bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Are geometric morphometric analyses replicable? Evaluating landmark measurement error and its impact on extant and fossil Microtus classification
Authors: Fox Nathaniel S. , Veneracion Joseph J. , Blois Jessica L. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractGeometric morphometric analyses are frequently employed to quantify biological shape and shape variation. Despite the popularity of this technique, quantification of measurement error in geometric morphometric datasets and its impact on statistical results is seldom assessed in the literature. Here, we evaluate error on 2D landmark coordinate configurations of the lower first molar of five North American Microtus (vole) species. We acquired data from the same specimens several times to quantify error from four data acquisition sources: specimen presentation, imaging devices, interobserver variation, and intraobserver variation. We then evaluated the impact of those errors on linear discriminant analysis‐based classifications of the five species using recent specimens of known species affinity and fossil specimens of unknown species affinity. Results indicate that data acquisition error can be substantial, sometimes explaining >30% of the total variation among datasets. Comparisons of datasets digitized by different individuals exhibit the greatest discrepancies in landmark precision, and comparison of datasets photographed from different presentation angles yields the greatest discrepancies in species classification results. All error sources impact statistical classification to some extent. For example, no two landmark dataset replicates exhibit the same predicted group memberships of recent or fossil specimens. Our findings emphasize the need to mitigate error as much as possible during geometric morphometric data collection. Though the impact of measurement error on statistical fidelity is likely analysis‐specific, we recommend that all geometric morphometric studies standardize specimen imaging equipment, specimen presentations (if analyses are 2D), and landmark digitizers to reduce error and subsequent analytical misinterpretations.
Effects of exergaming on exercise capacity in patients with heart failure: results of an international multicentre randomized controlled trial
Authors: Jaarsma Tiny , Klompstra Leonie , Ben Gal Tuvia , Ben Avraham Binyamin , Boyne Josiane , Bäck Maria , Chialà Oronzo , Dickstein Kenneth , Evangelista Lorraine , Hagenow Andreas , Hoes Arno W. , Hägglund Eva , Piepoli Massimo F. , Vellone Ercole , Zuithoff Nicolaas P.A. , Mårtensson Jan , Strömberg Anna 
Published: March 2020

AbstractAimsExergaming is a new tool to increase physical activity. This study aimed to determine the effects of access to a home‐based exergame (Nintendo Wii) in patients with heart failure (HF) on exercise capacity, self‐reported physical activity and patient‐reported outcome measures.Methods and resultsWe enrolled 605 HF patients in New York Heart Association functional class I–IV, independent of ejection fraction, in an international multicentre randomized controlled trial. Patients were randomized to exergame (intervention) or motivational support (control). The primary endpoint was change in submaximal aerobic exercise capacity as measured by the distance walked in 6 min (6MWT) between baseline and 3 months. Secondary endpoints included long‐term submaximal aerobic exercise capacity, muscle function, self‐reported physical activity, exercise motivation, exercise self‐efficacy at 3, 6 and 12 months. At baseline, patients on average walked 403 ± 142 m on the 6MWT. Patients in the exergame group walked further compared to controls at 3 months (454 ± 123 vs. 420 ± 127 m, P = 0.005), at 6 months (452 ± 123 vs. 426 ± 133 m, P = 0.015) and 12 months (456 ± 122 vs. 420 ± 135 m, P = 0.004). However, correcting for baseline 6MWT values by means of a linear mixed‐effects model revealed no main effect for the intervention on 6MWT. Small significant effects on muscle function were found. Statistically significant treatment effects were found for muscle function but after correction for baseline and confounders, only the treatment effect for the heel‐rise left at 6 months was significant (P < 0.05). No treatment effect was found for exercise motivation, exercise self‐efficacy, or self‐reported physical activity.ConclusionExergaming was safe and feasible in patients with HF with different profiles in different health care systems, cultures and climates. However, it was not effective in improving outcomes on submaximal aerobic exercise capacity. Subgroup analysis did not identify specific subgroups benefiting from the intervention.Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrial.gov Identifier: NCT01785121.
The theory of storage in the crude oil futures market, the role of financial conditions
Authors: Ahmadi Maryam , Bashiri Behmiri Niaz , Manera Matteo 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThis study examines the impacts of inventory and financial instability on the basis of the crude oil market. The results show that, first, the basis rises with inventory, and this effect is higher during low inventory regimes. This validates the theory of storage in the crude oil market. Second, the basis rises with financial instability, and this effect is higher during turbulent regimes. These results warn the oil market participants that, to make decisions based on the basis variation, traditionally known as a signal of scarcity or abundance, the underlying cause of the variation has to be considered.
Dose response of black American mink to Aleutian mink disease virus
Authors: Farid A. Hossain , Hussain Irshad 
Published: March 2020

AbstractIntroductionAleutian mink disease virus (AMDV) causes a serious health problem for mink globally. The disease has no cure nor an effective vaccine and selection for tolerance using antibody titer is adopted by many mink farmers. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of various doses of a local AMDV isolate on the response of black American mink to infection with AMDV.MethodsEight black American mink were each inoculated intranasally with 0.5 mL of eight serial 10‐fold dilutions (100to 10−7) of a 10% spleen homogenate containing a local AMDV isolate. Blood samples were collected on days 0, 20, 35, 56, 84, 140, and 196 postinoculation (dpi). Anti‐AMDV antibodies and viral DNA were tested by counter‐immunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) and PCR, respectively. Animals that were PCR or CIEP positive at 196 dpi (n = 41) were killed at 218 dpi, and samples of blood and seven organs were tested by CIEP and PCR.ResultsAntibody production persisted in all seroconverted mink until the termination of the experiment, whereas 71.1% of the mink showed short‐lived viremia. Significant associations were observed between inoculum dose and the incidence of viremia until 84 dpi which disappeared thereafter, whereas associations between inoculum dose and the incidence of seropositive mink were significant on all sampling occasions. Antibody titer at 218 dpi significantly decreased with decreasing inoculum dose. AMDV DNA was detected in the bone marrow, lymph nodes, and spleen samples of almost all mink inoculated at every dose but was not detected in other organs of some mink.ConclusionsCIEP is more accurate than PCR for detecting AMDV infection in mink. Using antibody titer in naturally infected mink may not be accurate for the identification of tolerant mink.
Addressing the Achilles' heel of pseudocapacitive materials: Long‐term stability
Authors: Liu Tianyu , Li Yat 
Published: March 2020

AbstractElectrode materials with high energy densities and long‐lasting performances are crucial to durable and reliable electrochemical energy storage devices for modern information technologies (eg, Internet of things). In terms of supercapacitors, their low energy densities could be enhanced by using pseudocapacitive electrodes, but meanwhile, their ultralong lifetimes are compromised by the limited charge‐discharge cycling stabilities of pseudocapacitive materials. This review article discusses on the cycling instability issues of five common pseudocapacitive materials: conjugated polymers (or conducting polymers), metal oxides, metal nitrides, metal carbides, and metal sulfides. Specifically, the article includes the fundamentals of the failure modes of these materials, as well as thoroughly surveys the design rationales and technical details of the cycling‐stability‐boosting tactics for pseudocapacitive materials that reported in the literature. Additionally, promising opportunities, future challenges, and possible solutions associated with pseudocapacitive materials are discussed.image
Perceived partner beliefs about condoms and self‐efficacy communication within the context of the theory of gender and power
Authors: Carmack Chakema , Roncancio Angelica M. , Gerecht Lena , Ansari Mohammed 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThe theory of gender and power provides a unique framework for understanding condom use by accounting for distinct challenges faced by minority women in particular. This study examined whether self‐efficacy about condom use communication (SECC) and perceived partner's beliefs about condom (PPBC) use had an influence on condom use frequency; and whether these associations varied by gender. A sample of 252 African–American college students (101 males and 151 females) completed a confidential online survey assessing SECC, PPBC, and condom use behavior. SECC and PPBC showed significant associations with condom use behavior. Furthermore, there was a gender interaction effect with PPBC on condom use behavior. As PPBC increases toward positive associations about condom use, condom use behavior increased significantly more for females (B = 0.42; p = .02) as compared to males (B = 0.26; p = .19). This study supports the need to teach young women effective communication skills in order for them to accurately assess what their partner thinks about condom‐related behaviors; and ultimately not allow partner discouragement to influence their decisions to use condoms. Interventions aimed at reducing risky sexual behavior on predominantly Black college campuses, in particular, may benefit from directly addressing relationship power and focusing on building self‐efficacy in communicating condom use.
Population Pharmacokinetics and Exposure Response Analysis of Pomalidomide in Subjects With Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma From the Novel Combination Treatment of Pomalidomide, Bortezomib, and Low‐Dose Dexamethasone
Authors: Li Yan , Kassir Nastya , Wang Xiaomin , Palmisano Maria , Zhou Simon 
Published: March 2020

AbstractMultiple myeloma is an incurable progressive neoplastic disease that accounts for 10% of all hematologic malignancies. Even though significant progress has been made in the treatment of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, the disease follows a relapsing course in the majority of patients, and there is a need for more effective therapeutic options for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. CC‐4047‐MM‐005 and CC‐4047‐MM‐007 were phase 1 and 3 studies to evaluate the novel combination of pomalidomide, bortezomib, and low‐dose dexamethasone for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have already received lenalidomide‐based treatments early. This analysis was performed to characterize the population pharmacokinetics (PK) of pomalidomide from the combination treatment and to examine exposure‐response relationships. Our analysis showed that pomalidomide concentration‐time profiles from the combination treatment were adequately described with a 1‐compartment PK model, with first‐order absorption and elimination and pomalidomide exhibiting linear and time‐invariant PK with moderate variability from the combination treatment. Except for the body surface area, none of the tested covariates had an effect on pomalidomide PK. Although body surface area was identified as a statistically significant covariate of pomalidomide PK, the impact was not deemed clinically relevant. A flat exposure‐response curve was observed, consistent with a near‐saturated drug effect at the tested exposure range suggesting an appropriately recommended clinical dose of 4 mg of pomalidomide for the combination treatment. Finally, pomalidomide exposure was not associated with higher probabilities of dose interruption during cycle 1 or dose reduction during the treatment period.
On induced Ramsey numbers for multiple copies of graphs
Authors: Axenovich Maria , Gorgol Izolda 
Published: March 2020

AbstractWe say that a graph strongly arrows a pair of graphs and write if any coloring of its edges with red and blue leads to either a red or a blue appearing as induced subgraphs of . The induced Ramsey number, , is defined as . We consider the connection between the induced Ramsey number for a pair of two connected graphs and the induced Ramsey number for multiple copies of these graphs , where denotes the pairwise vertex‐disjoint union of copies of . It is easy to see that if , then . This implies that
For several specific graphs, such as a path on three vertices vs a complete multipartite graph, a matching vs a complete graph, or a matching vs another matching, it is known that the above inequality is tight. On the other hand, the inequality is also strict for some graphs. However, even in the simplest case when is an edge and , it is not known for what and for what the above inequality is tight. We show that it is tight if is connected and is at least as large as the order of . In addition, we make further progress in determining induced Ramsey numbers for multiple copies of graphs, such as paths and triangles.
The establishment of reference sequence for SARS‐CoV‐2 and variation analysis
Authors: Wang Changtai , Liu Zhongping , Chen Zixiang , Huang Xin , Xu Mengyuan , He Tengfei , Zhang Zhenhua 
Published: March 2020

AbstractStarting around December 2019, an epidemic of pneumonia, which was named COVID‐19 by the World Health Organization, broke out in Wuhan, China, and is spreading throughout the world. A new coronavirus, named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) by the Coronavirus Study Group of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses was soon found to be the cause. At present, the sensitivity of clinical nucleic acid detection is limited, and it is still unclear whether it is related to genetic variation. In this study, we retrieved 95 full‐length genomic sequences of SARAS‐CoV‐2 strains from the National Center for Biotechnology Information and GISAID databases, established the reference sequence by conducting multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analyses, and analyzed sequence variations along the SARS‐CoV‐2 genome. The homology among all viral strains was generally high, among them, 99.99% (99.91%‐100%) at the nucleotide level and 99.99% (99.79%‐100%) at the amino acid level. Although overall variation in open‐reading frame (ORF) regions is low, 13 variation sites in 1a, 1b, S, 3a, M, 8, and N regions were identified, among which positions nt28144 in ORF 8 and nt8782 in ORF 1a showed mutation rate of 30.53% (29/95) and 29.47% (28/95), respectively. These findings suggested that there may be selective mutations in SARS‐COV‐2, and it is necessary to avoid certain regions when designing primers and probes. Establishment of the reference sequence for SARS‐CoV‐2 could benefit not only biological study of this virus but also diagnosis, clinical monitoring and intervention of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in the future.
Initial clinical features of suspected coronavirus disease 2019 in two emergency departments outside of Hubei, China
Authors: Zhu Wanbo , Xie Kai , Lu Hui , Xu Lei , Zhou Shusheng , Fang Shiyuan 
Published: March 2020

AbstractWith an increasing number of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19) cases outside of Hubei, emergency departments (EDs) and fever clinics are facing challenges posed by the large number of admissions of patients suspected to have COVID‐19. Therefore, it is of crucial importance to study the initial clinical features of patients, to better differentiate between infected and uninfected patients outside Hubei. A total of 116 patients suspected of having COVID‐19 who presented to two emergency departments in Anhui for the first time between 24 January 2020 and 20 February 2020 were enrolled in the study. The initial clinical data of these patients, such as epidemiological features, symptoms, laboratory results, and chest computed tomography (CT) findings were collected using a standard case report form on admission. Thirty‐two patients were diagnosed with COVID‐19; the remaining 84 patients were referred to as negative cases. The median age of the diagnosed patients was 46 years, but only 35 years for negative cases. History of exposure to Wuhan or COVID‐19 patients in the previous 2 weeks was observed in 63% of the diagnosed and 44% of negative cases. Median time from illness onset to ED admission was 5 days for all patients, diagnosed patients, and negative cases, respectively. Fever was observed in 27 (84%) and 57 (68%) diagnosed and negative cases, respectively. Nineteen (59%) diagnosed and 24 (29%) negative cases had lymphopenia on admission in ED. A chest CT scan on admission revealed the presence of pneumonia in the majority of the diagnosed patients (30 out of 32, 94%) and in 56 (67%) negative cases. Bilateral involvement and ground‐glass opacity (GGO) were present in 91% and 47% of the diagnosed patients. Thirty‐two patients were diagnosed with COVID‐19; the remaining 84 patients were referred to as negative cases. The median age of the diagnosed patients was 46 years, but only 35 years for negative cases. History of exposure to Wuhan or COVID‐19 patients in the previous 2 weeks was observed in 63% of the diagnosed and 44% of negative cases. Median time from illness onset to ED admission was 5 days for all patients, diagnosed patients, and negative cases, respectively. Fever was observed in 27 (84%) and 57 (68%) diagnosed and negative cases, respectively. Nineteen (59%) diagnosed and 24 (29%) negative cases had lymphopenia on admission in ED. A chest CT scan on admission revealed the presence of pneumonia in the majority of the diagnosed patients (30 out of 32, 94%) and in 56 (67%) negative cases. Bilateral involvement and GGO were present in 91% and 47% of the diagnosed patients.
Human pegivirus‐1 infection in kidney transplant recipients: A single‐center experience
Authors: Savassi‐Ribas Flavia , Pereira Jessica G. , Horta Marco A. P. , Wagner Tereza C. S. , Matuck Tereza A. , Monteiro de Carvalho Deise B. , Mello Francisco C. A. , Varella Rafael B. , Soares Caroline C. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractKidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with end‐stage renal disease. In the posttransplant period, the induced immunosuppression leads to an increased risk of developing infectious diseases, a leading cause of death after kidney transplantation. Human pegivirus‐1 (HPgV‐1) is considered a nonpathogenic human virus and is highly frequent in individuals parenterally exposed, however, its impact on kidney transplantation outcome is poorly understood. Given the scarcity of epidemiological data for this infection on organ recipients in Brazil, we conducted a study in a single center for kidney transplantation in Rio de Janeiro, aiming to determine HPgV‐1 prevalence and genotypic distribution. Serum samples from 61 renal recipients, followed up for the first year after transplantation, were evaluated for viral RNA and genotypes were determined by sequencing of the 5′‐untranslated region. HPgV‐1 RNA was detected in 36.1% (22/61) of patients. Genotype 2 was the most commonly found (80.9%), followed by genotypes 3 (9.5%), 1, and 5, in 4.8% each. Statistical comparisons did not reveal any significant impact of HPgV‐1 in patient outcome. Further epidemiologic studies are needed to understand if immunosuppression may interfere in HPgV‐1 persistence rates and if viremia might impact graft dysfunction rates in kidney recipients.
Buyer participation in outsourced new product development projects: The role of relationship multiplexity
Authors: Slot Johanna H. , Wuyts Stefan , Geyskens Inge 
Published: March 2020

AbstractIn business markets, firms increasingly participate in new product development (NPD) activities that they outsource to suppliers. Such buyer participation can be complicated by relationship multiplexity—that is, the buyer may simultaneously be a competitor, supplier, and/or partner of the supplier firm. Drawing on role theory, we theorize how relationship multiplexity moderates the effect of buyer participation on project success. We analyze 140 NPD projects that were executed by a contract R&D organization in the aerospace industry and find that buyer participation lowers the buyer's and the supplier's perceptions of project success for buyer‐as‐supplier multiplexity. Buyer participation increases the perceptions of project success in the case of buyer‐as‐partner multiplexity, but only when these partnerships are emergent, as opposed to engineered. Buyer participation decreases the buyer's perception of project success for relationships featuring buyer‐as‐competitor multiplexity but does not affect the supplier's perception in the case of buyer‐as‐competitor multiplexity. Our results provide tactical insights as to when buyer participation helps or hurts.
Assessing customer return behaviors through data analytics
Authors: Ketzenberg Michael E. , Abbey James D. , Heim Gregory R. , Kumar Subodha 
Published: March 2020

AbstractRetailers often provide lenient, consumer‐friendly return policies to reduce customers' perceived shopping risk and increase demand. As an unfortunate side effect for retailers, empirical findings demonstrate that lenient return policies lead some customers to abuse those return policies through opportunistic and even fraudulent behaviors. Customers can abuse return policies by making purchases with the full intention of returning the products or by returning a product long after extracting most of the product's market value. In doing so, abusive customers extract utility—physical, experiential, or financial—from these purchases, at little or no cost to themselves. However, retailers incur significant costs from such return abuse, with estimates topping $5.6 billion annually in the United States alone. Identifying customers who perpetrate return abuse remains a critical topic. Yet, as a construct, return abuse is difficult to define and to quantify. In contrast, legitimate returner and nonreturner customers exhibit different return behaviors with distinctly different transactional behaviors and profitability outcomes. To investigate these diverse returner behaviors, this study empirically analyzes a transactional secondary data set of over 1 million customers with over 75 million transactions from a national U.S.‐based retailer. The analysis generates empirical insights that characterize observable customer actions related to abusive returners, legitimate returners, and nonreturners. This study introduces a set of predictive models that enable actionable managerial intervention and presents the opportunity to recapture significant returns costs that might otherwise be lost to avoidable return abuse. The analysis also highlights the need for a more holistic perspective toward predicting, managing, and preventing returns.