bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A practical method for evaluating spatial biodiversity offset scenarios based on spatial conservation prioritization outputs
Authors: Moilanen Atte , Kujala Heini , Mikkonen Ninni 
Published: February 2020

Abstract

Biodiversity offsetting is a tool to balance ecological damage caused by human activity with new benefits created elsewhere. Offsetting is implemented by protecting, restoring or managing sufficiently large areas of habitat. While there are concerns about the true feasibility of offsetting, they are becoming a common policy tool world‐wide. Operationally uncomplicated, quantitative approaches to spatial analysis of offsets are rare and their use is often restricted by the availability of suitable spatial data.

We describe a practical method for offsets that builds upon two layers of relatively easily sourced spatial data, a balanced spatial priority ranking and a weighted range size rarity map. Together with (a) spatial information about impact and offset areas, and (b) extra parameters for the effectiveness of avoided loss and the amount of leakage expected, we can evaluate whether the proposed offset exchange represents a credible no net loss or net positive impact with an upward trade. The priority ranking and range size rarity maps can be produced in various ways, most notably using existing conservation planning tools. Here we used the standard outputs of the Zonation spatial prioritization software.

We illustrate the method and associated visualization in the context of offsetting of boreal forests in Finland, where forests experience high and increasing pressures from forestry and bioenergy sectors. The example is timely as there is political demand for the uptake of biodiversity offset policies in Finland, and boreal forests are the most common biotope.

The methods described here are applicable to biomes around the world. The described tools are made available as r scripts that utilize standard Zonation outputs, thus providing direct linkage to any past or future Zonation applications. As a limitation, the present methods only apply to avoided loss offsets.
Clinical features and survival of patients with indolent systemic mastocytosis defined by the updated WHO classification
Authors: Trizuljak Jakub , Sperr Wolfgang R. , Nekvindová Lucie , Elberink Hanneke O. , Gleixner Karoline V. , Gorska Aleksandra , Lange Magdalena , Hartmann Karin , Illerhaus Anja , Bonifacio Massimiliano , Perkins Cecelia , Elena Chiara , Malcovati Luca , Fortina Anna B. , Shoumariyeh Khalid , Jawhar Mohamad , Zanotti Roberta , Bonadonna Patrizia , Caroppo Francesca , Zink Alexander , Triggiani Massimo , Parente Roberta , von Bubnoff Nikolas , Yavuz Akif S. , Hägglund Hans , Mattsson Mattias , Panse Jens , Jäkel Nadja , Kilbertus Alex , Hermine Olivier , Arock Michel , Fuchs David , Sabato Vito , Brockow Knut , Bretterklieber Agnes , Niedoszytko Marek , van Anrooij Björn , Reiter Andreas , Gotlib Jason , Kluin‐Nelemans Hanneke C. , Mayer Jiri , Doubek Michael , Valent Peter 
Published: February 2020

AbstractBackgroundIn indolent systemic mastocytosis (ISM), several risk factors of disease progression have been identified. Previous studies, performed with limited patient numbers, have also shown that the clinical course in ISM is stable and comparable to that of cutaneous mastocytosis (CM). The aim of this project was to compare the prognosis of patients with ISM with that of patients with CM.MethodsWe employed a dataset of 1993 patients from the registry of the European Competence Network on Mastocytosis (ECNM) to compare outcomes of ISM and CM.ResultsWe found that overall survival (OS) is worse in ISM compared to CM. Moreover, in patients with typical ISM, bone marrow mastocytosis (BMM), and smoldering SM (SSM), 4.1% of disease progressions have been observed (4.9% of progressions in typical ISM group, 1.7% in BMM, and 9.4% in SSM). Progressions to advanced SM were observed in 2.9% of these patients. In contrast, six patients with CM (1.7%) converted to ISM and no definitive progression to advanced SM was found. No significant differences in OS and event‐free survival (EFS) were found when comparing ISM, BMM, and SSM. Higher risk of both progression and death was significantly associated with male gender, worse performance status, and organomegaly.ConclusionOur data confirm the clinical impact of the WHO classification that separates ISM from CM and from other SM variants.
Simultaneous (two‐surgeon) versus staged bilateral knee arthroplasty: an observational study of intraoperative and post‐operative outcomes
Authors: Gill Stephen D. , Hill‐Buxton Leaha‐Marie , Gwini Stella May , Morrison Stewart , Moreira Brett , Beattie Sally , Thomson Andrew , Page Richard S. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractBackgroundThe advantages of simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty (sim‐BTKA) remain controversial. This study investigated the effects of two‐surgeon sim‐BTKA compared to separate admission staged BTKA regarding intraoperative and post‐operative outcomes and health service costs.MethodsPatients underwent sim‐BTKA or staged BTKA between 1 November 2008 and 30 June 2016. Data were extracted from a joint replacement registry and medical records. Median regression and chi‐squared tests were used for between‐group comparisons.ResultsMedian hospital total length of stay was 5 days less for sim‐BTKA (n = 122) than staged BTKA group (n = 46) (7 versus 12; 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.9, 6.1), and 9 days less for inpatient rehabilitation (17 versus 26; 95% CI 3.7, 14.3). However, 80% of sim‐BTKA patients went to inpatient rehabilitation (versus 27% following staged BTKA), so median total length of stay was 9 days less for staged BTKA (13 versus 22; 95% CI −12.8, −5.2). Total anaesthesia time was 135 min less for sim‐BTKA (P < 0.001), while staged BTKA required less blood transfusions (P = 0.001). Complication rates were similar, except for superficial infections which were observed twice as often after staged BTKA (30% versus 15%, P = 0.048). Twelve months following sim‐BTKA and the first staged total knee arthroplasty, sim‐BTKA had better WOMAC pain, stiffness and function scores (P ≤ 0.05). Average inpatient costs (hospital and rehabilitation) were $6388 less for sim‐BTKA.ConclusionSim‐BTKA appears to be a comparatively safe alternative to staged BTKA. Sim‐BTKA may be superior to staged BTKA due to faster improvements in pain and function and lower healthcare costs. How these results generalize to other health services requires further investigation.
Why don't children in Uganda have tics? A mixed‐methods study of beliefs, knowledge, and attitudes of health professionals
Authors: Rodin Abigail , Fleetwood‐Meade Kirstie , Gilmour Jane , Kasujja Rosco , Murphy Tara 
Published: February 2020

BackgroundTourette syndrome (TS) is reported in all cultures, although is speculated to be rare among those of Sub‐Saharan African descent. A lack of research exploring TS in the context of Sub‐Saharan Africa has meant that it is not yet established whether this apparent rarity is due to a true low prevalence or if identification of the condition merely is unrecognized. The present study aimed to explore health professionals’ knowledge and attitudes of the identification, diagnosis and management of TS in Uganda.MethodA mixed‐methods design was used to collect data from 152 Ugandan healthcare professionals by survey. Of these, 6 professionals took part in semi‐structured interviews. Data gathered were analyzed with descriptive statistics and qualitatively using thematic analysis.ResultsProfessionals’ views and experiences led to conclusions addressing (a) perceived challenges in diagnosing and treating TS in a Ugandan healthcare setting, (b) the role of cultural factors in help‐seeking behaviors, and (c) ways by which efforts can be made to build capacity in awareness and clinical care.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that TS is present in Uganda, but a number of factors hinder detection rates causing it to be under‐reported in the population. This study highlights the need for more focused and adequate training for all healthcare professionals in Uganda and education campaigns to increase awareness among the general public.Key Practitioner Message

Little is currently known about the presentation of or understanding by professionals around Tourette syndrome in Sub‐Saharan Africa.

This study found health professionals in Uganda indicated a number of factors which interact and negatively impact recognition rates of tic disorders. This included limited training, exposure, and misconceptions, contributing to a lack of clinical awareness and attention.

They also reported a lack of help‐seeking behaviors due to parental perceptions and Ugandan traditional, cultural and religious beliefs.

Professionals perceive that there are likely large numbers of undiagnosed and untreated children with Tourette syndrome in Uganda.

This supports existing literature regarding the diagnostic challenges of neurodevelopmental disorders in Africa and provides an alternative explanation for the assumption that tic disorders may be rare and possible absent in Sub‐Saharan Africa.

There is a need to develop adequate training regarding tic disorders for all healthcare professionals working in Uganda as well as education campaigns for the general public to increase awareness.
ConceptGraph: A Formal Model for Interpretation and Reasoning During Visual Analysis
Authors: Karer B. , Scheler I. , Hagen H. , Leitte H. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractIn order to discuss the kinds of reasoning a visualization supports and the conclusions that can be drawn within the analysis context, a theoretical framework is needed that enables a formal treatment of the reasoning process. Such a model needs to encompass three stages of the visualization pipeline: encoding, decoding and interpretation. The encoding details how data are transformed into a visualization and what can be seen in the visualization. The decoding explains how humans construct graphical contexts inside the depicted visualization and how they interpret them assigning meaning to displayed structures according to a formal reasoning strategy. In the presented model, we adapt and combine theories for the different steps into a unified formal framework such that the analysis process is modelled as an assignment of meaning to displayed structures according to a formal reasoning strategy. Additionally, we propose the ConceptGraph, a combined graph‐based representation of the finite‐state transducers resulting from the three stages, that can be used to formalize and understand the reasoning process. We apply the new model to several visualization types and investigate reasoning strategies for various tasks.
Total factor productivity change in hog production and Quebec's revenue insurance program
Authors: Singbo Alphonse , Larue Bruno , Tamini Lota D. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractQuebec's hog industry is supported by a revenue insurance program that guarantees a minimum price, but it also faces strict environmental constraints. Under price volatility, risk‐averse farms may contract their output enough to produce under increasing returns. We show that the subsidy and downside risk reduction effects of the revenue insurance program tend to stimulate output and increase the likelihood of production under increasing returns. Environmental constraints that raise the cost of manure management and limit areas under cultivation also increase the likelihood of decreasing returns. Scale efficiency and technical efficiency measures are obtained through a parametric decomposition of total factor productivity (TFP) obtained from the estimation of an output distance function. As in hog studies pertaining to other countries, we found a TFP average annual growth of 5.2% between 2004 and 2012. Scale efficiency is much lower than in other countries, as per our prior about the program's distortions and environmental constraints. Integrating annual TFP gains into the setting of the minimum guaranteed price could reduce program costs by $12 million per year. About $70–80 million per year could be saved by investing in extension activities that would bring increase the level of technical efficiency of inefficient farms to the provincial average. A metatechnology frontier approach allowing for an endogenous input was also implemented to assess the robustness of the scale efficiency results.
Positive illusions determine quality of life in drug‐resistant epilepsy
Authors: Wilson Sarah J. , Rayner Genevieve , Pieters Jessamae 
Published: February 2020

AbstractObjectiveHumans use a complex system of protective cognitive biases or "positive illusions" that foster emotional well‐being and subjective quality of life. This study examined the role of positive illusions in patient adjustment to drug‐resistant epilepsy and its surgical treatment.MethodsOne hundred fifty people participated, including 93 focal epilepsy patients being evaluated for surgery and 57 sociodemographically matched healthy controls. We purpose‐built computer software, "Living With Epilepsy," to assess the impact of positive illusions on patient perceptions of their current life, and administered well‐validated questionnaires of depression (Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy), anxiety (Patient Health Questionnaire for Generalized Anxiety Disorder–7 items), and health‐related quality of life (HRQOL; Epilepsy Surgery Inventory–55) before and at 3 and 12 months after surgery.ResultsWe identified two patient groups: those with "high positive illusions" (53%) about their epilepsy and those with "low positive illusions" (47%), with no differences between sociodemographic or epilepsy variables (all P > .05). Before epilepsy surgery, patients with high positive illusions exhibited fewer symptoms of depression (P < .001) and anxiety (P = .002) and higher HRQOL (P ≥ .002 ≤ 0.046) than those with low positive illusions. A subset of patients proceeded with surgery (n = 34 at 3 months; n = 26 at 12 months). They showed that the beneficial impact of having high positive illusions re‐emerged 12 months postsurgery, with patients reporting lower depression and anxiety (P = .006) and elevated HRQOL (P = .036) compared to low positive illusions patients, independent of seizure outcome (P > .05).SignificanceThese findings point to an active psychological process in drug‐resistant patients, where approximately half generate strong positive illusions about their life with epilepsy, maintaining their mood and subjective well‐being. Those who use this psychological mechanism show better adjustment 12 months postsurgery independent of seizure outcome, providing a potential new target for psychological treatment in patients with epilepsy.
Global meta‐analysis of over 50 years of multidisciplinary and international collaborations on transmissible cancers
Authors: Dujon Antoine M. , Schofield Gail , Bramwell Georgina , Raven Nynke , Hamede Rodrigo , Thomas Frédéric , Ujvari Beata 
Published: February 2020

AbstractAlthough transmissible cancers have, so far, only been documented in three independent animal groups, they not only impact animals that have high economic, environmental and social significance, but they are also one of the most virulent parasitic life forms. Currently known transmissible cancers traverse terrestrial and marine environments, and are predicted to be more widely distributed across animal groups; thus, the implementation of effective collaborative scientific networks is important for combating existing and emerging forms. Here, we quantify how collaborative effort on the three known transmissible cancers has advanced through the formation of collaborative networks among institutions and disciplines. These three cancers occur in bivalves (invertebrates—disseminated neoplasia; DN), Tasmanian devils (vertebrate—marsupial; devil facial tumour disease; DFTD) and dogs (vertebrate—eutherian mammal; canine transmissible venereal tumour; CTVT). Research on CTVT and DN has been conducted since 1876 and 1969, respectively, whereas systematic research on DFTD only started in 2006. Yet, collaborative effort on all three diseases is global, encompassing six major Scopus subject areas. Collaborations steadily increased between 1963 and 2006 for CTVT and DN, with similar acceleration for all three cancers since 2006. Network analyses demonstrated that scientists are organizing themselves into efficient collaborative networks; however, these networks appear to be far stronger for DFTD and DN, possibly due to the recent detection of new strains adding impetus to research and associated publications (enhancing citation trajectories). In particular, global and multidisciplinary collaborations formed almost immediately after DFTD research was initiated, leading to similar research effort and relatively greater research outputs compared to the other two diseases. Therefore, in the event of outbreaks of new lineages of existing transmissible cancers, or the discovery of new transmissible cancers in the future, the rapid formation of international collaborations spanning relevant disciplines is vital for the efficient management of these diseases.
Forecasting the future state of the economy in the United States: The role of tradable “new” risk factors
Authors: Shi Qi , Li Bin 
Published: February 2020

AbstractWe investigate the predictive power of several innovative tradable risk factors that have proved to be competent factors in recent asset pricing studies. Our evidence indicates that all these risk factors can predict the future state of the economy to some significant extent, and they appear to perform better in short‐horizon than in long‐horizon forecasting. Using a bootstrap simulation, our estimations of bootstrapped critical values robustly reject the criticism that our significance of statistics is overstated or understated. Such results lend support to Cochrane's argument: that a competent pricing risk factor in a plausible pricing kernel may predict the future state of economy.
The optimal use of automated office blood pressure measurement in clinical practice
Authors: Andreadis Emmanuel A. , Geladari Charalampia V. , Angelopoulos Epameinondas T. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThis evidence‐based article endorses the use of automated office blood pressure (AOBP). AOBP is the most favorable office blood pressure (BP) measuring technique as it provides accurate readings with 3‐15 mm Hg lower values than the casual conventional office measurements with auscultatory or semi‐automated oscillometric devices and relates closely to awake ABP readings. The AOBP technique seems to be superior to conventional office BP in predicting hypertension‐mediated organ damage and appears to be equally reliable to awake ABP in the prediction of cardiovascular (CV) disease. AOBP readings should be obtained either unattended, with the patient alone in the examination room, or attended with the presence of personnel in the room but with no talking to the patient, although this recommendation is not frequently followed in routine clinical practice. To optimize office BP readings, the type of device, the rest period before AOBP measurements (preceding rest), and the time intervals between measurements were evaluated. As AOBP readings have the advantage of removing many confounding factors, the authors propose to perform measurements with a preceding rest in all patients at the initial visit; if AOBP readings remain <130 mm Hg in subsequent visits, measurements could be accepted, otherwise, if are higher, patients should be evaluated by out‐of‐office BP measurements.
Dental disease in alpacas. Part 2: Risk factors associated with diastemata, periodontitis, occlusal pulp exposure, wear abnormalities, and malpositioned teeth
Authors: Proost Kirsten , Pardon Bart , Pollaris Elke , Flahou Thijs , Vlaminck Lieven 
Published: February 2020

AbstractBackgroundDental disorders, of which tooth root abscesses are best documented, are highly prevalent in alpacas. Identification of risk factors can be valuable for prevention of dental disorders in this species.Hypothesis/ObjectivesTo identify risk factors associated with wear abnormalities, malpositioning, diastemata, periodontal disease (PD), and occlusal pulp exposure at the level of the cheek teeth.AnimalsTwo hundred twenty‐eight alpacas (Vicugna pacos) from 25 farms.MethodsCross‐sectional study. Dental examinations were performed on sedated animals. Risk factors were determined by clinical examination and interview. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for wear abnormalities, malpositioned teeth, diastemata, PD, and occlusal pulp exposure.ResultsMandibular swelling was significantly associated with PD (odds ratio [OR], 11.37; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.27‐48.81; P < .001). Nearly 73% of included animals with mandibular swelling concurrently had PD. For every increase in herd size of 1 animal, the risk for PD increased by 2% (95% CI, 1‐4%; P = .01). The association between severe stages of PD and body condition score (BCS) indicates a painful situation, impairing animal welfare (P < .001). For each 1‐day increase in interval between pasture cleanings, the odds of finding pulp exposure for a single animal was estimated to increase by 1% (95% CI, 0‐2%; P = .05).Conclusion and Clinical ImportanceSimple management tools such as measuring BCS, palpating the mandible for bony swellings, removing feces from pasture on a regular basis and decreasing herd size might help identify animals at risk for dental disorders or prevent their development.