are a large carbon reservoir. Yet the quantification of their carbon stock still has a large uncertainty due to lacking observational data and well‐tested peatland biogeochemistry models. Here, a process‐based peatland model was calibrated using long‐term peat carbon accumulation data at multiple sites in North America. The model was then applied to quantify the peat carbon accumulation rates and stocks within North America over the last 12,000 years. We estimated that 85–174 Pg carbon was accumulated in North American peatlands over the study period including 0.37–0.76 Pg carbon in subtropical peatlands. During the period from 10,000 to 8,000 years ago, the warmer and wetter conditions might have played an important role in stimulating peat carbon accumulation by enhancing plant photosynthesis. Enhanced peat decomposition due to warming slowed the carbon accumulation through the rest of the Holocene. While recent modeling studies indicate that the northern peatlands will continue to act as a carbon sink in this century, our studies suggest that future enhanced peat decomposition accompanied by peatland areal changes induced by permafrost degradation and other disturbances shall confound the sink and source analysis.
Deciphering Linkages Between Microbial Communities and Priming Effects in Lake Sediments With Different Salinity
Authors: Yang Jian , Chen Yao , She Weiyu , Xiao Haiyi , Wang Zheng , Wang Huanye , Liu Weiguo , Jiang Hongchen
Published: November 2020

Priming effects (PEs) and their associated microbial drivers are not well studied in lake sediments. Here, we investigated PEs and underlying potential microbial drivers in the sediments of lakes on the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau (QTP). Sediments were collected from three QTP lakes with different salinity, followed by microcosm construction and subsequent incubation at in situ temperature. The sediment microcosms were amended with13C‐labeled glucose, on which PE intensities were evaluated in the incubations on Days 7 and 42. Positive PEs were observed in all the studied lake sediment microcosms. PE intensities exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) linear correlations with most of the measured physicochemical factors (e.g., salinity, sediment total nitrogen/phosphorus, and ratios of carbon:nitrogen), and such linear correlations were inverse for the early (i.e., on Day 7) and late (i.e., on Day 42) PEs. Prokaryotic and fungal community compositions significantly changed owing to glucose addition in the studied lake microcosms, suggesting that both prokaryotes and fungi may contribute to the observed PEs. Network analysis showed that the numbers of positive correlations between fungal taxa and other microorganisms increased with the enhancement of the late PE intensity, suggesting that fungi and associated co‐metabolisms may play key roles in late PEs in this study. Collectively, this study gives new insights into PE intensity and underlying microbial drivers of PE in lake sediments, and such knowledge is of great importance to understanding organic matter mineralization in lake ecosystems.