bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dynamics of mire ecosystems of Siberia in the Holocene and paludification process at the present stage
Authors: Inisheva L I , Kobak K I , Turchinovich I E
Published: February 2020

The paper considers the Holocene paludification process in West Siberian Plain; peat increase for the entire Holocene according to radiocarbon dating of peat deposits. The comparison of results by peat accumulation activity with the climate of Western Siberia in the Holocene is carried out, and the forecast of the natural evolution of mires is given. To determine the contemporary accumulation rate and linear peat increment, we used the model of peat and carbon accumulation process, and the field studies of carbon balance parameters of oligotrophic bog catena as an example. The modern rates of carbon accumulation and the linear peat increment of some types of mires were determined. The field studies of carbon balance parameters on the example of oligotrophic bog catena showed, in years with different climatic conditions, the NPP values varied from 206 to 337 g Cm−2year−1. Most of the carbon losses are the carbon dioxide emission (an average is 61.3 g Cm−2year−1, or 23.5 % NPP). The carbon flux, determined by the model of the removal chemicals, is 3.0% NPP with a mean value 7.9 g Cm−2year−1. The calculations of the carbon balance indicate the progression of the paludification process in the studied area.
Palaeoenvironments of the Medieval warm period in the “Kaluzhskiye Zaseki” Nature Reserve (Central European Russia)
Authors: Novenko E Yu , Borisova O K , Mazei N G , Zyuganova I S , Kusilman M V , Bobrovsky M V
Published: February 2020

This paper is focused on environment conditions during the Medieval warm period and human impact on the broadleaved forests in central European Russia. The study area is located in the “Kaluzhskiye Zaseki” Nature Reserve, one of the unique remnants of primary Eastern European broadleaved forests. Here, we present new high-resolution pollen and plant macrofossil records and radiocarbon dating from the sediment sequences in the outcrop of the right bank of Vytebet’ River (a tributary of Oka River) in the northern part of the Reserve. The obtained results have shown no clear evidence of vegetation changes in the region in response to the climatic amelioration during the Medieval time. The pronounced changes of forest ecosystems were caused by anthropogenic disturbance since the 13th century AD.
Dynamics of ecosystems and land use in the Dnieper left-bank forest-steppe for the last two thousand years: Kurilovka 2 case study
Authors: Rodinkova V E , Ponomarenko E V , Ershova E G , Sycheva S A
Published: February 2020

The paper presents the first results of comprehensive studies of the multi-layer settlement Kurilovka 2 (Kursk region, Russia). It is located on a remnant of a low terrace above the floodplain of the Sudzha River (tributary of the Psel River – tributary of the Dnieper). The site contains archaeological materials of two main periods: proto- and early Slavonic (2nd – 8th centuries) and the Modern Period (end of the 17th – 20th century). The mail attention is paid to the results of archaeological, pedological, palynological, phytolith, anthracological study of the soil profile/archaeological pit 10/2016, located within the boundaries of the habitation zone. The data obtained allow us to reconstruct the history of the site development and dynamics of the site-encasing ecosystems over the past two thousand years. The area was initially forested and cleared for shifting agriculture, probably by the proto- and early Slavonic population. At the end of the 1st millennium AD the settlement was abandoned. The site was reforested and cleared again in the Modern Period. Now the arable land is not farmed, the site is covered with the herbaceous vegetation.
Printable and flexible graphene pH sensors utilising thin film melanin for physiological applications
Authors: Tehrani Z , Whelan S P , Mostert A B , Paulin J V , Ali M M , Ahmadi E Daghigh , Graeff C F O , Guy O J , Gethin D T
Published: February 2020

The application of highly sensitive pH sensors manufactured in volume at low cost has great commercial interest due to an extensive array of potential applications. Such areas include industrial processing, biotechnology and medical diagnostics particularly in the development of point of care (POC) devices. A novel printable electrochemical pH sensor based on graphene and pigment melanin (PGM), was designed and produced by using a screen printing process that enables up scaling for potential commercial application. We demonstrate a highly sensitive pH sensor (62 mV pH−1  ±  7) over a pH range from 5 to 8, with high stability and superior performance when compared with a number of existing devices and making it suitable for physiological applications.
A system for the deterministic transfer of 2D materials under inert environmental conditions
Authors: Gant Patricia , Carrascoso Felix , Zhao Qinghua , Ryu Yu Kyoung , Seitz Michael , Prins Ferry , Frisenda Riccardo , Castellanos-Gomez Andres
Published: February 2020

The isolation of air-sensitive two-dimensional (2D) materials and the race to achieve a better control of the interfaces in van der Waals heterostructures has pushed the scientific community towards the development of experimental setups that allow to exfoliate and transfer 2D materials under inert atmospheric conditions. These systems are typically based on over pressurized N2 of Ar gloveboxes that require the use of very thick gloves to operate within the chamber or the implementation of several motorized micro-manipulators. Here, we set up a deterministic transfer system for 2D materials within a gloveless anaerobic chamber. Unlike other setups based on over-pressurized gloveboxes, in our system the operator can manipulate the 2D materials within the chamber with bare hands. This experimental setup allows us to exfoliate 2D materials and to deterministically place them at a desired location with accuracy in a controlled O2-free and very low humidity (<2% RH) atmosphere. We illustrate the potential of this system to work with air-sensitive 2D materials by comparing the stability of black phosphorus and perovskite flakes inside and outside the anaerobic chamber.
Molecular dynamics investigation of the thermal properties in single-walled boron nitride nanotube
Authors: Huang Jianzhang , Guo Yalan , Fan Yue , Liang Yingjing
Published: February 2020

The thermal properties of single-walled boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are studied in this paper based on molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The influence and mechanism of tubular configuration, temperature, length, diameter and chirality on the thermal conductivity of BNNTs are systematically analyzed. The results show that the thermal conductivity decreased with increasing temperatures. The values of thermal conductivity of BNNTs and boron nitride nanoribbons (BNNRs) confirm that the tubular configuration is more conducive to phonon propagation. The thermal conductivity is raised by increasing the length of BNNTs. Moreover, the thermal conductivity changes slightly with further increase of diameter and various chirality. The results share guiding significance for thermal transport characterization of nanoscale thermal conductive component based on boron nitride nanotubes.
Dispersion properties, nonlinear waves and birefringence in classical nonlinear electrodynamics
Authors: Tzenov Stephan I , Spohr Klaus M , Tanaka Kazuo A
Published: February 2020

Using the very basic physics principles, we have studied the implications of quantum corrections to classical electrodynamics and the propagation of electromagnetic waves and pulses. The initial nonlinear wave equation for the electromagnetic vector potential is solved perturbatively about the known exact plane wave solution in both the case of a polarized vacuum without external field, as well as when a constant magnetic field is applied. A nonlinear wave equation with nonzero convective part for the (relatively) slowly varying amplitude of the first-order perturbation has been derived. This equation governs the propagation of electromagnetic waves with a reduced speed of light, where the reduction is roughly proportional to the intensity of the initial pumping plane wave. A system of coupled nonlinear wave equations for the two slowly varying amplitudes of the first-order perturbation, which describe the two polarization states, has been obtained for the case of constant magnetic field background. Further, the slowly varying wave amplitude behavior is shown to be similar to that of a cnoidal wave, known to describe surface gravity waves in shallow water. It has been demonstrated that the two wave modes describing the two polarization states are independent, and they propagate at different wave frequencies. This effect is usually called nonlinear birefringence.
Sparse recovery methodologies for quasi-distributed dynamic strain sensing
Authors: Shiloh Lihi , Shen-Tzur Roy , Eyal Avishay , Giryes Raja
Published: February 2020

Quasi-distributed measurement of strain and/or temperature is often implemented using arrays of weakly reflecting fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) whose reflection peaks are centered at the same nominal wavelength. The signals are obtained by measuring the phase difference between the reflections of consecutive FBGs. Typically, in such a system, the spatial resolution of the interrogator must be compatible with the spatial separation between consecutive FBGs. Insufficient resolution leads to an overlap of reflection peaks, a decrease in the differential-phase signal and poor sensitivity. In this paper, we study the use of two different sparsity based methodologies for improving the sensitivity of such quasi distributed acoustic sensing systems in the case where traditional signal processing approaches do not provide sufficient spatial resolution. These methods enable relaxing the requirements regarding the interrogator or, alternatively, reducing the needed separation between reflectors. Experimentally, these techniques were used to measure 1 kHz dynamic strain induced in a fiber segment between two discrete reflectors, located at the end of a 4 km long fiber. The separation between the reflectors was 18 m while the pulse (spatial) width was intentionally chosen bigger than that. It yielded approximately 5 dB increase in the measured signal compared to the traditional processing approach and an order of magnitude improvement in the sensitivity,

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Life cycle assessment of power-to-gas applications via co-electrolysis of CO2 and H2O
Authors: Sadok Rachel , Benveniste Gabriela , Wang Ligang , Clavreul Julie , Brunot Aymeric , Cren Julie , Jegoux Mathilde , Hagen Anke
Published: February 2020

Solid-oxide electrolysis technology (SOEC) can efficiently convert electricity from renewable sources into H2 via steam electrolysis, or syngas (a mixture of H2 and CO2) via co-electrolysis of steam and CO2. Co-SOEC provides the advantage of better thermal integration for standalone applications or with other industrial processes. In this paper two promising cases are investigated from the perspective of life-cycle assessment to evaluate the potential of reducing carbon emissions: (1) coupling co-SOEC with a cement plant, and (2) integrating co-SOEC into a biomass gasification plant. Life cycle assessment was performed based on the collection of comprehensive information regarding the electricity sources for different scenarios and a sensitivity analysis was included to verify the consistency of the results. The results show that in both cases the co-electrolysis system can be beneficial in terms of reduction of global warming potential, although it depends heavily on the geographic location and on the share of renewable energy. The highest benefits among the cases reviewed were found in the case of a coal-fed cement plant, where annual CO2 savings reached up to 2.39E + 05 tonnes CO2-eq in France with 23.6% of the electricity provided by photovoltaics (PV). In Germany, on the other hand, both cases first show benefits when the renewable share reaches a very high percentage of the electricity input: 50% provided by PV for the case of the cement plant and 82% for the case of a biomass-gasification unit. Since electricity input is the main impact concerning power-to-gas applications, the carbon content of the electricity grid mix is very important. As grid mixes become ‘cleaner’ in the future with more renewable share in the electricity generation in every country, the investigated applications are expected to provide even higher benefits.
Image mapping the temporal evolution of edge characteristics in tokamaks using neural networks
Authors: Gopakumar Vignesh , Samaddar D
Published: February 2020

We propose a method for data-driven modelling of the temporal evolution of the plasma and neutral characteristics at the edge of a tokamak using neural networks. Our method proposes a novel fully convolutional network to serve as function approximators in modelling complex nonlinear phenomenon observed in the multi-physics representations of high energy physics. More specifically, we target the evolution of the temperatures, densities and parallel velocities of the electrons, ions and neutral particles at the edge. The central challenge in this context is in modelling together the different physics principles encapsulated in the evolution of plasma and the neutrals. We demonstrate that the inherent differences in nonlinear behaviour can be addressed by forking the network to process the plasma and neutral information individually before integrating as a holistic system. Our approach takes into account the spatial dependencies of the physics parameters across the grid while performing the temporal mappings, ensuring that the underlying physics is factored in and not lost to the black-box. Having used the conventional edge plasma-neutral solver code SOLPS to build the synthetic dataset, our method demonstrates a computational gain of over 5 orders of magnitude over it without a considerable compromise on accuracy.
Nurse-Delivered Screening and Brief Intervention Among College Students with Hazardous Alcohol Use: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial from India
Authors: Kamal Kumar , Sunita Sharma , Karobi Das , Abhishek Ghosh
Published: February 2020

Aim

To determine the effectiveness of individual-based, nurse-delivered, on-campus screening and brief intervention (SBI) for hazardous alcohol use among college students.

Methods

It was a parallel-design, double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Out of 793 students screened, 130 met the selection criteria of hazardous alcohol use, defined by alcohol use disorder identification test (AUDIT) score 8–19. Participants were randomly allocated to either SBI or general advice group. Both interventions were delivered by one specially trained nurse. Outcome was assessed after 3 months. Primary outcome was the change in the mean AUDIT score and the secondary outcome was difference in the proportion of students transited from the high- to low-risk category of AUDIT. General linear model with repeated measures and logistic regression were used to determine the primary and secondary outcome, respectively.

Results

Majority (80.7%) of the participants were men. Among all the baseline demography and clinical characteristics, only family history of alcohol use was significantly different in the groups. Intention to treat analysis showed a significant but small effect (0.16) of SBI on the mean AUDIT score. Gender did not moderate the effect. SBI was also observed to have a significant effect (adjusted odds ratio 3.7 95% CI 1.529–8.850) on shifting the students from high- to low-risk AUDIT zone.

Conclusion

SBI among college students is acceptable and has a small but significant effect on alcohol use. In countries like India, where despite the increasing magnitude of hazardous drinking in students no formal system exists to deal with the problem, SBI might be useful.
Metagenome SNP calling via read-colored de Bruijn graphs
Authors: Alipanahi Bahar , Muggli Martin D , Jundi Musa , Noyes Noelle R , Boucher Christina
Published: February 2020

Motivation

Metagenomics refers to the study of complex samples containing of genetic contents of multiple individual organisms and, thus, has been used to elucidate the microbiome and resistome of a complex sample. The microbiome refers to all microbial organisms in a sample, and the resistome refers to all of the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes in pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can be effectively used to ‘fingerprint’ specific organisms and genes within the microbiome and resistome and trace their movement across various samples. However, to effectively use these SNPs for this traceability, a scalable and accurate metagenomics SNP caller is needed. Moreover, such an SNP caller should not be reliant on reference genomes since 95% of microbial species is unculturable, making the determination of a reference genome extremely challenging. In this article, we address this need.

Results

We present LueVari, a reference-free SNP caller based on the read-colored de Bruijn graph, an extension of the traditional de Bruijn graph that allows repeated regions longer than the k-mer length and shorter than the read length to be identified unambiguously. LueVari is able to identify SNPs in both AMR genes and chromosomal DNA from shotgun metagenomics data with reliable sensitivity (between 91% and 99%) and precision (between 71% and 99%) as the performance of competing methods varies widely. Furthermore, we show that LueVari constructs sequences containing the variation, which span up to 97.8% of genes in datasets, which can be helpful in detecting distinct AMR genes in large metagenomic datasets.

Availability and implementation

Code and datasets are publicly available at https://github.com/baharpan/cosmo/tree/LueVari.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Inhibition of Histone Deacetylase Reinstates Hippocampus-Dependent Long-Term Synaptic Plasticity and Associative Memory in Sleep-Deprived Mice
Authors: Wong Lik-Wei , Chong Yee Song , Wong Win Lee Edwin , Sajikumar Sreedharan
Published: February 2020

Sleep plays an important role in the establishment of long-term memory; as such, lack of sleep severely impacts domains of our health including cognitive function. Epigenetic mechanisms regulate gene transcription and protein synthesis, playing a critical role in the modulation of long-term synaptic plasticity and memory. Recent evidences indicate that transcriptional dysregulation as a result of sleep deprivation (SD) may contribute to deficits in plasticity and memory function. The histone deacetylase inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), also known as Vorinostat, a clinically approved drug for human use, has been shown to ameliorate cognitive deficits in several neurological disease models. To further explore the therapeutic effect of SAHA, we have examined its potential role in improving the SD-mediated impairments in long-term plasticity, associative plasticity, and associative memory. Here we show that SAHA preserves long-term plasticity, associative plasticity, and associative memory in SD hippocampus. Furthermore, we find that SAHA prevents SD-mediated epigenetic changes by upregulating histone acetylation, hence preserving the ERK–cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB)/CREB-binding protein–brain-derived neurotrophic factor pathway in the hippocampus. These data demonstrate that modifying epigenetic mechanisms via SAHA can prevent or reverse impairments in long-term plasticity and memory that result from sleep loss. Thus, SAHA could be a potential therapeutic agent in improving SD-related memory deficits.
Normalized difference vegetation index, temperature and age affect faecal thyroid hormone concentrations in free-ranging African elephants
Authors: Szott Isabelle D , Pretorius Yolanda , Ganswindt Andre , Koyama Nicola F
Published: February 2020

Conservation biologists can use hormone measurements to assess animals’ welfare, reproductive state, susceptibility to stressors, as well as energy expenditure. Quantifying hormone concentrations from faecal samples is particularly advantageous as samples can be collected without disturbing animals’ behaviour. In order for an endocrine marker to be useful for wildlife managers, we need to understand how extrinsic and intrinsic factors affect hormone concentrations in free-ranging animal populations. Thyroid hormones are linked to basal metabolic rate and energy expenditure. Previous research demonstrated that triiodothyronine (T3) can be measured successfully in faecal matter of African elephants, Loxodonta africana. However, to our knowledge, research into factors affecting changes in elephant T3 levels has only been carried out in captive elephants so far. Thus, we present the first study of faecal T3 metabolite (mT3) concentrations of a large population of free-ranging African elephants. Over 15 months, we collected faecal samples from identified (n = 43 samples) and unidentified (n = 145 samples) individuals in Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa. We investigated whether vegetative productivity [normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)] in interaction with mean monthly temperature, age and sex affected mT3 concentrations. We found a significant negative interaction effect of NDVI and temperature. Increasing NDVI was related to higher concentrations of mT3, but increasing temperature was related to a decrease in mT3 concentrations in individually identified and unidentified elephants. In unidentified individuals, juvenile elephants had significantly higher mT3 concentrations compared to adult elephants. Faecal T3 can successfully be quantified in samples from free-ranging elephant populations and thus provides insight into energy expenditure in large herbivores.
Double/debiased machine learning for difference-in-differences models
Authors: Chang Neng-Chieh
Published: February 2020

This paper provides an orthogonal extension of the semiparametric difference-in-differences estimator proposed in earlier literature. The proposed estimator enjoys the so-called Neyman orthogonality (Chernozhukov et al., 2018), and thus it allows researchers to flexibly use a rich set of machine learning methods in the first-step estimation. It is particularly useful when researchers confront a high-dimensional data set in which the number of potential control variables is larger than the sample size and the conventional nonparametric estimation methods, such as kernel and sieve estimators, do not apply. I apply this orthogonal difference-in-differences estimator to evaluate the effect of tariff reduction on corruption. The empirical results show that tariff reduction decreases corruption in large magnitude.
Diagnosing arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy by 2010 Task Force Criteria: clinical performance and simplified practical implementation
Authors: Bosman Laurens P , Cadrin-Tourigny Julia , Bourfiss Mimount , Aliyari Ghasabeh Mounes , Sharma Apurva , Tichnell Crystal , Roudijk Rob W , Murray Brittney , Tandri Harikrishna , Khairy Paul , Kamel Ihab R , Zimmerman Stefan L , Reitsma Johannes B , Asselbergs Folkert W , van Tintelen J Peter , van der Heijden Jeroen F , Hauer Richard N W , Calkins Hugh , James Cynthia A , te Riele Anneline S J M
Published: February 2020

Aims

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is diagnosed by a complex set of clinical tests as per 2010 Task Force Criteria (TFC). Avoiding misdiagnosis is crucial to prevent sudden cardiac death as well as unnecessary implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantations. This study aims to validate the overall performance of the TFC in a real-world cohort of patients referred for ARVC evaluation.

Methods and results

We included patients consecutively referred to our centres for ARVC evaluation. Patients were diagnosed by consensus of three independent clinical experts. Using this as a reference standard, diagnostic performance was measured for each individual criterion as well as the overall TFC classification. Of 407 evaluated patients (age 38 ± 17 years, 51% male), the expert panel diagnosed 66 (16%) with ARVC. The clinically observed TFC was false negative in 7/66 (11%) patients and false positive in 10/69 (14%) patients. Idiopathic outflow tract ventricular tachycardia was the most common alternative diagnosis. While the TFC performed well overall (sensitivity and specificity 92%), signal-averaged electrocardiogram (SAECG, P = 0.43), and several family history criteria (P ≥ 0.17) failed to discriminate. Eliminating these criteria reduced false positives without increasing false negatives (net reclassification improvement 4.3%, P = 0.019). Furthermore, all ARVC patients met at least one electrocardiogram (ECG) or arrhythmia criterion (sensitivity 100%).

Conclusion

The TFC perform well but are complex and can lead to misdiagnosis. Simplification by eliminating SAECG and several family history criteria improves diagnostic accuracy. Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy can be ruled out using ECG and arrhythmia criteria alone, hence these tests may serve as a first-line screening strategy among at-risk individuals.
Mortality convergence in the enlarged European Union: a systematic literature review
Authors: Hrzic Rok , Vogt Tobias , Janssen Fanny , Brand Helmut
Published: February 2020

Background

The high mortality rates in the European Union (EU) Member States that acceded in 2004 sparked political interest in mortality convergence. Whether mortality is converging in the EU remains unclear. We reviewed the literature on mortality convergence in the post-2004 EU territory as a whole. We also explored whether the study designs influenced the results and whether any determinants of mortality convergence had been empirically examined.

Methods

A systematic literature review was performed. Our search included scientific databases and the websites of international governmental institutions and European demographic research institutes.

Results

We uncovered 94 unique records and included seven studies that reported on 36 analyses. There was marked methodological heterogeneity, including in the convergence measures (beta and sigma convergence). All of the beta convergence analyses found narrowing mortality differentials, whereas most of the sigma convergence analyses found widening mortality differentials. The results are robust to the units of analysis and mortality and dispersion measures. Our results also suggest that there is a lack of evidence on the determinants of mortality convergence in the EU.

Conclusions

There is general agreement that the EU regions and the Member States with high initial mortality rates improved the fastest, but this trend did not lead to overall mortality convergence in the EU. The harmonization of mortality convergence measures and research into determinants of mortality convergence are needed to support future EU cohesion policy. Policy-makers should consider supporting areas that have moderate but stagnant mortality rates, in addition to those with high mortality rates.
‘As solid as and more precious than gold’: Gabriel-Julien Ouvrard, John Law and the legacy of the assignats in nineteenth-century France
Authors: Greenfield Jerome
Published: February 2020

It is a truism that the experience of the assignats in the 1790s deterred the French from paper-based wealth during the nineteenth century, a notion that dovetails with a long-standing narrative of French economic backwardness in this period, particularly relative to Britain. This article revisits this interpretation through the study of proposals for public borrowing during the late Empire and early Restoration, most notably those promoted by the financier Gabriel-Julien Ouvrard to finance the payment of reparations after the Napoleonic Wars. Ouvrard’s schemes for the mass issuing of bonds embodied ideas that were remarkably similar to those underlying the assignats and John Law’s system of 1716–20, which suggests that the French were much less wary of paper assets than historians have assumed.
Caring for Chronically Ill Older Adults: A View Over the Last 75 Years
Authors: Pillemer Karl , Czaja Sara J , Reid M Cary
Published: February 2020

We explore major trends over the last 75 years that affect care provision to chronically ill older adults. We examine shifting demographics that have altered the nature and dynamics of family and formal care systems. Next, we identify changes in clinical health care approaches, including the rising population of chronically ill older persons and concerns about continuity of care. We conclude with an assessment of the growing impact of the technological revolution on both family and professional care.
Hydrogeophysical data integration through Bayesian Sequential Simulation with log-linear pooling
Authors: Nussbaumer Raphaël , Mariethoz Grégoire , Gloaguen Erwan , Holliger Klaus
Published: February 2020

Bayesian sequential simulation (BSS) is a geostastistical technique, which uses a secondary variable to guide the stochastic simulation of a primary variable. As such, BSS has proven significant promise for the integration of disparate hydrogeophysical data sets characterized by vastly differing spatial coverage and resolution of the primary and secondary variables. An inherent limitation of BSS is its tendency to underestimate the variance of the simulated fields due to the smooth nature of the secondary variable. Indeed, in its classical form, the method is unable to account for this smoothness because it assumes independence of the secondary variable with regard to neighbouring values of the primary variable. To overcome this limitation, we have modified the Bayesian updating with a log-linear pooling approach, which allows us to account for the inherent interdependence between the primary and the secondary variables by adding exponential weights to the corresponding probabilities. The proposed method is tested on a pertinent synthetic hydrogeophysical data set consisting of surface-based electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data and local borehole measurements of the hydraulic conductivity. Our results show that, compared to classical BSS, the proposed log-linear pooling method using equal constant weights for the primary and secondary variables enhances the reproduction of the spatial statistics of the stochastic realizations, while maintaining a faithful correspondence with the geophysical data. Significant additional improvements can be achieved by optimizing the choice of these constant weights. We also explore a dynamic adaptation of the weights during the course of the simulation process, which provides valuable insights into the optimal parametrization of the proposed log-linear pooling approach. The results corroborate the strategy of selectively emphasizing the probabilities of the secondary and primary variables at the very beginning and for the remainder of the simulation process, respectively.
A mutation map for human glycoside hydrolase genes
Authors: Hansen Lars , Husein Diab M , Gericke Birthe , Hansen Torben , Pedersen Oluf , Tambe Mitali A , Freeze Hudson H , Naim Hassan Y , Henrissat Bernard , Wandall Hans H , Clausen Henrik , Bennett Eric P
Published: February 2020

Glycoside hydrolases (GHs) are found in all domains of life, and at least 87 distinct genes encoding proteins related to GHs are found in the human genome. GHs serve diverse functions from digestion of dietary polysaccharides to breakdown of intracellular oligosaccharides, glycoproteins, proteoglycans and glycolipids. Congenital disorders of GHs (CDGHs) represent more than 30 rare diseases caused by mutations in one of the GH genes. We previously used whole-exome sequencing of a homogenous Danish population of almost 2000 individuals to probe the incidence of deleterious mutations in the human glycosyltransferases (GTs) and developed a mutation map of human GT genes (GlyMAP-I). While deleterious disease-causing mutations in the GT genes were very rare, and in many cases lethal, we predicted deleterious mutations in GH genes to be less rare and less severe given the higher incidence of CDGHs reported worldwide. To probe the incidence of GH mutations, we constructed a mutation map of human GH-related genes (GlyMAP-II) using the Danish WES data, and correlating this with reported disease-causing mutations confirmed the higher prevalence of disease-causing mutations in several GH genes compared to GT genes. We identified 76 novel nonsynonymous single-nucleotide variations (nsSNVs) in 32 GH genes that have not been associated with a CDGH phenotype, and we experimentally validated two novel potentially damaging nsSNVs in the congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency gene, SI. Our study provides a global view of human GH genes and disease-causing mutations and serves as a discovery tool for novel damaging nsSNVs in CDGHs.
The development of hospital accreditation in low- and middle-income countries: a literature review
Authors: Mansour Wesam , Boyd Alan , Walshe Kieran
Published: February 2020

Hospital accreditation has been transferred from high-income countries (HICs) to many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), supported by a variety of advocates and donor agencies. This review uses a policy transfer theoretical framework to present a structured analysis of the development of hospital accreditation in LMICs. The framework is used to identify how governments in LMICs adopted accreditation from other settings and what mechanisms facilitated and hindered the transfer of accreditation. The review examines the interaction between national and international actors, and how international organizations influenced accreditation policy transfer. Relevant literature was found by searching databases and selected websites; 78 articles were included in the analysis process. The review concludes that accreditation is increasingly used as a tool to improve the quality of healthcare in LMICs. Many countries have established national hospital accreditation programmes and adapted them to fit their national contexts. However, the implementation and sustainability of these programmes are major challenges if resources are scarce. International actors have a substantial influence on the development of accreditation in LMICs, as sources of expertise and pump-priming funding. There is a need to provide a roadmap for the successful development and implementation of accreditation programmes in low-resource settings. Analysing accreditation policy processes could provide contextually sensitive lessons for LMICs seeking to develop and sustain their national accreditation programmes and for international organizations to exploit their role in supporting the development of accreditation in LMICs.
Physical activity promotion in German vocational education: does capacity building work?
Authors: Popp Johanna , Carl Johannes , Grüne Eva , Semrau Jana , Gelius Peter , Pfeifer Klaus
Published: February 2020

Apprentices in many sectors are exposed to increased health risks and show low levels of physical activity (PA). Environmental and policy approaches seem to be promising tools for PA promotion as they can positively influence the context in which PA occurs. This article reports results from a German research project (2015–2018) that developed and implemented measures for PA promotion in the field of vocational education (VE). A participatory approach—cooperative planning (COP)—involving researchers as well as stakeholders from policy and practice was used in two VE settings—nursing care and automotive mechatronics. We assessed the extent to which new capacities for PA promotion were created by conducting semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from both sectors (n = 12) and one group interview with nursing students (n = 4). Transcripts were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Findings show that new capacities were created mainly in the form of resources and opportunities and that several measures for PA promotion (e.g. a regular lesson on the issue of PA and health and a tutoring system) were successfully integrated into VE routines. However, establishing new organizational goals and obligations appeared to be challenging. Moreover, the article presents influencing factors, such as the participation of the main actors that strongly supported the process of capacity building within their organization. We conclude that COP seems promising in creating new capacities for PA promotion in the field of VE, and therefore has the potential to promote a physically active lifestyle among apprentices.
The impact of embryo quality on singleton birthweight in vitrified-thawed single blastocyst transfer cycles
Authors: Zhang Jie , Huang Jiaan , Liu Hongfang , Wang Bian , Yang Xiaoyan , Shen Xi , Mao Xiaoyan , Wang Yun , Kuang Yanping
Published: February 2020

STUDY QUESTION

Does the quality of a single transferred blastocyst affect singleton birthweight in frozen-embryo transfer (FET) cycles?

SUMMARY ANSWER

The transfer of a poor-quality blastocyst was associated with lower mean birthweight and gestation-adjusted birthweight (Z-scores) when compared with the transfer of an excellent-quality blastocyst during FET cycles.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY

Embryo quality is a strong predictor of IVF success rates. However, very few studies have examined the effect of embryo quality on singleton birthweight.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION

This retrospective study involved singleton live births born to women undergoing frozen-thawed single blastocyst transfers during the period from January 2010 to December 2017 at a tertiary care centre.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS

A total of 1207 women who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included and were grouped into four groups depending on the blastocyst quality: excellent, good, average and poor. The primary outcome measure was singleton birthweight. The Z-score was employed to calculate the birthweight adjusted for gestational age and newborn gender. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between embryo quality and neonatal birthweight after adjustment for some potential confounders.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE

In the primary multivariable model, singletons from the poor-quality blastocyst group weighed 183.5 g less than those from the excellent-quality blastocyst group (95% CI: −295.1 to −71.9 g, P = 0.001) in terms of mean birthweight after accounting for patient characteristics, IVF treatment parameters, the year of treatment and newborn gender. Likewise, poor-quality blastocyst transfer was associated with lower gestation-adjusted Z-scores than the transfer of excellent-quality blastocysts (β = −0.35, 95% CI: −0.59 to −0.12, P = 0.003).

LIMITATIONS AND REASONS FOR CAUTION

The current study was limited by its retrospective design and the fact that our analysis was restricted to women with singleton births from single blastocyst transfers. Future prospective studies are required to confirm our findings.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

Our findings provide new insight into the relationship between embryo quality and neonatal outcomes by showing that poor-quality blastocyst transfer was associated with a decrease in singleton birthweight.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)

This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant no. 2018YFC1003000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 81771533, 81571397 and 31770989), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant no. 2018M630456). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

Not applicable.
Immature leadership: Donald Trump and the American presidency
Authors: Drezner Daniel W
Published: February 2020

There has been a renaissance in the study of how the backgrounds of individual leaders affect foreign policy outcomes. Donald Trump's presidency highlights the limits of this approach. Trump's psychology is so unique, and so akin to that of a small child, that studying his background alone is insufficient to explain his decision-making. The evidence for this characterization of Trump's leadership comes not from his political opponents, but his allies, staffers and subordinates. Trump's lack of impulse control, short attention span and frequent temper tantrums have all undercut his effectiveness as president as compared to his predecessors. Nonetheless, the 45th president helps to clarify ongoing debates in American politics about the relative strength of the presidency as an institution. In particular, the powers of the presidency have become so enhanced that even comparatively weak and inexperienced leaders can execute dramatic policy shifts. The formal checks on presidential power, from the legislative, judicial and executive branches have all eroded. Similarly, the informal checks on the presidency had also degraded before Trump's inauguration. This article uses Trump's presidency—and his severe limitations as a decision-maker—to highlight the ways in which even a weak leader can affect change by holding a powerful office.
P-Partitions and Quasisymmetric Power Sums
Authors: Liu Ricky Ini , Weselcouch Michael
Published: February 2020

The $(P, \omega )$-partition generating function of a labeled poset $(P, \omega )$ is a quasisymmetric function enumerating certain order-preserving maps from $P$ to ${\mathbb{Z}}^+$. We study the expansion of this generating function in the recently introduced type 1 quasisymmetric power sum basis $\{\psi _{\alpha }\}$. Using this expansion, we show that connected, naturally labeled posets have irreducible $P$-partition generating functions. We also show that series-parallel posets are uniquely determined by their partition generating functions. We conclude by giving a combinatorial interpretation for the coefficients of the $\psi _{\alpha }$-expansion of the $(P, \omega )$-partition generating function akin to the Murnaghan–Nakayama rule.
Profiling of the viable bacterial and fungal microbiota in fermented feeds using single-molecule real-time sequencing
Authors: Yu Jie , Hou Qiangchuan , Li Weicheng , Huang Weiqiang , Mo Lanxin , Yao Caiqing , An Xiaona , Sun Zhihong , Wei Hong
Published: February 2020

Fermented concentrated feed has been widely recognized as an ideal feed in the animal industry. In this study, we used a powerful method, coupling propidium monoazide (PMA) pretreatment with single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology to compare the bacterial and fungal composition of feeds before and after fermentation with four added lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculants (one Lactobacillus casei strain and three L. plantarum strains). Five feed samples consisting of corn, soybean meal, and wheat bran were fermented with LAB additives for 3 d. Following anaerobic fermentation, the pH rapidly decreased, and the mean numbers of LAB increased from 106 to 109 colony-forming units (cfu)/g fresh matter. SMRT sequencing results showed that the abundance and diversity of bacteria and fungi in the feed were significantly higher before fermentation than after fermentation. Fifteen bacterial species and eight fungal genera were significantly altered following fermentation, and L. plantarum was the dominant species (relative abundance 88.94%) in the post-fermentation group. PMA treatment revealed that the bacteria Bacillus cereus, B. circulans, Alkaliphilus oremlandii, Cronobacter sakazakii, Paenibacillus barcinonensis, and P. amylolyticus (relative abundance >1%) were viable in the raw feed. After fermentation, their relative abundances decreased sharply to <0.2%; however, viable L. plantarum was still the dominant species post fermentation. We inferred that our LAB additives grew rapidly and inhibited harmful microorganisms and further improved feed quality. In addition, coupling PMA treatment with the Pacific Biosciences SMRT sequencing technology was a powerful tool for providing accurate live microbiota profiling data in this study.
Effects of utilizing cotton byproducts in a finishing diet on beef cattle performance, carcass traits, fecal characteristics, and plasma metabolites
Authors: Warner Andrea L , Beck Paul A , Foote Andrew P , Pierce Kaitlyn N , Robison Colton A , Hubbell Don S , Wilson Blake K
Published: February 2020

Increased cotton production in the Southwestern United States has increased the availability of cotton byproducts for use in cattle diets. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the inclusion of cotton byproducts in feedlot finishing diets on the performance, carcass traits, fecal characteristics, and plasma metabolites of steers. Crossbred beef steers (n = 64; BW = 318 ± 12.3 kg) were assigned to 1 of 2 experimental treatments in a randomized complete block design (8 pens per treatment; 4 steers per pen). Treatments included a control (CON) diet, which included prairie hay, Sweet Bran, rolled corn, and a corn steep and molasses-based liquid fat supplement, and a cotton byproduct (CTN) diet, which included cotton gin trash, whole cottonseed, rolled corn, and water. Both diets contained urea and dry supplement. Over the entire feeding period, DMI (P = 0.04) was greater for CTN steers than CON steers with no difference in the gain to feed ratio (P = 0.86) between treatments. The CTN steers tended to have heavier final BW (P = 0.09) and greater overall average daily gain (P = 0.08). The CTN steers had heavier hot carcass weight (P = 0.02) and greater fat thickness (P = 0.03) than CON steers, but marbling score and rib eye area were not different between treatments (P ≥ 0.64). Steers fed the CON diet tended to have a lower yield grade (P = 0.07), less kidney, pelvic and heart fat (P = 0.09), and decreased dressing percentage (P = 0.10) than CTN steers. Liver scores did not differ (P ≥ 0.17) between treatments. Fecal consistency scores were decreased for CTN steers on day 56 (P = 0.03) and fecal pH tended to be greater for the CTN steers on day 28 (P = 0.09) compared with CON steers, but neither differed during other periods (P ≥ 0.18). A treatment × day interaction (P = 0.04) was detected for plasma urea nitrogen (PUN) concentrations, where PUN concentrations differed between treatments only on days 28 and 56. On both days 28 and 56, CTN steers had lower PUN concentrations (P = 0.03, P = 0.002, respectively). No treatment × day interaction was detected for plasma glucose or lactate concentrations. A day effect was observed for both metabolites (P < 0.01). Results from this experiment suggest that cotton byproducts can be effectively used as a source of fiber, fat, and protein in feedlot rations without adverse effects on performance or carcass characteristics.
Larval development of the stygobitic shrimp Creaseria morleyi (Creaser, 1936) (Decapoda: Caridea: Palaemonidae) from the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
Authors: Benítez Sergio A , Iliffe Thomas M , Martínez Salvador , Ojeda Juan Carlos , Villalobos José Luis , Alvarez Fernando
Published: February 2020

Although the larval development of epigean palaemonid shrimps has been studied extensively, only a few investigations deal with stygobitic species. We present the larval development of the cave-adapted Creaseria morleyi (Creaser, 1936) from anchialine caves in the Tulum area, Quintana Roo, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. Through the discovery of a series of larvae at different stages of development, we constructed a sequence extending through the juvenile stage. The larvae (41) were captured in plankton tows above the halocline at depths ranging between 11 and 15 m during eight surveys conducted between 2013 and 2016. Six larval stages and the first juvenile were identified; however, it is clear from the gradual modification of structures and appendages that more stages exist. The first larvae have a large quantity of vitellum and do not feed, since they have only rudimentary, and possibly non-functional, mouthparts. In the sixth stage and the juvenile, when the stages have no vitellum left, the mouthparts, chelae, and pleopods develop entirely. A comparison with other palaemonid shrimps suggests that C. morleyi has a greater affinity with those palaemonid species possessing extended larval development as is seen in species of MacrobrachiumSpence Bate, 1868.