bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Chronic exposure to urban noise during the vocal learning period does not lead to increased song frequencies in zebra finches
Authors: Liu Ying , Zollinger Sue Anne , Brumm Henrik 
Published: December 2020

AbstractIt has often been observed that birds sing at a higher pitch in cities and other areas that are polluted with intense low-frequency noise. How this pattern arises remains unclear though. One prevailing idea is that songbirds adjust song frequencies to environmental noise profiles through developmental plasticity via vocal learning. However, the conclusions of previous studies testing this hypothesis are inconsistent. Here we report the findings from two song learning experiments with zebra finches (Taenopygia guttata), in which we exposed young birds to anthropogenic noise during their sensitive vocal learning period. Unlike previous studies that addressed this issue, we did not use constant synthetic noise but natural urban noise with its typical amplitude fluctuations that was broadcast at realistic sound levels. We found that noise-exposed males in neither experiment developed higher pitched songs compared to control males. This suggests that the natural fluctuations between higher and lower noise levels in cities may allow young birds to exploit relatively quiet moments to hear their tutors and themselves, permitting them to make accurate copies of even low-frequency song elements.Significance statementIf animals are to persist in urban habitats, they often must adjust their behavior to the altered conditions. Birds in cities are often observed to sing at a higher pitch, but we are largely ignorant of how this phenomenon arises. We investigated whether low-frequency traffic noise interferes with the song learning of birds so that they develop higher pitched songs. Accordingly, we played back natural traffic noise from urban bird habitats to young birds during their learning period and then analyzed their adult songs. We found that birds that learned their songs in noise did not sing at higher frequencies compared to control males that learned their song with no noise exposure. Our results show that typical traffic noise in cities may not be sufficient to interfere with vocal learning in a way that birds develop higher-pitched songs.
Split sex ratios and genetic relatedness in a primitively eusocial sweat bee
Authors: Pennell Tanya M , Field Jeremy 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
In eusocial Hymenoptera, queens and their helper offspring should favour different sex investment ratios. Queens should prefer a 1:1 investment ratio, as they are equally related to offspring of both sexes (r = 0.5). In contrast, helpers should favour an investment ratio of 3:1 towards the production of female brood. This conflict arises because helpers are more closely related to full sisters (r = 0.75) than brothers (r = 0.25). However, helpers should invest relatively more in male brood if relatedness asymmetry within their colony is reduced. This can occur due to queen replacement after colony orphaning, multiple paternity and the presence of unrelated alien helpers. We analysed an unprecedentedly large number of colonies (n = 109) from a UK population of Lasioglossum malachurum, an obligate eusocial sweat bee, to tease apart the effects of these factors on colony-level investment ratios. We found that multiple paternity, unrelated alien helpers and colony orphaning were all common. Queen-right colonies invested relatively more in females than did orphaned colonies, producing a split sex ratio. However, investment ratios did not change due to multiple paternity or the presence of alien helpers, reducing inclusive fitness pay-offs for helpers. Queen control may also have been important: helpers rarely laid male eggs, and investment in female brood was lower when queens were large relative to their helpers. Genetic relatedness between helpers and the brood that they rear was 0.43 in one year and 0.37 in another year, suggesting that ecological benefits, as well as relatedness benefits, are necessary for the maintenance of helping behaviour.

Significance statement
How helping behaviour is maintained in eusocial species is a key topic in evolutionary biology. Colony-level sex investment ratio changes in response to relatedness asymmetries can dramatically influence inclusive fitness benefits for helpers in eusocial Hymenoptera. The extent to which helpers in primitively eusocial colonies can respond adaptively to different sources of variation in relatedness asymmetry is unclear. Using data from 109 colonies of the sweat bee Lasioglossum malachurum, we found that queen loss, but not multiple paternity or the presence of alien helpers, was correlated with colony sex investment ratios. Moreover, we quantified average helper-brood genetic relatedness to test whether it is higher than that predicted under solitary reproduction (r = 0.5). Values equal to and below r = 0.5 suggest that relatedness benefits alone cannot explain the maintenance of helping behaviour. Ecological benefits of group living and/or coercion must also contribute.
Advances in the use of microgels as emulsion stabilisers and as a strategy for cellulose functionalisation
Authors: Lefroy Katherine S. , Murray Brent S. , Ries Michael E. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractMicrogel particles have recently emerged as an alternative route to emulsion stabilisation. Classed as soft colloidal particles, their ability to swell to differing degrees in certain solvents and to rearrange once attached to an interface makes them highly suitable for systems requiring long-term stabilization, such as formulations in the food, agricultural, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Microgels made with biocompatible polymers such as proteins and polysaccharides in particular offer an environmental advantage and currently form a very active area of research. Cellulose, being a natural, biodegradable polymer, is an attractive ingredient for gels and microgels. However, its use as a functional material is often somewhat hindered by its insolubility in water and most other organic solvents. Furthermore, the surface activity of cellulose has proven difficult to harness and therefore its ability to act as an emulsion stabiliser has been almost exclusively applied to oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions, with very few reports on its water in oil (W/O) activity. This review aims to summarise some of the recent progress made in the microgel field including their ability to act as emulsion stabilisers, with a focus on cellulose microgels (CMGs). A brief overview of cellulose processing is also given, describing the dissolution and reprecipitation routes used to functionalise cellulose without covalent modification and the potential for cellulose particles and CMGs to act as O/W and W/O emulsion stabilisers.
Graphic abstract
Virtual action
Authors: Heinrichs Jan-Hendrik 
Published: December 2020

AbstractIn the debate about actions in virtual environments two interdependent types of question have been pondered: What is a person doing who acts in a virtual environment? Second, can virtual actions be evaluated morally? These questions have been discussed using examples from morally dubious computer games, which seem to revel in atrocities. The examples were introduced using the terminology of “virtual murder” “virtual rape” and “virtual pedophilia”. The terminological choice had a lasting impact on the debate, on the way action types are assigned and on how moral evaluation is supposed to be conducted. However, this terminology and its theoretical consequences, while sometimes resulting in correct results, lead to absurd results when applied across the board. It will be suggested that these absurd consequences can be avoided by a different answer to the question what people in virtual worlds are doing. Alleged virtual actions are first and foremost the creation and modification of data-structures and the resulting output in computer hardware. Such modifications of data structure and imagery can be performed with different intentions, purposes and styles, which will influence the type and moral evaluation of a user’s actions. This reinterpretation allows for a more complex analysis of the moral reasons for praiseworthiness or blameworthiness of actions in virtual environments. This analysis takes not just harm and effects on character into account but the peculiar ways in which speech acts can be morally wrong: e.g. agitatory, deceptive, bullshitting.
Dominating OP Returns: The Impact of Omni and Veriblock on Bitcoin
Authors: Strehle Elias , Steinmetz Fred 
Published: December 2020

AbstractBitcoin has always been used to store arbitrary data, particularly since Bitcoin Core developers added a dedicated method for data storage in 2014: the OP Return operator. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of all OP Return transactions published on Bitcoin between September 14, 2018, and December 31, 2019. The 32.4 million OP Return transactions (22% of all Bitcoin transactions) published during this period added 10 GB to the blockchain’s size. Almost all OP Return transactions can be attributed to one of 37 blockchain services. The two dominant services are Veriblock (58% of OP Return transactions) and Omni/Tether (40%). Veriblock transactions pay only 14% of the average transaction fee, partly because most of them are submitted during times when overall activity on Bitcoin is low. Omni transactions, on the other hand, pay more than twice the average transaction fee and therefore compete with regular Bitcoin transactions for inclusion in new blocks.
Die „medizinische Notwendigkeit“ humangenetischer Leistungen aus den Perspektiven des Faches und der Kostenträger
Authors: Schmidtke Jörg 
Published: December 2020

ZusammenfassungIn dieser Arbeit werden die Indikationskriterien zu humangenetischen Leistungen aus evidenzbasierter fachlicher Sicht dargestellt und die Pflicht zur Kostenübernahme oder die Berechtigung zu deren Ablehnung auf der Basis der gesetzlichen Grundlagen und der Rechtsprechung beleuchtet. Sie soll als eine Handlungsempfehlung sowohl für die indikationsstellende als auch für die gutachtlich tätige ärztliche Person dienen und als ein Appell an den Gesetzgeber, die Ungleichbehandlungen bezüglich humangenetischer Leistungen zu beseitigen.
Differential diagnosis of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and benign atrophy in older women using p16 immunocytochemistry
Authors: Yan Peisha , Du Hui , Wang Chun , Song Fangbin , Huang Xia , Luo Yingjie , Wu Ruifang 
Published: December 2020

AbstractBackgroundFor cervical cancer screening, routine cytology has a high specificity but a lower sensitivity. In older women, atrophy, which may mimic HSIL, presents a diagnostic challenge. p16 is a widely used biomarker for histological diagnosis of HSIL. Our objective was to evaluate PathCIN® p16INK4aimmunocytology in identification of high grade dysplasiavs.benign atrophy.MethodsAs part of a multi-center screening program, 3351 women were co-tested by p16 immunocytology. Among women referred for colposcopy on basis of cytology and high-risk HPV status, those with atrophy were older than the population screened (52vs.43 years). Cases from older women with atrophy (n ​= ​116) and controls without atrophy (n ​= ​47) were identified by re-examination of Pap smears. The detection of CIN2+ was compared for p16, cytology and HR-HPV results.ResultsThe sensitivity of routine cytology (≥LSIL) was much lower for cases with atrophy (17%) than non-atrophic cases (75%). The sensitivity of p16 immunocytology and of HR-HPV testing was high (88%–100%) both with and without atrophy. The specificity of routine cytology (≥LSIL) was higher for cases with atrophy (79%) than non-atrophic cases (38%). The specificity of p16 immunocytology was high (88–95%) and the specificity of HR-HPV testing was low (31%–33%) both with and without atrophy. Combining p16 with HPV testing and/or routine cytology had no benefit, as compared to p16 staining alone.Conclusionsp16 immunocytology compares favorably with routine cytology and HPV testing in the differential diagnosis of HSIL and benign atrophy. It is more sensitive than cytology for atrophic specimens, and is more specific than HPV testing. p16 immunocytology may decrease the need for colposcopy referrals and could be a useful tool for early detection of cervical cancer in peri- and post-menopausal women, who are more likely to have HSIL coexisting with atrophy.
Trauma factors among adult and geriatric blunt trauma patients
Authors: Ahmadinejad Mojtaba , Mohammadzadeh Sanaz , Shirzadi Alireza , Soltanian Ali , Ahmadinejad Izadmehr , Pouryaghobi Seyyed Mohsen 
Published: December 2020

ABSTRACT

Background:
Trauma is known as a third leading cause of mortality among all-aged patients.

Objective:
The aim of this study is to investigate pre-trauma physiological factors and trauma-related factors that can increase the risk of mortality among the adult and geriatric patients.

Method:
In this longitudinal data analysis study, 500 non-penetrating adult trauma patients who were referred to (Shahid Madani Hospital) from January 2019–December 2019 were enrolled. Information such as age, sex, occupation, place of residence, hospitalization and surgical history, underlying illnesses, medications (such as antihypertensive drugs, etc.), lab findings (complete blood cell and creatinine levels) were recorded in the form of a questionnaire. The patients were divided in group A (aged 65 and above) and group B (aged below 65 years). The data obtained was analyzed statistically using SPSSv18.

Result:
The mean age of all patients under study was 51.6 years. Among all participants, 68% (341) were male and 32% (159) were female. Regarding the cause of trauma, group A had significantly greater incidence (p-value = 0.001). The two groups were also significantly different in terms of the region of the injury (p-value = 0.014). Furthermore, underlying diseases were also statistically significant among the two groups (p-value = 0.0093). There was a significant difference between the two groups in terms of smoking and drugs (p-value = 0.01 and 0.001, respectively). Finally, the mortality rate in patients older than 65 years old (4.3%) was significantly higher than those in patients under the age of 65 years (2.9%) (p-value = 0.0001).

Conclusion:
The results of this study showed that among the trauma patients aged below 65 years and those aged 65 years and above, underlying illness, mortality rate, usage of drugs, cause of trauma, type of injury, vital signs, white blood cell count and platelet count, hemoglobin and serum creatinine vary significantly.

Highlights
DRAT: Data risk assessment tool for university–industry collaborations
Authors: Sikorska Joanna , Bradley Sam , Hodkiewicz Melinda , Fraser Ryan 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
For research in the fields of engineering asset management (EAM) and system health, relevant data resides in the information systems of the asset owners, typically industrial corporations or government bodies. For academics to access EAM data sets for research purposes can be a difficult and time-consuming task. To facilitate a more consistent approach toward releasing asset-related data, we have developed a data risk assessment tool (DRAT). This tool evaluates and suggests controls to manage, risks associated with the release of EAM datasets to academic entities for research purposes. Factors considered in developing the tool include issues such as where accountability for approval sits in organizations, what affects an individual manager’s willingness to approve release, and how trust between universities and industry can be established and damaged. This paper describes the design of the DRAT tool and demonstrates its use on case studies provided by EAM owners for past research projects. The DRAT tool is currently being used to manage the data release process in a government-industry-university research partnership.
Different measurements of bilingualism and their effect on performance on a Simon task
Authors: Champoux-Larsson Marie-France , Dylman Alexandra S. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractWe investigated how operationalizing bilingualism affects the results on a Simon task in a population of monolingual and bilingual native English speakers (N = 166). Bilingualism was measured in different ways within participants, and the measurements were used both as dichotomous and continuous variables. Our results show that the statistical significance and effect size varied across operationalizations. Specifically, the Composite Factor Score (the Language and Social Background Questionnaire’s general score), showed a bilingual disadvantage on reaction times regardless of how it was used (dichotomously or continuously). When dividing participants into monolinguals and bilinguals based on the Nonnative Language Social Use score (a Language and Social Background Questionnaire subscore), differences in accuracy and reaction times were found between the groups, but the Nonnative Language Social Use score did not predict accuracy when used as a continuous variable (only reaction times). Finally, earlier age of acquisition predicted faster reaction times, but only when used on a continuum. Effect sizes were between the small and medium range. No differences on the Simon effect were found. Our results call for cautiousness when comparing studies using different types of measurements, highlight the need for clarity and transparency when describing samples, and stresses the need for more research on the operationalization of bilingualism.
Real-time comprehension of garden-path constructions by preschoolers: A Mandarin perspective
Authors: Zhou Peng , Shi Jiawei , Zhan Likan 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThe present study investigated whether 4- and 5-year-old Mandarin-speaking children are able to process garden-path constructions in real time when the working memory burden associated with revision and reanalysis is kept to minimum. In total, 25 4-year-olds, 25 5-year-olds, and 30 adults were tested using the visual-world paradigm of eye tracking. The obtained eye gaze patterns reflect that the 4- and 5-year-olds, like the adults, committed to an initial misinterpretation and later successfully revised their initial interpretation. The findings show that preschool children are able to revise and reanalyze their initial commitment and then arrive at the correct interpretation using the later-encountered linguistic information when processing the garden-path constructions in the current study. The findings also suggest that although the 4-year-olds successfully processed the garden-path constructions in real time, they were not as effective as the 5-year-olds and the adults in revising and reanalyzing their initial mistaken interpretation when later encountering the critical linguistic cue. Taken together, our findings call for a fine-grained model of child sentence processing.
Prolonged or preserved working life? Intra-organisational institutions embedded in human resource routines
Authors: Liff Roy , Wikström Ewa 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of why people are still retiring earlier than would have been expected, despite policies that increase the retirement age. This is a qualitative study in a large public-service organisation in Sweden focusing particularly on how human resource routines aimed at middle management tend to inhibit the promotion of a prolonged working life, despite government efforts aimed at changing these actions. The results highlight three key routines (development talks, salary talks and internal recruitment) that inhibit prolonged working life. These routines seem rational and appropriate to the organisation's managers, because the demands of the job must have priority over employees’ capabilities in recruitment routines. Furthermore, it could be considered economically rational to prioritise salary demands of younger employees over those of older employees, and it may appear economically rational to stop further training efforts for older employees. In general, then, it seems reasonable to managers to make decisions based on objective criteria like age. Nevertheless, our results suggest that these routines may need to be redesigned in order to support a prolonged working life and to avoid a discrepancy between accepted prolonged working-life policies and the actions of organisational actors. The study further reveals how intra-organisational institutions (e.g.taken-for-granted mind-sets and norms) embedded in human resource routines may promote or inhibit prolonged working life, suggesting a need for change in those institutions.
Feeding infants with complex congenital heart disease: a modified Delphi survey to examine potential research and practice gaps
Authors: Elgersma Kristin M. , McKechnie Anne Chevalier , Gallagher Tipper , Trebilcock Anna L. , Pridham Karen F. , Spatz Diane L. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractObjective:To determine clinical consensus and non-consensus in regard to evidence-based statements about feeding infants with complex CHD, with a focus on human milk. Areas of non-consensus may indicate discrepancies between research findings and practice, with consequent variation in feeding management.Materials and Methods:A modified Delphi survey validated key feeding topics (round 1), and determined consensus on evidence-based statements (rounds 2 and 3). Patients (n=25) were an interdisciplinary group of clinical experts from across the United States of America. Descriptive analysis used SPSS Statistics (Version 26.0). Thematic analysis of qualitative data provided context for quantitative data.Results:Round 1 generated 5 key topics (human milk, developing oral feeding skills, clinical feeding practice, growth failure, and parental concern about feeding) and 206 evidence-based statements. The final results included 110 (53.4%) statements of consensus and 96 (46.6%) statements of non-consensus. The 10 statements of greatest consensus strongly supported human milk as the preferred nutrition for infants with complex CHD. Areas of non-consensus included the adequacy of human milk to support growth, need for fortification, safety, and feasibility of direct breastfeeding, issues related to tube feeding, and prevention and treatment of growth failure.Conclusions:The results demonstrate clinical consensus about the importance of human milk, but reveal a need for best practices in managing a human milk diet for infants with complex CHD. Areas of non-consensus may lead to clinical practice variation. A sensitive approach to these topics is needed to support family caregivers in navigating feeding concerns.