bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Shift in size of bumblebee queens over the last century
Authors: Gérard Maxence , Martinet Baptiste , Maebe Kevin , Marshall Leon , Smagghe Guy , Vereecken Nicolas J. , Vray Sarah , Rasmont Pierre , Michez Denis 
Published: October 2019

AbstractSpecies can respond differently when facing environmental changes, such as by shifting their geographical ranges or through plastic or adaptive modifications to new environmental conditions. Phenotypic modifications related to environmental factors have been mainly explored along latitudinal gradients, but they are relatively understudied through time despite their importance for key ecological interactions. Here we hypothesize that the average bumblebee queen body size has changed in Belgium during the last century. Based on historical and contemporary databases, we first tested if queen body sizes changed during the last century at the intraspecific level among four common bumblebee species and if it could be linked to global warming and/or habitat fragmentation as well as by the replacement by individuals from new populations. Then, we assessed body size changes at the community level, among 22 species, taking into account species population trends (i.e. increasing, stable or decreasing relative abundance). Our results show that the average queen body size of all four bumblebee species increased over the last century. This size increase was significantly correlated to global warming and habitat fragmentation, but not explained by changes in the population genetic structure (i.e. colonization). At the community level, species with stable or increasing relative abundance tend to be larger than declining species. Contrary to theoretical expectations from Bergmann's rule (i.e. increasing body size in colder climates), temperature does not seem to be the main driver of bumblebee body size during the last century as we observed the opposite body size trend. However, agricultural intensification and habitat fragmentation could be alternative mechanisms that shape body size clines. This study stresses the importance of considering alternative global change factors when assessing body size change.
Interleukin‐33 polymorphisms and serum concentrations in mycosis fungoides
Authors: Rustowska‐Rogowska Alicja , Gleń Jolanta , Jarząbek Tomasz , Rogowski Wojciech , Rębała Krzysztof , Zabłotna Monika , Czajkowska Katarzyna , Nowicki Roman , Kowalczyk Anna , Sokołowska‐Wojdyło Małgorzata 
Published: October 2019

AbstractBackgroundMycosis fungoides (MF) skin lesions are characterized by low‐grade inflammation, which may be sustained by proinflammatory cytokines as probably interleukin‐33 (IL‐33). We compared serum concentrations of IL‐33 and its receptor ST2 and the frequency of selected IL‐33 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between patients with MF and healthy controls.MethodsIn 88 patients with MF and 66 healthy controls, we analyzed SNPs in the 9894 and 11877 loci of theIL‐33gene. Moreover, we measured serum concentrations of IL‐33 and its receptor ST2.ResultsThere were no statistically significant differences in the frequencies of both IL‐33 SNPs between patients and controls. Compared with controls, patients with MF had similar IL‐33 serum concentrations (P = 0.71) but significantly increased ST2 concentrations (P < 0.001). Patients in MF‐IA stage had significantly lower ST2 serum concentrations than those with the remaining MF stages (P = 0.002). The studied variables were not related to pruritus severity. Patients with the C(+) IL‐33 11877 SNP had lower ST2 serum concentrations than patients with the C(−) 11877 SNP (P = 0.043).ConclusionsIt was published before that the knockout of theST2gene after injection of IL‐33 is associated with a reduced inflammatory reaction in the skin, as well as that IL‐33 plays a role in allergic and neoplastic disorders. Concerning the difference in ST2 concentration between control and MF group, and C IL‐33 11877 SNP possibly influencing the ST2 concentration, the role of IL‐33/ST2 signaling, needs further studies.
Comparison of hydrothermal corrosion behavior of SiC with Al2O3 and Al2O3 + Y2O3 sintering additives
Authors: Xie Xin , Liu Bing , Liu Rongzheng , Zhao Xiaofeng , Ni Na , Xiao Ping 
Published: October 2019

AbstractFully dense SiC bulks with Al2O3 and Al2O3 + Y2O3 sintering additives were prepared by spark plasma sintering and the effect of sintering additives on the hydrothermal corrosion behavior of SiC bulks was investigated in the static autoclave at 400°C/10.3 MPa. The SiC specimen with Al2O3 sintering additive exhibited a higher weight loss and followed a linear law. However, the SiC specimen with Al2O3 + Y2O3 additive exhibited a lower weight loss and followed a parabolic law, indicating that the corrosion kinetic and mechanism were different for these two SiC bulks. Further examination revealed that, a deposited layer was formed on the surface of SiC specimen with Al2O3 + Y2O3 sintering additive after corrosion, which can effectively protect the SiC specimen from further corrosion, and thereby improved the corrosion resistance of the SiC specimen with Al2O3 + Y2O3 sintering additive.
Morphological features of mucous secretory organ and mucous secretion of loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus skin for friction drag reduction
Authors: Seo Eunseok , Yoon Gun‐Young , Kim Hae‐Nyeok , Lim Jae H. , Kim Seonghan , Kim Bumju , Kim Ki H. , Lee Sang J. 
Published: October 2019

AbstractWe examined the functional morphology of loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus skin by using synchrotron X‐ray micro‐computed tomography (SR‐μCT) and high‐contrast staining using osmium tetroxide or phosphotungstic acid (PTA), which enhances the image contrast of soft tissues. The captured high‐spatial resolution images revealed that the surface ornamentations were stuck in the basement membrane of the loach scales. The ornamentations consisting of grooves (radii) and ridges (circuli) that can move freely and bend flexibly. The cross‐sectional lateral microstructures of flat, concave and convex loach skins were observed from a live image of loach skin obtained through dark‐field optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. The thickness of loach skin was changed with varying empty space between the mucous‐cell layer and the scales by bending motion of loach. In addition, through direct measurement of drag reduction of loach skin, the mucous layer was found to have a strong influence on the reduction of skin friction. The present results enhance the understanding of the functional morphologies of mucous layer of loach to secrete mucus for skin friction reduction.
Evolutionary history of Spalacidae inferred from fossil occurrences and molecular phylogeny
Authors: HE Ya , Hu Shuzhan , Ge Deyan , Yang Qisen , Connor Thomas , Zhou Caiquan 
Published: October 2019

AbstractThe Spalacidae is a family of strictly subterranean rodents with a long evolutionary history. It is unclear how ecological changes have influenced the evolutionary history of these mammals, and the phylogenetic relationship of the subfamilies within Spalacidae is controversial.Through compiling fossil records, reconstructing molecular phylogeny from molecular data, determining the date of divergence, and analysing their geographical evolution based on molecular data and fossil taxa, we explore the origin and evolutionary process of Spalacidae in detail. Diversification within Spalacidae dates to the Late Oligocene, approximately 25 million years ago, based on molecular data.This family originated in South and East Asia in the Late Oligocene, and then split into four clades. The first clade includes Rhizomyinae, which was highly diversified in South Asia in the Early‐to‐Middle Miocene. Then Rhizomyinae from Asia migrated to northern Africa in multiple waves through the Afro‐Eurasian land bridge. Its range largely contracted in the Late Miocene, notably in Central Asia. The second clade includes the extinct Tachyoryctoidinae, which was confined to East and Central Asia, and survived from the Late Oligocene to the Late Miocene. The third clade includes Spalacinae, which have remained around the Mediterranean region since the Late Oligocene with slight trend of northward expansion. The fourth clade is Myospalacinae. Ancient genera of this subfamily in East Asia dispersed eastward during the Late Miocene and reached northern China and south‐east Russia.The general distribution pattern of Spalacidae has persisted since the Late Miocene. Extinction of Tachyoryctoidinae and clear range contraction of Rhizomyinae in Central and East Asia are likely to have resulted from increased aridification, while the slight northward expansion of Myospalacinae and Spalacinae since the Quaternary was probably a response to a similar northward expansion of suitable vegetation for these animals.
Language Education and ‘Conflicted Heritage’: Implications for Teaching and Learning
Authors: CHARALAMBOUS CONSTADINA 
Published: October 2019

AbstractThis article revisits discussions of the relationship between language and heritage, bringing into the picture processes and experiences of (in)security and conflict. It draws largely on critical heritage studies literature, as well as on literature that deals with managing heritage in postconflict situations, and uses insights and concepts from this literature to inform current debates in modern language education and heritage language education in particular. Using the notion of conflicted heritage, it focuses on a particular type of language class, Turkish classes in Greek‐Cypriot educational settings, where the target language has been part of a long history of conflict. The discussion of these classes reveals the role that language education can potentially play in wider social and political processes of managing a conflicted heritage as a society attempts to move beyond a conflict‐troubled past. Finally, the article points to the implications for language education when a language is associated with a conflicted heritage and discourses of (in)security.
Radon as a natural tracer of gas transport through trees
Authors: Megonigal J. Patrick , Brewer Paul E. , Knee Karen L. 
Published: October 2019

Summary

Trees are sources, sinks, and conduits for gas exchange between the atmosphere and soil, and effectively link these terrestrial realms in a soil–plant–atmosphere continuum.

We demonstrated that naturally produced radon‐222 (222Rn) gas has the potential to disentangle the biotic and physical processes that regulate gas transfer between soils or plants and the atmosphere in field settings where exogenous tracer applications are challenging.

Patterns in stem radon emissions across tree species, seasons, and diurnal periods suggest that plant transport of soil gases is controlled by plant hydraulics, whether by diffusion or mass flow via transpiration.

We establish for the first time that trees emit soil gases during the night when transpiration rates are negligible, suggesting that axial diffusion is an important and understudied mechanism of plant and soil gas transmission.
Performance Assessment as an Application of Causal Inference
Authors: Longford Nicholas T. 
Published: October 2019

SummaryInstitutions in healthcare, education and other public services are under constant pressure to perform to high standards and with efficiency. Assessment of their performance is often problematic because it either ignores important background variables of their patients, students or clients (the casemix), or adjusts for them in a way that is not equitable or transparent. We apply a method of indirect standardization motivated by the potential outcomes framework, in which we consider the hypothetical scenario of an institution's case-load being dispersed for treatment throughout the domain of assessment (the country's institutions). The target of estimation is the difference of the means of the outcomes in the realized and hypothetical settings. The method is applied to estimating the prevalence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in extremely preterm-born infants in the neonatal units and their networks in Great Britain in 2017. The prevalence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia is an audit measure in the UK National Neonatal Audit Programme.
Baseline characteristics of the HAARLEM study: 100 male amateur athletes using anabolic androgenic steroids
Authors: Smit Diederik L. , de Hon Olivier , Venhuis Bastiaan J. , den Heijer Martin , de Ronde Willem 
Published: October 2019

BackgroundThe use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) is common among visitors of fitness centers. Knowledge about health risks of AAS use is limited due to lack of clinical studies.MethodsOne hundred men, at least 18 years old, intending to start a cycle of AAS were recruited. Baseline demographical data and reasons for AAS use were recorded. Subjects provided samples of AAS for analysis with UPLC‐QTOF‐MS/MS.ResultsOne hundred and eleven men were seen for a baseline visit. Nineteen percent had competed in bodybuilding competitions. Recent illicit drug use was reported by 56%. Seventy‐seven percent of participants had used AAS in the past, and 97% of them had experienced side effects. After exclusion, 100 men comprised the cohort for follow‐up. The AAS cycle performed had a median duration of 13 weeks (range 2‐52), and the average dose of AAS equivalents was 901 mg per week (range 250‐3.382). Subjects used other performance and image–enhancing drugs (PIEDs) such as growth hormone (21%). In total, 272 AAS samples were analyzed and 47% contained the AAS indicated on the label. The principal reason for AAS use was gain of muscle mass (44%). Forty‐eight percent self‐reported to being addicted to AAS.ConclusionThe HAARLEM study cohort shows that strength athletes use AAS in a wide variety of cycles and often also use illicit drugs and other potentially harmful PIEDs. The quality of the AAS used is strikingly low. Follow‐up of the cohort will provide novel data regarding health risks of AAS use.
Association between social determinants of health and trends in prevalence of hypertension in patients of the Peruvian Ministry of Health
Authors: Herrera‐Añazco Percy , Amaya Elard , Atamari‐Anahui Noé , Ccorahua‐Rios Maykol , Hernandez Adrian V. 
Published: October 2019

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate the association between social determinants of health and trends in the prevalence of hypertension among patients of the Peruvian Ministry of Health 2007–2016.MethodsWe conducted an ecological study with secondary data sources using health care and death records obtained from the Peruvian Ministry of Health, data from the Peruvian National Household Survey and data from the Regional Information System for Decision Making. We determined the standardised prevalence of hypertension at national and region level, conducted a geospatial exploratory analysis at region level, and applied generalised linear mixed models to evaluate the association between social determinants of health and the prevalence of HT, according to the domains suggested by Healthy People 2020.ResultsThe prevalence of hypertensive patients of the Peruvian Ministry of Health increased from 966.8/100 000 in 2007 to 1619.1/100 000 in 2016. The prevalence of hypertension rose by 17.7/100 000 per 1% increase of insurance coverage and by 2.2/100 000 per 1% increase in the number of hospitals. In contrast, it decreased by 12.3/100 000 per 1% increase of the poverty rate, by 9.8/100 000 per 1% increase of the proportion of people with native language, by 3.6/100 000 per 1% increase of GDP per capita and by 3/100 000 per 1% increase in the number of local health centres.ConclusionsThe growing trend of HT prevalence in Peru is directly associated with insurance coverage and number of hospitals, and inversely associated with poverty rate, proportion of people with native language, GDP per capita and number of local health centres.
Digestive exophagy: Phagocyte digestion of objects too large for phagocytosis
Authors: Maxfield Frederick R. , Barbosa‐Lorenzi Valeria C. , Singh Rajesh K. 
Published: October 2019

AbstractMammalian phagocytes carry out several essential functions, including killing and digesting infectious organisms, clearing denatured proteins, removing dead cells and removing several types of debris from the extracellular space. Many of these functions involve phagocytosis, the engulfment of a target in a specialized endocytic process and then fusion of the new phagosome with lysosomes. Phagocytes such as macrophages can phagocytose targets that are several micrometers in diameter (eg, dead cells), but in some cases they encounter much larger objects. We have studied two such examples in some detail: large deposits of lipoproteins such as those in the wall of blood vessels associated with atherosclerosis, and dead adipocytes, which are dozens of micrometers in diameter. We describe a process, which we call digestive exophagy, in which macrophages create a tight seal in contact with the target, acidify the sealed zone and secrete lysosomal contents into the contact zone. By this process, hydrolysis by lysosomal enzymes occurs in a compartment that is outside the cell. We compare this process to the well characterized digestion of bone by osteoclasts, and we point out key similarities and differences.
The cost of blood: a study of the total cost of red blood cell transfusion in patients with β‐thalassemia using time‐driven activity‐based costing
Authors: McQuilten Zoe K. , Higgins Alisa M. , Burns Kelly , Chunilal Sanjeev , Dunstan Terri , Haysom Helen E. , Kaplan Zane , Rushford Kylie , Saxby Karinna , Tahiri Renas , Waters Neil , Wood Erica M. 
Published: October 2019

BACKGROUNDTo accurately quantify the costs of care for patients with transfusion‐dependent thalassemia (TDT), and to evaluate cost‐effectiveness of new treatments, data are required on costs of regular red blood cell (RBC) transfusions. However, no previous studies have evaluated the costs of RBC transfusion specifically in chronically transfused patients.METHODS AND MATERIALSWe performed a time‐driven activity‐based costing (TDABC) study using a health care provider perspective. This was performed over a 1‐month period, capturing every step of the transfusion pathway for patients with TDT at a designated provider of specialist thalassemia services in Australia. Detailed process maps were developed to outline treatments and processes directly related to transfusion. For each process map, detailed data collection, including timing of activities, was performed multiple times to account for variation in practice. Costs associated with RBC transfusion were broken down into fixed, process, and RBC procurement costs.RESULTSThe total per‐unit cost was US$695.59 (95% confidence interval, US$694.45‐US$696.73). Approximately 40% of cost was for procurement of the RBC unit, with process costs accounting for 55%. The single largest contributor to process costs was attributed to iron chelation medication (approximately 80%). In sensitivity analyses, seniority of staff, time to perform processes, and probabilities of different processes occurring did not substantially influence the RBC transfusion cost; however the number of RBC units per transfusion episode did impact the overall cost per RBC unit.CONCLUSIONSWe found significant costs associated with RBC transfusion for TDT, with the product cost contributing less than one‐half of the total cost.
Solar Irradiance Fluctuation Prediction Methodology Using Artificial Neural Networks
Authors: Kamadinata Jane Oktavia , Ken Tan Lit , Suwa Tohru 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Renewable energy is an attractive alternative source of energy to fossil fuels, as it can help prevent global warming and air pollution. Solar energy, one of the most promising renewable energy sources, can be converted into electricity using photovoltaic power generation systems. Anywhere on the Earth, solar irradiance generally fluctuates during the day but depends on atmospheric conditions. Thus, when a photovoltaic power generation system is connected to a conventional electricity network, predicting near-future global solar irradiance, especially its drastic increases and decreases, is critical to stabilize the network. In this research, a simple method utilizing artificial neural networks to predict large increases and decreases in global solar irradiance is developed. The red–blue ratio (RBR) values, which are extracted from a set of sampling points in images of the sky, as well as the corresponding global solar irradiance values, are used as the artificial neural network inputs. The direction of the movement of clouds is predicted using RBR data at the sampling points. Then, solar irradiance is predicted using the RBR values along the axis closest to the predicted cloud movement direction and the corresponding solar irradiance measurements. The proposed methodology is able to predict both large increases and decreases in solar irradiance greater than 50 through 100 W/m2 1 min in advance with a 40% prediction error. A significant reduction in computational effort is achieved compared to existing sky image-based methodologies using limited sky image data.
The Missional Future of Free Churches in a Secular Context: A German Case Study
Authors: Paas Stefan , Bartholomä Philipp 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Similar to most Western nations, Germany has experienced a history of secularization, resulting in church decline. However, some Christian communities have been less affected by decline. The historical free churches (Freikirchen), usually of an evangelical nature, have not only developed a more explicit missionary identity than the mainline churches, some of them have also been able to experience church growth against the larger trends. In this paper quantitative and qualitative data are presented based on a study of the Bund Freier evangelischer Gemeinden (BFeG) in Germany. These data show that general church growth and conversion growth are correlated, that young churches grow better (in both respects) than older churches, that the net conversion growth (conversions minus decline) of younger and older churches is overall largely the same, and that growth results in Berlin outperform the results in other cities and in the BFeG as a whole. These results are put into context by extended case studies of two churches, one old and one young, and they are discussed with a view to existing studies of (free church) mission in the West.
The Keyi Mappila Muslim Merchants of Tellicherry and the Making of Coastal Cosmopolitanism on the Malabar Coast
Authors: Abraham Santhosh 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
The Keyi Mappila Muslim merchants of Tellicherry (Thalassery) on the Malabar Coast were one of the few early modern Indian merchant groups who succeeded in carving out a powerful political and social configuration of their own on the western coast of the Indian Ocean during the British period. Today, several branches of Keyi families remain a cultural unit in the Islamic community of Kerala. This article attempts to locate the group in the larger theoretical context of Indian Ocean cosmopolitanism and argues that the Keyis developed a distinct and significant type of coastal cosmopolitanism in an Indian Ocean setting; Chovakkaran Moosa, an influential merchant from a Keyi family during the colonial period, serves as a representative figure. Through their trade and financial relationships with British and local elites, and the characteristic architecture of their warehouses, residences, and mosques, the Keyis successfully integrated the practices of a global cosmopolitan space into a local vernacular secluded commercial space. This article presents a synthesis of a lively coastal urban and local rural cosmopolitanism that included several networks and exchanges, foreign and native collaborations, and an amalgamation of local and external cultural spheres.