bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
IL-37 Represses the Autoimmunity in Myasthenia Gravis via Directly Targeting Follicular Th and B Cells
Authors: Liu Zhuo , Zhu Liwen , Lu Zhengjuan , Chen Huiping , Fan Lizhen , Xue Qun , Shi Jianquan , Li Meiying , Li Hui , Gong Jie , Shi Jingping , Wang Tao , Jiang Mei-Ling , Cao Runjing , Meng Hailan , Wang Chenhui , Xu Yun , Zhang Cun-Jin 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
IL-37 is a newly identified immune-suppressive factor; however, the function, cellular sources, and mechanism of IL-37 in humoral immunity and Myasthenia gravis (MG) are still unclear. In this study, we found IL-37 were substantially downregulated in the serum and PBMCs of MG patients compared with healthy controls. The lower IL-37 was associated with severer disease (quantitative MG score) and higher follicular Th (Tfh)/Tfh17 and B cell numbers. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that IL-37 was mainly produced by CD4+ T cells without overlapping with Th1, Th17, and Tfh subsets in MG patients. Regulatory IL-37+ T cell rarely expressed Foxp3 and CD25 but produced numerous IL-4. Tfh and B cell expressed high levels of SIGIRR, the receptor of IL-37, in MG patients. Mechanically, IL-37 directly bond to SIGIRR, repressed the proliferation, cytokine production of Tfh and B cells, and the secretion of autoantibody via inhibition of STAT3 signaling in Tfh and B cells.
Evaluation of NU-WRF model performance on air quality simulation under various model resolutions – an investigation within the framework of MICS-Asia Phase III
Authors: Tao Zhining , Chin Mian , Gao Meng , Kucsera Tom , Kim Dongchul , Bian Huisheng , Kurokawa Jun-ichi , Wang Yuesi , Liu Zirui , Carmichael Gregory R. , Wang Zifa , Akimoto Hajime 
Published: February 2020

Abstract. Horizontal grid resolution has a profound effect on model performances on
meteorology and air quality simulations. In contribution to MICS-Asia Phase III, one of whose goals was to identify and reduce model uncertainty in air quality prediction, this study examined the impact of grid resolution on meteorology and air quality simulation over East Asia, focusing on the North China Plain (NCP) region. The NASA Unified Weather Research and Forecasting (NU-WRF) model has been applied with the horizontal resolutions at 45, 15, and 5 km. The results revealed that, in comparison with ground observations, no single resolution can yield the best model performance for all variables across all stations. From a regional average perspective (i.e., across all monitoring sites), air temperature modeling was not sensitive to the grid resolution but wind and precipitation simulation showed the opposite. NU-WRF with the 5 km grid simulated the wind speed best, while the 45 km grid yielded the most realistic precipitation as compared to the site observations. For air quality simulations, finer resolution generally led to better comparisons with observations for O3, CO, NOx, and PM2.5. However, the improvement of model performance on air quality was not linear with the resolution increase. The accuracy of modeled surface O3 of the 15 km grid was greatly improved over the one from the 45 km grid. A further increase in grid resolution to 5 km, however, showed diminished impact on model performance improvement on O3 prediction. In addition, a 5 km resolution grid showed large advantage in better capturing the frequency of high-pollution occurrences. This was important for the assessment of noncompliance with ambient air quality standards, which was key to air quality planning and management. Balancing the modeling accuracy and resource limitation, a 15 km grid resolution was suggested for future MICS-Asia air quality modeling activity if the research region remained unchanged. This investigation also found a large overestimate of ground-level O3 and an underestimate of surface NOx and CO, likely due to missing emissions of NOx and CO.
Dissolved inorganic nitrogen and particulate organic nitrogen budget in the Yucatán shelf: driving mechanisms through a physical–biogeochemical coupled model
Authors: Estrada-Allis Sheila N. , Sheinbaum Pardo Julio , Azevedo Correia de Souza Joao M. , Enríquez Ortiz Cecilia Elizabeth , Mariño Tapia Ismael , Herrera-Silveira Jorge A. 
Published: February 2020

Abstract. Continental shelves are the most productive areas in the seas with the strongest implications for global nitrogen cycling. The Yucatán shelf (YS) is the largest shelf in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM); however, its nitrogen budget has not been quantified. This is largely due to the lack of significant spatio-temporal in situ measurements and the complexity of the shelf dynamics, including coastal upwelling, coastal-trapped waves (CTWs), and influence of the Yucatán Current (YC) via bottom Ekman transport and dynamic uplift. In this paper, we investigate and quantify the nitrogen budget of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and particulate organic nitrogen (PON) in the YS using a 9-year output from a coupled physical–biogeochemical model of the GoM. The sum of DIN and PON is here referred to as total nitrogen (TN). Results indicate that the main entrance of DIN is through its southern (continental) and eastern margins. The TN is then advected to the deep oligotrophic Bay of Campeche and central GoM. It is also shown that the inner shelf (bounded by the 50 m isobath) is “efficient” in terms of TN, since all DIN imported into this shelf is consumed by the phytoplankton. Submarine groundwater discharges (SGDs) contribute 20 % of the TN, while denitrification removes up to 53 % of TN that enters into the inner shelf. The high-frequency variability of the TN fluxes in the southern margin is modulated by fluxes from the YC due to enhanced bottom Ekman transport when the YC leans against the shelf break (250 m isobath) on the eastern margin. This current–topography interaction can help to maintain the upwelling of Cape Catoche, uplifting nutrient-rich water into the euphotic layer. The export of TN at both western and northwestern margins is modulated by CTWs with a mean period of about 10 d in agreement with recent observational and modelling studies.
Landslide hazard probability and risk assessment at the community level: a case of western Hubei, China
Authors: Fu Sheng , Chen Lixia , Woldai Tsehaie , Yin Kunlong , Gui Lei , Li Deying , Du Juan , Zhou Chao , Xu Yong , Lian Zhipeng 
Published: February 2020

Abstract. Small communities living in mountainous terrain in Hubei province are often affected by landslides. Previous studies by the China Geological Survey focused on the 1:100 000 scale. Therefore, a more detailed assessment, especially at the community level, is urgently required by local governments for risk management. In this study, we conducted a more detailed semiquantitative landslide and risk assessment at the community level using a scale of 1:10 000. We applied the probabilistic method to assess landslide spatial, temporal, and size probabilities, while the hazard and risk assessment were considered for four return periods (5, 10, 20, and 50 years) and two size scenarios (landslide volume). The spatial probability from susceptibility mapping with an accuracy of 84 % indicates that the major controlling factors are Quaternary deposits and weathered eluvium from Ordovician limestones. This study revealed that most building areas in hazard maps are at the foot of major slopes with very high hazard probabilities, and therefore we computed the potential loss of life and property for each slope. The results reveal that 1530 people and USD 18 million worth of property were at risk of landslides within a 50-year return period and a landslide volume of 50 000 m3. The longer the return period is, the higher the hazard probability is. Compared with the classic inverse gamma and power law distribution of landslide magnitude and frequency, the function by the ordinary least squares method is more suitable for landslide size probability analysis of the study area. According to these methods, the proposed procedure of landslide risk assessment proves more useful than the existing data from the 1:100 000 scale in western Hubei, China.
Improved accuracy and efficiency of flood inundation mapping of low-, medium-, and high-flow events using the AutoRoute model
Authors: Follum Michael L. , Vera Ricardo , Tavakoly Ahmad A. , Gutenson Joseph L. 
Published: February 2020

Abstract. This article presents improvements and the development of a postprocessing module for the regional-scale flood mapping tool, AutoRoute. The accuracy of this model to simulate low-, medium-, and high-flow-rate scenarios is demonstrated at seven test sites within the US. AutoRoute is one of the tools used to create high-resolution flood inundation maps at regional to continental scales, but it has previously only been tested using extreme flood events. Modifications to the AutoRoute model and postprocessing scripts are shown to improve accuracy (e.g., average F value increase of 17.5 % for low-flow events) and computational efficiency (simulation time reduced by over 40 %) when compared to previous versions. Although flood inundation results for low-flow events are shown to be comparable with published values (average F value of 63.3 %), the model results tend to be overestimated, especially in flatter terrain. Higher-flow scenarios tend to be more accurately simulated (average F value of 77.5 %). With improved computational efficiency and the enhanced ability to simulate both low- and high-flow scenarios, the AutoRoute model may be well suited to provide first-order estimates of flooding within an operational, regional- to continental-scale hydrologic modeling framework.
The Image of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in Czech History Textbooks
Authors: Gracová Blažena 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
The analysis of the content of Czech history textbooks regarding Poland-Lithuania focuses on the origins of the freedoms enjoyed by the aristocracy under the Commonwealth, then moves to identifying references to the Polish kings and other major figures from the mid-fifteenth century to the end of the eighteenth century, key events during this period and specifically to the sections of the textbooks describing the demise of the Commonwealth. The use and function of written, iconographic, and graphic sources in presenting these topics was also taken into account. The textbooks do not devote as much attention to the Commonwealth of Poland as they do to the early beginnings of Polish statehood (which were closely associated with the Czech nation). Nor does this period in Polish history attract as much attention as the country’s twentieth-century history. Nevertheless, the textbooks do contain some key information—and in some cases more information than might be expected—on Polish history.
An Assessment of the Managerial Skills and Professional Development Needs of Private Catholic Secondary School Administrators in Bangkok, Thailand
Authors: Ibay Samera Batao , Pa-alisbo Mark Anthony Cenas 
Published: February 2020

The knowledge and ability of the individuals in a managerial position are to fulfill some specific management activities or tasks. Managerial skills are important for many reasons. Being a manager in an educational setting is a position to act as an effective leader and problem-solver in many simple and complex situations. However, in Thailand, it was observed that some managerial skills need to improve their skills. School managers should strengthen and develop to manage effectively and efficiently. This mixed research surveyed the managerial skills of the school administrators in terms of conceptual skills, human skills, and technical skills in selected private catholic secondary schools in Bangkok, Thailand. The respondents self-assessed their managerial skills in the form of a checklist, and to validate the results, interviews were conducted to determine the professional development needs according to the lowest items assessed by the school administrators. A questionnaire anchored on Robert Katz’s theory of managerial skills and developed by Goodarzi (2002) was used to gather data. With regards to the assessment of managerial skills’ practice of the school administrators, most of them assessed themselves as very good in terms of conceptual skills, human skills, and technical skills. The professional development needs of the private catholic school administrators in terms of conceptual skills are the identification of informal organization, articulation of strategy, and ability of prediction. On the other hand, school administrators need training in controlling conflict, report generation, and official correspondence in terms of human skills. Finally, they need professional development in financial management, computer skill, and marketing in terms of technical skills.
Internet Financial Investment Product Selection with Pythagorean Fuzzy DNMA Method
Authors: Zhang Hongrun , Liao Huchang , Wu Xingli , Zavadskas Edmundas Kazimieras , Al-Barakati Abdullah 
Published: February 2020

Abstract The number of products based on internet financial platform has increased dramatically, but due to the lack of effective regulatory system and the information barrier of investors, product returns have been greatly discounted and investment risks have been greatly increased. How to select high-quality products in internet finance based on several indicators is an important multiple criteria decision making problem. In this regard, this study develops a Pythagorean fuzzy double normalization-based multiple aggregation (PF-DNMA) method to solve the problem of selecting internet financial products. Firstly, the key factors for evaluating internet financial products are identified. Observing that the Pythagorean fuzzy set is an effective tool to express evaluation information, we then extend the original multiple criteria decision making method named the double normalization-based multiple aggregation method to Pythagorean fuzzy environment. The PF-DNMA method is characterized by two normalization techniques and three aggregation tools, and thus is effective and robust in solving multiple criteria decision making problems. We deal with an internet financial investment problem by the PL-DNMA method and provide some comparative analyses with the Pythagorean fuzzy TOPSIS and VIKOR methods to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty and Organizational Complaint Handling: Economic Aspects of Business Operation of Airline Industry
Authors: Ahmed Rizwan Raheem , Vveinhardt Jolita , Warraich Usman Ali , Ul Hasan Syed Shabib , Baloch Akhter 
Published: February 2020

The undertaken study examines economic aspects of business operations of the airline industry vis-à-vis organizational complaint handling and customer loyalty. For this purpose, we used a structured questionnaire to collect sample data of 200 respondents from university students and households of Pakistan who are the customers of the airline industry. We employed five independent variables, namely, response time, complaint resolution perfection, executives’ attitude, brand image and responsiveness to complaints. We used the descriptive analysis and SEM-based approaches; namely, confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis for estimation purposes. The findings of the undertaken study demonstrated that the resolution of complaints, timely response, and responsiveness to complaints had a significant and positive influence on satisfaction of customers and loyalty of clients using international airline services, and this leads to the economic prospects of business operation in the airline industry. However, customer relationship, executives’ attitude and brand loyalty do not have significant influence on the customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Thus, it is concluded that the immediate response to customer complaint handling enhances the customer satisfaction and customer loyalty that increases the economic aspects of business operation in the airline industry.
Primary lung cancer metastatic to the breast: case report of a patient in remission
Authors: Cacilhas Pedro Marchiori , Silva Kelly Mallmann , Wickert Monique , Azambuja Allan Arrieira 
Published: February 2020

ABSTRACTWhile lung carcinoma is the most common of the malignant tumors, primary lung tumors metastatic to the breast are rare and the prognosis is poor. We report a case of a Brazilian, 65- year-old, black, female patient with no family history of breast or lung cancer. During physical gynecological examination, she presented with a palpable nodule in the outer quadrant of the right breast. Based on X-ray, CT, PET-CT and immunohistochemistry investigation, a diagnosis of primary tumor metastatic lung to breast was made. The patient was referred for setorectomy and bi-lobectomy, combined with chemotherapy. She was in remission from November 2012 until December 2018. Given the poor prognosis related to the disease, the evolution presented is surprising.
Le jeu vidéo et la notion de montage : se « couper » du cinématocentrisme1
Authors: Montembeault Hugo , Deslongchamps-Gagnon Maxime , Perron Bernard 
Published: February 2020

Cet article s’intéresse aux relations de remédiation entre le cinéma et le jeu vidéo envisagées à travers le prisme du montage cinématographique et des termes utilisés pour le décriree. L’argumentation s’appuie sur une analyse du discours des productions épistémiques de deux communautés francophones spécialisées en jeu vidéo : les universitaires issus des études vidéoludiques et les journalistes principalement regroupés autour de trois revues françaises incontournables, soitTilt(1982-1994),Génération 4(1987-2004) etJoystick(1988-2012). S’ensuit une synthèse des analyses réalisées à partir d’un corpus composé de textes portant sur les ponts cinéma/jeu vidéo ou encore sur des jeux réputés pour leur réemploi des codes cinématographiques. La présentation de ce portrait est l’occasion de cerner plusieurs irrégularités sémantiques en ce qui concerne l’usage des notions « clés » liées aux théories du montage (coupe, plan, transition, raccord, angle de caméra, ralenti, cinématique, etc.). À la lumière de tels écarts de signification, la pertinence d’une lecture cinématocentriste des formes d’assemblage du jeu vidéo est remise en question en vertu d’un préjugé d’interprétation donnant préséance à l’aspect audiovisuel au détriment de la jouabilité.
Corporate Law Federalism in Historical Context: Comparing Canada and the United States
Authors: Hutchison Camden 
Published: February 2020

Although American and Canadian corporate law share many similarities, they are also marked by important institutional differences. Among the most notable are the differing roles of federal versus state/provincial policymaking in the two countries: while American corporate law has been deeply influenced by jurisdictional competition among the states, Canadian law has instead been shaped by federal legislative activity, as seen today in the standardizing influence of the Canada Business Corporations Act. These different institutional histories have led to distinct evolutionary paths, with important substantive consequences for contemporary corporate law.
Despite considerable academic attention to the subject of corporate law federalism, these historical differences between Canada and the United States are not well understood. This article explains why jurisdictional competition arose in the United States but not Canada by examining the “Great Merger Movement” of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Specifically, this article makes three related arguments: (1) in the United States, the rise of jurisdictional competition was driven not by corporate governance issues, as is often assumed, but rather by the desire to avoid state and federal antitrust restrictions; (2) for a variety of reasons, cartelization and price fixing were more viable in Canada than the United States, delaying the onset of consolidative mergers; and (3) when the Canadian merger movement finally arrived, Canadian federal company law readily facilitated industrial consolidation, reducing the incentives for individual provinces to compete to attract company charters.
The different experiences of Canada and the United States reveal an intriguing historical irony—while Canadian corporate law is sometimes criticized as lacking in competitive responsiveness, the roots of this complacency are closely tied to the turn-of-the-century merger movement, in which Canadian law was less restrictive than its traditional American counterpart.
L’importation interprovinciale des boissons alcoolisées à des fins personnelles : R c. Comeau et la confirmation de règles de droit de la période de la prohibition
Authors: Bacon-Dussault Malaïka 
Published: February 2020

Les premières restrictions quant au libre-échange en matière de commerce interprovincial des boissons alcoolisées ont lieu au moment de la prohibition : le Parlement canadien et les provinces mettent alors en place un système de réglementation du commerce des boissons alcoolisées pour protéger la paix publique. Or, dans la décision R c. Comeau, la Cour suprême du Canada confirme des règles de droit datant de plus d’un siècle : l’objectif de la Loi sur la réglementation des alcools du Nouveau-Brunswick n’est pas de restreindre le commerce interprovincial, mais bien de réglementer la gestion de l’alcool dans la province. Dans ce commentaire d’arrêt, l’auteure cherche à exposer le lecteur au contexte historique de la réglementation du commerce interprovincial de l’alcool à des fins personnelles en abordant deux éléments. D’abord, il sera question du partage des compétences entre le Parlement canadien et les législatures provinciales en matière de réglementation du commerce interprovincial des boissons alcoolisées à des fins personnelles, le tout avec un accent particulier sur les lois néo-brunswickoises. Ensuite, l’auteure traitera de l’interprétation judiciaire de l’article 121 de la Loi constitutionnelle de 1867 et de son applicabilité en ce qui concerne le commerce interprovincial des boissons alcoolisées.
Growth and Leaf Chlorophyll Content of Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden are Adversely Affected by Simulated Acid Rain
Authors: Buma Langmi Fabrice , Ambebe Titus Fondo , Fogwe Zephania Nji 
Published: February 2020

The study assessed the effects of different pH values of simulated acid rain on growth and leaf chlorophyll content of Eucalyptus grandis.
The treatments comprised of two simulated acid rain solutions of pH 4.0 and 3.5, and unacidified water at pH 6.5.
Place and Duration of Study was the National Forestry Development Agency, Humid Savannah Zone, Bamenda I Sub-Division, North West Region, Cameroon, between June and September 2019, respectively.
The experiment was conducted under field conditions. Thirty 3-month-old seedlings were exposed to each pH level at 7-day intervals using a spray bottle. While two sets of thirty seedlings were administered sulphuric acid calibrated tap water with pH values of 4.0 and 3.5, the third set that constituted the control was sprayed with normal tap water. Data were collected on morphology, biomass, and leaf chlorophyll content at the end of the study and subjected to analysis of variance and Scheffé’s test.
Results: The pH 3.5 treatment resulted in significantly lower responses of height (12.95 cm), number of leaves (15.28), leaf area (23.96 cm2) and total biomass (0.61 g) than the other two pH levels that did not differ for any of the traits. Average values between pH 4.0 and control were 20.39 cm, 22.00, 45.66 cm2 and 1.77 g. Stem diameter and root collar diameter declined from 2.87 mm and 4.14 mm at the control to 2.54 mm and 3.78 mm at pH 3.5, respectively. Leaves at pH 3.5 showed signs of necrosis, drying and curling. Leaf chlorophyll content was significantly greater in the control (45.30 SPAD units) than in the pH 4.0 (40.01 SPAD units) and pH 3.5 (39.82 SPAD units) treatments that displayed similar responses.
Conclusion: The study reveals that simulated acid rain at pH 3.5 can have a harmful effect on chlorophyll content and growth of Eucalyptus grandis.