bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mortality in relation to profiles of clinical features in Ghanaian severely undernourished children aged 0–59 months: an observational study
Authors: Asare H. , Carboo J. , Nel E. D. , Dolman R. C. , Conradie C. , Lombard M. J. , Ricci C. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractSevere acute malnutrition (SAM) is associated with a complex pattern of various clinical conditions. We investigated how risk factors cluster in children with SAM, the relationship between clusters of risk factors and mortality as well as length of stay in children with SAM. A prospective observational study design was used. Data were extracted from medical records of 601 infants and children aged 0–59 months admitted and treated for SAM in three Ghanaian referral hospital between June 2013 and June 2018. Among the 601 medical records extracted, ninety-nine died. Three clusters of medical features clearly emerged from data analyses. Firstly, an association was defined by eye signs, pallor, diarrhoea and vomiting with gastrointestinal infections and malaria. In this cluster, pallor and eye signs were related to 2- to 5-fold increased mortality risk. Secondly, HIV, oedema, fast pulse, respiratory infections and tuberculosis; among those features, HIV increased child mortality risk by 2-fold. Thirdly, shock, convulsions, dermatitis, cold hands and feet, weak pulse, urinary tract infections and irritability were clustered. Among those features, cold hands and feet, dermatitis, convulsions and shock increased child mortality risk in a range of 2- to 9-fold. Medical conditions and clinical signs in children diagnosed with SAM associate in patterns and are related to clinical outcomes.
Zooplankton summer composition in the southern Gulf of Mexico with emphasis on salp and hyperiid amphipod assemblages
Authors: Hereu Clara M. , Arteaga Maria Clara , Galindo-Sánchez Clara E. , Herzka Sharon Z. , Batta-Lona Paola G. , Jiménez-Rosenberg Sylvia P. A. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractMesoscale features within the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) are known to influence zooplankton dynamics. Here we describe the composition of the zooplankton assemblage off shelf during summer in relation to environmental conditions, with emphasis on hyperiid amphipods and salps. Zooplankton samples were collected in summer of 2015 and 2016 in the central and southern GOM and in the Yucatan Channel in 2015. Two anticyclonic gyres were present in the north and less intense coupled cyclonic-anticyclonic gyres in the south. Zooplankton abundances differed temporally and spatially. Copepods were the dominant group (>55% of total abundance), while several less abundant taxa contributed to inter-annual and spatial differences. Amphipods and salps comprised <3% and their abundances were positively correlated. Fifty-six hyperiid and 10 salp species were identified. The dominant amphipod species were:Lestrigonus bengalensis(summer 2015),Anchylomera blossevilleiandPrimnospp. juveniles (summer 2016). Dominant salp species wereIhlea punctata,Iasis cylindricaandThaliaspp. Lower salp and amphipod species richness and abundance were associated with anticyclonic structures. Spatial and temporal differences were partly associated with symbiotic relationships between the groups. This study supports previous evidence of high spatial and temporal variability in zooplankton abundance in off-shelf waters of the GOM.
Village Leaders, Dual Brokerage and Political Order in Rural China
Authors: Chen Xi , Liu Jingping 
Published: September 2020

AbstractDrawing on an ethnographic study in two counties in Hunan province, this article explores how political brokerage has contributed to political order in China by facilitating contentious and non-contentious bargaining between the government and ordinary people. To account for the changing role of village leaders in rural politics, the article develops a concept of dual brokerage. This concept not only recognizes formal and informal linkages between village leaders and the two principals – the government and the community of villagers – but also underscores the interactivity between the linkages. We contend that despite the tensions between village leaders’ roles as state agents and as village representatives, these two roles in the reform era tend to be mutually beneficial. Under such an institutional configuration, village leaders in China in the reform era have strong incentives to act as dual agents and can make policy implementation more flexible and the use of state force more moderate. A comparison between the trilateral interactions before and after the tax reform in 2005 confirms that whether village leaders can effectively act as dual agents has a significant impact on the quality of rural governance in China.
Private-land control and deforestation dynamics in the context of implementing the Native Forest Law in the Northern Argentinian Dry Chaco
Authors: Marinaro Sofia , Gasparri Nestor Ignacio , Piriz-Carrillo Veronica 
Published: September 2020

SummarySubtropical dry forests are among the largest and most threatened terrestrial biomes worldwide. In Argentina, the Native Forest Law (NFL) was passed in 2007 to regulate deforestation by mandating the provincial zonation of forested areas, while the erection of fences has been an increasingly common mechanism of private-land control reinforcement in the region; this is mainly fuelled by imminent land-use changes, recent land transactions or subsidies from the NFL. We explored the dynamics between the erection of fences and deforestation in the Northern Argentinian Dry Chaco (NADC) during the implementation of the NFL. We found that a third of land deforested during 2000–2017 had been previously fenced, with the highest percentage (44%) occurring during the sanction of the NFL (2007) and the completion of the forest-zonation maps (2011). Only 34% of deforestation within fenced areas occurred in zones where deforestation was legally permitted. In total, 327 386 ha of forests had been fenced within NADC by 2017, representing areas of potential access restriction for local people, who historically used forest resources for survival. Additionally, 57% of the fenced area occurred in zones where deforestation was restricted. A novel remote-sensing application can serve as an early-warning tool for deforestation.
Covid-19 and Priorities for Research in Aging
Authors: Rylett R. J. , Alary Flamine , Goldberg Joanne , Rogers Susan , Versteegh Patricia 
Published: September 2020

ABSTRACTThis article describes priority areas for research on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on older adults that have been identified by the CIHR Institute of Aging (CIHR-IA). The process used by CIHR-IA consists of several iterative phases and thus far has resulted in identification of three key areas for Covid-19 research needs and four cross-cutting thematic areas. The key research priority areas are as follows: response of older adults to disease, vaccination, and therapeutics; mental health and isolation; and supportive care environments. The four cross-cutting themes are equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI); ethical/moral considerations; evidence-informed practices; and digital health technologies. The priorities outlined in this article will inform CIHR-IA’s responses to Covid-19 research needs.
Does incubation period of COVID-19 vary with age? A study of epidemiologically linked cases in Singapore
Authors: Tan W. Y. T. , Wong L. Y. , Leo Y. S. , Toh M. P. H. S. 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
This study estimates the incubation period of COVID-19 among locally transmitted cases, and its association with age to better inform public health measures in containing COVID-19. Epidemiological data of all PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases from all restructured hospitals in Singapore were collected between 23 January 2020 and 2 April 2020. Activity mapping and detailed epidemiological investigation were conducted by trained personnel. Positive cases without clear exposure to another positive case were excluded from the analysis. One hundred and sixty-four cases (15.6% of patients) met the inclusion criteria during the defined period. The crude median incubation period was 5 days (range 1–12 days) and median age was 42 years (range 5–79 years). The median incubation period among those 70 years and older was significantly longer than those younger than 70 years (8 vis-à-vis 5 days, P = 0.040). Incubation period was negatively correlated with day of illness in both groups. These findings support current policies of 14-day quarantine periods for close contacts of confirmed cases and 28 days for monitoring infections in known clusters. An elderly person who may have a longer incubation period than a younger counterpart may benefit from earlier and proactive testing, especially after exposure to a positive case.
On the Authorship of the Old Turkic Inscriptions
Authors: HAO CHEN 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThis article focuses on the authorship of the Kül Tégin and Bilge Kağan inscriptions and manages to reveal the different layers of the text. Through a careful analysis of the Old Turkic inscriptions and the relative Chinese accounts concerning the Türk royal lineage after Bilge Kağan, it concludes that the text on the south side of the Kül Tégin Inscription and the north side of the Bilge Kağan Inscription were narrated by the younger son of Bilge Kağan, Teŋri Teg Teŋride Bolmış Türk Bilge Kağan, in Kaiyuan XXVIII (ca. 740). In that year his elder brother (Teŋri Teg Teŋri Yaratmış Türk Bilge Kağan) passed away, so the Chinese emperor sent envoys to ‘appoint’ him as the new Türk kağan. He took the opportunity of the visit of Chinese delegates led by Li Zhi to ask the Chinese craftsmen to inscribe his words onto his father's memorial. The same text was also inscribed onto the blank side of his uncle's memorial, while inserting a quotation of his father's words.
SETI: the argument for artefact searches
Authors: Shostak Seth 
Published: September 2020

AbstractFor six decades, SETI has attempted to prove the existence of technologically advanced intelligence by detecting artificially generated electromagnetic signals. While such signals could certainly exist and – given the right circumstances – might be measurable here on Earth, contemporary searches are all compromised by limited sensitivity and a reliance on persistent transmissions. The energy required for any putative transmitters, the possible wish of the senders to be cryptic, and a likely ignorance about Homo sapiens’ existence all lead to the reasonable conclusion that greater attention to artefact searches could hasten the discovery of alien intelligence. We consider both the motivation, the advantages and the disadvantages of this approach. We also enumerate some of the specific artefact strategies that have been proposed and pursued.
Epigenetic signatures associated with maternal body mass index or gestational weight gain: a systematic review
Authors: Opsahl Julia O. , Moen Gunn-Helen , Qvigstad Elisabeth , Böttcher Yvonne , Birkeland Kåre I. , Sommer Christine 
Published: September 2020

AbstractMaternal body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) impacts both the mother’s and the child’s health, and epigenetic modifications have been suggested to mediate some of these effects in offspring. This systematic review aimed to summarize the current literature on associations between maternal BMI and GWG and epigenetic marks. We performed systematic searches in PubMed and EMBASE and manual searches of reference lists. We included 49 studies exploring the association between maternal BMI and/or GWG and DNA methylation or miRNA; 7 performed in maternal tissues, 13 in placental tissue and 38 in different offspring tissues. The most consistent findings were reported for the relationship between maternal BMI, in particular pre-pregnant BMI, and expression of miRNA Let-7d in both maternal blood and placental tissue, methylation of the gene HIF3A in umbilical cord blood and umbilical tissue, and with expression in the miR-210 target gene, BDNF in placental tissue and cord blood. Correspondingly, methylation of BDNF was also found in placental tissue and cord blood. The current evidence suggests that maternal BMI is associated with some epigenetic signatures in the mother, the placenta and her offspring, which could indicate that some of the effects proposed by the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease-hypothesis may be mediated by epigenetic marks. In conclusion, there is a need for large, well-designed studies and meta-analyses that can clarify the relationship between BMI, GWG and epigenetic changes.
Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia Correlates With Depressive Symptoms Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Authors: Brandt Emma , Wilson J. Kevin , Rieger Rebecca E. , Gill Darbi , Mayer Andrew R. , Cavanagh James F. 
Published: September 2020

Abstract. Depression is a pervasive psychiatric problem following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). However, the onset and course of symptom expression following mTBI can differ from that of spontaneous episodes of depression. Here, we aimed to assess a physiological metric closely linked to depression: respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a measure of high frequency heart rate variability. RSA is reduced during depressive episodes, and higher resting RSA has been shown to predict future recovery from depression. In this study, we investigated if these patterns were observed throughout the typical timeframe of sub-acute mTBI recovery. Although RSA did not differ between mTBI ( n = 50) and control ( n = 27) groups, depressive symptoms were reliably correlated with RSA only in the mTBI group. This pattern was consistent 2 weeks, 2 months, and 4 months post-injury. Furthermore, resting RSA shortly following injury predicted the trajectory of depressive symptoms 2 months later. These findings generalize the connection between RSA and depression to a clinical population where depressive symptoms are common but often difficult to parse from other post-trauma consequences.
Physical Forcing Controls the Basin‐Scale Occurrence of Nitrogen‐Fixing Organisms in the North Pacific Ocean
Authors: Cheung Shunyan , Nitanai Risa , Tsurumoto Chihiro , Endo Hisashi , Nakaoka Shin‐ichiro , Cheah Wee , Lorda Jaime Färber , Xia Xiaomin , Liu Hongbin , Suzuki Koji 
Published: September 2020

AbstractBiological nitrogen fixation is increasingly recognized as an important source of new nitrogen in a warming ocean. However, the basin‐scale spatiotemporal distribution of nitrogen‐fixing organisms (diazotrophs) in the ocean and its controlling environmental factors remain unclear. Here we examined the basin‐scale seasonal distribution patterns of major diazotrophs (filamentous cyanobacterial Trichodesmium, unicellular cyanobacterial UCYN‐A1, and proteobacterial Gamma‐A) in surface waters of the North Pacific from 2014 to 2016 with unprecedented coverage and resolution. In general, UCYN‐A1, Trichodesmium, and Gamma‐A were abundant during spring‐autumn, summer‐autumn, and spring respectively. Regarding latitudinal patterns of abundance, UCYN‐A1 showed dome shape; Trichodesmium was gradually decreasing from low‐ to high‐latitude regions; and Gamma‐A did not show a clear pattern, which were coincident with the distinct correlations between the diazotrophs and temperature. All three diazotrophs were abundant (reached 106–107 nifH gene copy number L−1) in the North Pacific transition zone and subtropical gyre, where the cyanobacterial diazotrophs were more abundant in both the western and eastern North Pacific than in the central North Pacific. The diazotroph abundance in the western North Pacific was positively correlated with eddy kinetic energy and sea surface height anomaly, which implies an enhancement of diazotrophs in mesoscale eddies associated with the western boundary current Kuroshio and its extension. The cyanobacterial diazotrophs were positively correlated with wind stress curl, a measurable parameter of wind‐driven upwelling, in the eastern North Pacific. Our study refines the biogeography of three major diazotrophs and highlights the importance of physical forcing in mediating their dynamics.
A Lagrangian Snow Evolution System for Sea Ice Applications (SnowModel‐LG): Part II—Analyses
Authors: Stroeve Julienne , Liston Glen E. , Buzzard Samantha , Zhou Lu , Mallett Robbie , Barrett Andrew , Tschudi Mark , Tsamados Michel , Itkin Polona , Stewart J. Scott 
Published: September 2020

AbstractSea ice thickness is a critical variable, both as a climate indicator and for forecasting sea ice conditions on seasonal and longer time scales. The lack of snow depth and density information is a major source of uncertainty in current thickness retrievals from laser and radar altimetry. In response to this data gap, a new Lagrangian snow evolution model (SnowModel‐LG) was developed to simulate snow depth, density, and grain size on a pan‐Arctic scale, daily from August 1980 through July 2018. In this study, we evaluate the results from this effort against various data sets, including those from Operation IceBridge, ice mass balance buoys, snow buoys, MagnaProbes, and rulers. We further compare modeled snow depths forced by two reanalysis products (Modern Era Retrospective‐Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 and European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis, 5th Generation) with those from two historical climatologies, as well as estimates over first‐year and multiyear ice from satellite passive microwave observations. Our results highlight the ability of our SnowModel‐LG implementation to capture observed spatial and seasonal variability in Arctic snow depth and density, as well as the sensitivity to the choice of reanalysis system used to simulate snow depths. Since 1980, snow depth is found to decrease throughout most regions of the Arctic Ocean, with statistically significant trends during the cold season months in the marginal ice zones around the Arctic Ocean and slight positive trends north of Greenland and near the pole.
Quantifying On‐Farm Nitrous Oxide Emission Reductions in Food Supply Chains
Authors: Eagle A. J. , McLellan E. L. , Brawner E. M. , Chantigny M. H. , Davidson E. A. , Dickey J. B. , Linquist B. A. , Maaz T. M. , Pelster D. E. , Pittelkow C. M. , van Kessel C. , Vyn T. J. , Cassman K. G. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractReducing nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from agriculture is critical to limiting future global warming. In response, a growing number of food retailers and manufacturers have committed to reducing N2O emissions from their vast networks of farmer suppliers by providing technical assistance and financial incentives. A key challenge for such companies is demonstrating that their efforts are leading to meaningful progress toward their climate mitigation commitments. We show that a simplified version of soil surface nitrogen (N) balance—or partial N balance—the difference between N inputs to and outputs from a farm field (fertilizer N minus crop N), is a robust indicator of direct N2O emissions from fields with maize and other major rainfed temperate‐region crops. Furthermore, we present a generalized environmental model that will allow food‐supply‐chain companies to translate aggregated and anonymized changes in average N balance across their supplying farms into aggregated changes in N2O emissions. This research is an important first step, based on currently available science, in helping companies demonstrate the impact of their sustainability efforts.
On Removal of Sea State Contribution to Sentinel‐1 Doppler Shift for Retrieving Reliable Ocean Surface Current
Authors: Moiseev A. , Johnsen H. , Johannessen J. A. , Collard F. , Guitton G. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe Doppler frequency shift acquired by Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) contains information about ocean surface motion induced by waves and the underlying ocean currents in the radar range direction. An accurate estimate of the wave‐induced contribution is therefore required to derive a reliable estimation of the ocean surface current. In this study, we developed an empirical model for estimating the wave‐induced Doppler shift based on Sentinel‐1B Wave Mode (WV) Level 2 Ocean products acquired from December 2017 to January 2018 collocated with wind field from ECMWF and wavefield from WAVEWATCH III. We found that the relationship between the wind field at 10 m height and the Doppler shift from Sentinel‐1 is in agreement with previous findings based on ASAR observations. Retraining of the conventional CDOP model for the Sentinel‐1 observations (CDOP‐S) yields distinct improvements. We speculate that the improvement is due to different sensor properties and hence biases in the data. Moreover, combing wave and wind information into the model yield considerable improvements especially for the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. Given accurate wave bias correction, the ocean surface radial velocity maps based on 2 months of Sentinel‐1 acquisitions agree with ocean surface current climatology derived from multiyear drifter observations. This suggests that Sentinel‐1 Doppler shift observations can be used to study ocean surface currents with 20 km spatial resolutions at a monthly time scale.
The Evolution of Sediment Sources Over a Sequence of Postfire Sediment‐Laden Flows Revealed Through Repeat High‐Resolution Change Detection
Authors: Guilinger James J. , Gray Andrew B. , Barth Nicolas C. , Fong Brandon T. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractPostfire debris flows are particularly complex to study because they do not form discrete initiation locations and commonly involve multiple simultaneously operating erosional processes. Although recent work has begun to elucidate a more mechanistic understanding of postfire debris flows, there is still a paucity of detailed sediment budgets characterizing these events. In this study, we seek to understand how postfire sediment sources and erosional processes change over multiple storm cycles. To do this, we performed repeat high‐resolution change detection in a headwater catchment burned by the 2018 Holy Fire in the Santa Ana Mountains, California, USA. This included terrestrial laser scanning in a zero‐order catchment (0.95 ha) and unmanned aerial vehicle structure from motion of a headwater channel network (up to 6.5 ha). During the initial storm events that produced runoff‐generated debris flows, we found that the evacuation of dry ravel and prefire colluvium accounted for half of the eroded material. These initial flows also acted to clear out much of the material stored within downstream headwater channel networks. In subsequent storm events of equal or greater rainfall intensity, total erosion from the study site was subdued, and the relative importance of shallow hillslope erosion from interrill and rill erosion was increased, as has been noted in similar studies in the region. Overall, this suggests that channel sediment supplies may be more rapidly depleted than hillslope sources, which may drive a trend of decreasing sediment fluxes over time from burned headwater catchments subject to repeated runoff events.