bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Algae, calcitarchs and the Late Ordovician Baltic limestone facies of the Baltic Basin
Authors: Kröger Björn , Penny Amelia , Shen Yuefeng , Munnecke Axel 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThe Late Ordovician succession of the Baltic Basin contains a characteristic fine-grained limestone, which is rich in calcareous green algae. This limestone occurs in surface outcrops and drill-cores in an extensive belt reaching from Sweden across the Baltic Sea to the Baltic countries. This limestone, which is known in the literature under several different lithological names, is described and interpreted, and the term “Baltic limestone facies” is suggested. The microfacies, from selected outcrops from the Åland Islands, Finland and Estonia, consists of calcareous green algae as the main skeletal component in a bioclastic mudstone-packstone lithology with a pure micritic matrix. Three types of calcitarch, which range in diameter from c. 100–180 μm, are common. Basinward, the youngest sections of the facies belt contain coral-stromatoporoid patch reefs andPalaeoporella-algal mounds. The Baltic limestone facies can be interpreted as representing the shallow part of an open-marine low-latitude carbonate platform.
Vibrator-Assisted Start–Stop Exercises Improve Premature Ejaculation Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Ventus Daniel , Gunst Annika , Arver Stefan , Dhejne Cecilia , Öberg Katarina G. , Zamore-Söderström Elin , Kärnä Antti , Jern Patrick 
Published: November 2019

AbstractPremature ejaculation (PE) is associated with decreased quality of life, lower confidence and self-esteem, and higher levels of depression, anxiety, and interpersonal difficulties. Here we investigated the effectiveness of vibrator-assisted start–stop exercises for treatment of PE, and whether the treatment effect could be enhanced by an additional psychobehavioral intervention. Fifty participants with a mean age of 41.7 years were included and randomized into two treatment groups and a waiting list control group. Participants were instructed to perform start–stop exercises while stimulating the penis with a purpose-made vibrator, 3 times a week for 6 weeks. Additionally, participants in one of the treatment groups received additional psychoeducation and performed mindfulness meditation-based body scan exercises three times a week. Data were gathered through online questionnaires before and after treatment, as well as 3 and 6 months after treatment. The interventions reduced PE symptoms with large effect sizes (partial η2 = .20 across the three groups, d [95% CI] = 1.05 [.27, 1.82] and 1.07 [.32, 1.82] for treatment groups compared to waiting list control group). The additional psychobehavioral intervention did not further reduce PE symptoms, but did decrease PE-associated negative symptoms such as levels of sexual distress, anxiety, and depression. No side effects were reported. Vibrator-assisted start–stop exercises can be offered as an adequate treatment option for PE.
An Iterative Approach to Ill-Conditioned Optimal Portfolio Selection
Authors: Gulliksson Mårten , Mazur Stepan 
Published: November 2019

AbstractCovariance matrix of the asset returns plays an important role in the portfolio selection. A number of papers is focused on the case when the covariance matrix is positive definite. In this paper, we consider portfolio selection with a singular covariance matrix. We describe an iterative method based on a second order damped dynamical systems that solves the linear rank-deficient problem approximately. Since the solution is not unique, we suggest one numerical solution that can be chosen from the iterates that balances the size of portfolio and the risk. The numerical study confirms that the method has good convergence properties and gives a solution as good as or better than the solutions that are based on constrained least norm Moore–Penrose, Lasso, and naive equal-weighted approaches. Finally, we complement our result with an empirical study where we analyze a portfolio with actual returns listed in S&P 500 index.
Performance Management of Supply Chain Sustainability in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Using a Combined Structural Equation Modelling and Data Envelopment Analysis
Authors: Dey Prasanta Kumar , Yang Guo-liang , Malesios Chrysovalantis , De Debashree , Evangelinos Konstantinos 
Published: November 2019

AbstractAlthough the contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to economic growth is beyond doubt, they collectively affect the environment and society negatively. As SMEs have to perform in a very competitive environment, they often find it difficult to achieve their environmental and social targets. Therefore, making SMEs sustainable is one of the most daunting tasks for both policy makers and SME owners/managers alike. Prior research argues that through measuring SMEs’ supply chain sustainability performance and deriving means of improvement one can make SMEs’ business more viable, not only from an economic perspective, but also from the environmental and social point of view. Prior studies apply data envelopment analysis (DEA) for measuring the performance of groups of SMEs using multiple criteria (inputs and outputs) by segregating efficient and inefficient SMEs and suggesting improvement measures for each inefficient SME through benchmarking it against the most successful one. However, DEA is limited to recommending means of improvement solely for inefficient SMEs. To bridge this gap, the use of structural equation modelling (SEM) enables developing relationships between the criteria and sub-criteria for sustainability performance measurement that facilitates to identify improvement measures for every SME within a region through a statistical modelling approach. As SEM suggests improvements not from the perspective of individual SMEs but for the totality of SMEs involved, this tool is more suitable for policy makers than for individual company owners/managers. However, a performance measurement heuristic that combines DEA and SEM could make use of the best of each technique, and thereby could be the most appropriate tool for both policy makers and individual SME owners/managers. Additionally, SEM results can be utilized by DEA as inputs and outputs for more effective and robust results since the latter are based on more objective measurements. Although DEA and SEM have been applied separately to study the sustainability of organisations, according to the authors’ knowledge, there is no published research that has combined both the methods for sustainable supply chain performance measurement. The framework proposed in the present study has been applied in two different geographical locations—Normandy in France and Midlands in the UK—to demonstrate the effectiveness of sustainable supply chain performance measurement using the combined DEA and SEM approach. Additionally, the state of the companies’ sustainability in both regions is revealed with a number of comparative analyses.
A Convex Variational Model for Learning Convolutional Image Atoms from Incomplete Data
Authors: Chambolle A. , Holler M. , Pock T. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractA variational model for learning convolutional image atoms from corrupted and/or incomplete data is introduced and analyzed both in function space and numerically. Building on lifting and relaxation strategies, the proposed approach is convex and allows for simultaneous image reconstruction and atom learning in a general, inverse problems context. Further, motivated by an improved numerical performance, also a semi-convex variant is included in the analysis and the experiments of the paper. For both settings, fundamental analytical properties allowing in particular to ensure well-posedness and stability results for inverse problems are proven in a continuous setting. Exploiting convexity, globally optimal solutions are further computed numerically for applications with incomplete, noisy and blurry data and numerical results are shown.
Influence of thermal annealing on structural properties of silica aerogel super insulation material
Authors: Lakatos Ákos , Csarnovics István 
Published: November 2019

AbstractNowadays, aerogel materials are some of the lightest thermal insulation materials available on the construction market; they are produced by the mixing of polymers with solvents since they create a gel. Insulated fibrous-enhanced forms are the most frequently used ones. The type, which is used for thermal insulation, is usually produced by mixing the glass fiber net with the liquid–solid solution. The present paper talks about the structural modifications caused by heat treatment of the aerogel-reinforced with fiberglass. The aerogel probes were subjected to thermal annealing, and once they got isothermal heat treatments for weeks at 70 °C, moreover, untreated samples were subjected to stepwise thermal treatments between 100 and 250 °C for 1 day. Both the heat treatments were executed in dryer equipment under atmospheric air. Changes both in the structure and in chemical bonds of the untreated and annealed samples were followed. Raman spectra have been obtained for the samples. The structural changes have an influence on the studied material as well as in thermal properties. The structural and thermal properties were put under investigation after executing heat treatments on them. Jumps in the thermal conductivity could be connected with some structural changes. Due to the annealing intensity of the peaks connected with Si–O, crystalline SiO is increased, while CH, CH2, CH3, –OH and others are decreased.
Children and adolescents with VACTERL association: health-related quality of life and psychological well-being in children and adolescents and their parents
Authors: Kassa A-M. , Dellenmark-Blom M. , Thorsell Cederberg J. , Engvall G. , Engstrand Lilja H. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractPurposeVACTERL association is a rare and complex condition of congenital malformations, often requiring repeated surgery and entailing various physical sequelae. Due to scarcity of knowledge, the study aim was to investigate self-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL), anxiety, depression and self-concept in children and adolescents with VACTERL association and self-reported anxiety and depression in their parents.MethodsPatients aged 8–17 years with VACTERL association and their parents were recruited from three of four Swedish paediatric surgical centres during 2015–2019. The well-established validated questionnaires DISABKIDS, Beck Youth Inventories, Beck Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory were sent to the families. Data were analysed using descriptives,ttests and multivariable analysis. Results were compared with norm groups and reference samples.ResultsThe questionnaires were returned by 40 patients, 38 mothers and 33 fathers. The mean HRQoL wasM = 80.4, comparable to children with asthma (M = 80.2) and diabetes (M = 79.5). Self-reported psychological well-being was comparable to the norm group of Swedish school children, and was significantly higher than a clinical sample. Factors negatively influencing children’s HRQoL and psychological well-being were identified. The parents’ self-reports of anxiety and depression were comparable to non-clinical samples.ConclusionsAlthough children and adolescents with VACTERL association reported similar HRQoL to those of European children with chronic conditions, their psychological well-being was comparable to Swedish school children in general. Nevertheless, some individuals among both children and parents were in need of extra support. This attained knowledge is valuable when counselling parents regarding the prognosis for children with VACTERL association.
Easy Ontology, quantification, and realism
Authors: Marschall Benjamin 
Published: November 2019

AbstractAmie Thomasson has defended a view calledEasy Ontology, according to which most ontological questions can be answered straightforwardly using conceptual truths and empirical knowledge. Furthermore, she claims that this deflationary meta-ontology does not commit her to any form of anti-realism. In this paper I identify a problem with Thomasson’s account of quantification, according to which everything we quantify over falls under a sortal. Thomasson’s defence of the easiness of answering ontological questions relies on a certain thesis about the hierarchical order of sortals, but the case for the compatibility of Easy Ontology and realism suggests that this thesis is actually false.
Modern sediment records of hydroclimatic extremes and associated potential contaminant mobilization in semi-arid environments: lessons learnt from recent flood-drought cycles in southern Botswana
Authors: Franchi Fulvio , Ahad Jason M. E. , Geris Josie , Jhowa Gaone , Petros Alfred K. , Comte Jean-Christophe 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this work was to identify and analyze the records of flood-drought cycles as preserved in the sediments of the Notwane reservoir, southern Botswana, in order to better understand how extreme events affect water and sediment quality. This work represents the first attempt to study the reservoir sediments in arid to semi-arid environments and suggests that they could be used as proxies for the characterization of the effects of flood-drought cycles.

Materials and methods
For the first time in an arid context like Botswana, sediments from artificial reservoirs were explored through correlating sediment records with the presence and quantity of pollutants in the reservoir’s wider arid and semi-arid catchment after the latest extreme flood event of 2017. Sediments from the Notwane reservoir were collected with a push corer to a maximum depth of 80 cm. Sediments were then analyzed for grain size distribution, organic matter content, and concentrations of heavy metals (Fe, Zn, Cu, Cr, and Pb). Concentrations of heavy metals from surface water and groundwater were compared with the metal profiles from the sediment cores and with rainfall series from the CHIRPS (Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Stations) database.

Results and discussion
The sediments from Notwane reservoir clearly showed two flood couplets characterized by fining upward beds. Water quality data from Notwane reservoir and the surrounding aquifer showed peaks of contaminants following rainfall. Although the couplets found in the sediment record were not always clearly coupled with peaks of metals, some correlation was found between the vertical distribution of metals within the sediments and the most recent sequence and the seasonal metal variation in water. Overall, trace metal contents were very low: < 1 mg L−1 for Cu and Zn and < 2 mg L−1 for Cr and Pb, well below the sediment quality assessment guidelines (SQGs), indicating that the above-average precipitations of the last 10 years did not noticeably contribute to the input of heavy metal contaminants in the reservoir sediments.

Conclusions
The 2016/17 Dineo cyclone flood was triggered by above-average rainfall, preceded by a 4-year period of severe drought. The deterioration of the basin during the drought has enhanced the effects of the flood, worsening the damages on structures and livelihoods. The lessons learnt from the Dineo cyclone in Botswana highlight the importance of integrated studies that combine hydrological data, rainfall series, and sediments. It is recommended to extend the research for longer time periods.
Living degrowth? Investigating degrowth practices through performative methods
Authors: Brossmann Johannes , Islar Mine 
Published: November 2019

AbstractDegrowth scholarship argues for multi-scalar transformations beyond the growth-oriented economic paradigm to achieve long-term socio-ecological sustainability. While the literature on degrowth has grown substantially, little has been said about how these transformations are understood in practice. By drawing upon practice theory and using performative methods, this paper explores the ways in which degrowth scholars and practitioners experience and understand degrowth. It provides a preliminary account of living degrowth by portraying a diverse range of interrelated practices grouped in five spheres: (1) rethinking society, (2) acting political, (3) creating alternatives, (4) fostering connections, and (5) unveiling the self. Drawing upon the spheres of practices, we conceptualize living degrowth as an endeavour that aims to transform current problems into imagined futures in multiple realms. The practices of living degrowth are concerned with theoretical, political, material, economical, social and personal dimensions of world and life. This points to the importance for sustainability science to investigate and foster transformations in all domains and at all levels, reaching from the outer to the inner and vice versa.
Presumed adverse events in health care are a frequent indication for medico-legal autopsy in Finland
Authors: Pakanen Lasse , Keinänen Noora , Kuvaja Paula 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThe medico-legal autopsy is an essential tool in investigating deaths caused by an adverse event in health care, for both clinical risk management and for professional liability issues. However, there are no statistics available regarding the frequency of autopsies performed due to suspected adverse events. This study aimed to determine the number of medico-legal autopsies done because of presumed adverse events, whether these events were unintentional, medical errors or cases in which malpractice was suspected. Furthermore, differences in treatment types, causes and manner of death were analyzed. The data was obtained from all medico-legal autopsies performed in Northern Finland and Lapland during 2014–2015 (n = 2027). Adverse events were suspected in 181 (8.9%) cases. The suspicions of an adverse event occurring were most often related to medication, gastrointestinal surgery and orthopedic surgery. The manner of death was classified asmedical (or surgical) treatment or investigative procedurein 22 (12.2%) cases. The causes of death were completely unrelated to the suspected adverse event in 41 (22.7%) cases. In conclusion, the frequency of presumed adverse events was quite high in this data set, but in the majority of the cases, the suspicion of an adverse event causing death was disproved by an autopsy. Nonetheless, proper investigation of these cases is essential to ensure legal protection of the deceased, next of kin and health care personnel, as well as to support clinical risk management.
The duty to prevent environmental damage in the environmental liability directive; a catalyst for halting the deterioration of water and wildlife
Authors: Fogleman Valerie 
Published: November 2019

AbstractMany articles have commented on the duty to remediate environmental damage imposed by the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD). Few—if any—articles, however, have commented on the duty to prevent environmental damage imposed by it. This article begins to fill that gap by commenting on the duty to prevent damage to species and habitats protected by the Birds and Habitats Directives and damage to surface water under the Water Framework Directive.The article illustrates the duty to prevent environmental damage by its application to two cases; one concerning a direct application of the duty; the other concerning an indirect application. The article concludes that the duty to prevent environmental damage under the ELD is a powerful catalyst that can trigger protective measures under the Birds, Habitats and Water Framework Directives.
The Effect of Bifidobacterium on Reducing Symptomatic Abdominal Pain in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Systematic Review
Authors: Pratt Charlotte , Campbell Matthew D. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractProbiotics, specifically Bifidobacteria, may improve abdominal pain in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); however, results from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are conflicting. Here, we systematically reviewed the efficacy of Bifidobacteria on abdominal pain in IBS. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register from inception to 20 May 2019, without language or date restrictions. The search strategy comprised of the combination of three concepts: supplementation, abdominal pain, and IBS. Inclusion criteria included double-blind placebo-controlled RCTs featuring Bifidobacteria supplementation in Rome-diagnosed IBS patients. A total of 8 RCTs involving a total of 1045 patients with Rome diagnosed IBS were included. The dose of total Bifidobacteria ranged from 106 to > 1011 cfu (colony-forming unit) and duration of supplementation ranged between 2 and 8 weeks. Bifidobacteria was delivered through either intake of fermented milk products, encapsulation or via a malted milk beverage, with all studies assessing abdominal pain via a visual analogue Likert scale. From the studies included, 50% (n = 4) of studies found a statistically significant improvement in abdominal pain following Bifidobacteria supplementation compared to placebo, 38% (n = 3) of studies found non-significant improvements and 12% (n = 1) showed a statistically significant dose-response effect of improvement. The evidence shows a heterogeneity of effect for Bifidobacteria dependent upon strain, dosage and delivery method. While not all studies demonstrate significant improvements in abdominal pain, none of the selected studies reported an increase in pain or other adverse effects.
The relationship between mindfulness meditation and well-being during 8 weeks of ecological momentary assessment
Authors: Lahtinen Oskari , Salmivalli Christina 
Published: November 2019

AbstractObjectivesThe main effects of 8-week mindfulness-based programs (MBP) on anxiety and depression are now supported by reasonably robust evidence. However, few to no studies have looked at whether and how these main effects come to be over the course of the MBP. The goal of the present study was to look at how meditation practice predicted changes in well-being, and vice versa, at a weekly level, within an 8-week online MBP.MethodsThe participants were 457 Finnish upper secondary education students who underwent an 8-week online MBP. App-based ecological momentary assessment data were collected on how many minutes the participants meditated (daily) and their anxiety, happiness, and sleep problems (weekly). These data were analyzed using a longitudinal (nine time point) path model.ResultsParticipants’ weekly minutes of mindfulness meditation were a consistent, albeit weak, predictor of decreases in anxiety and increases in happiness. During the course of the study, answer rates declined from 75.7% (Time 0) to 27.4% (Time 8) for anxiety, happiness, and sleep and from 80.5% to 37.0% for meditation minutes.ConclusionsResults suggest well-being improvement from mindfulness meditation is an ongoing process and that ecological momentary assessment is a promising methodology for studying it.
Groundwater quality variations in Precambrian hard rock aquifers: a case study from Kerala, India
Authors: Nandakumaran P. , Balakrishnan K. 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
Analytical data of groundwater samples collected from weathered and deep fractured zones in the Precambrian charnockite aquifers in Kerala, India, have been studied to understand their hydrochemical variations and reasons thereof. Concentrations of the majority of the constituents analyzed were found to increase with increasing depth of aquifers, with the exception of nitrate. Studies indicate that various processes such as ion exchange reactions, carbonate weathering and silicate weathering are active in both the aquifers which influence the hydrochemical composition of groundwater in them. The prevailing groundwater quality in the aquifers is dependent on the dominance of each process in relation to others. Principal component analysis of the data suggests that contamination from anthropogenic sources has a major role in determining the hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater in the weathered zone unlike in the case of fractured aquifers where water–rock interaction is the major factor responsible. The study also indicates limited hydraulic connection between the weathered and fractured aquifers at the local scale.