bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau as affected by N-addition and grazing exclusion
Authors: Luo Caiyun , Wang Shiping , Zhang Lirong , Wilkes Andreas , Zhao Liang , Zhao Xinquan , Xu Shixiao , Xu Burenbayin 
Published: March 2020

AbstractLimited understanding of the effects of enhanced nitrogen (N) addition and grazing exclusion (E) on greenhouse gases fluxes (GHGs: CO2, CH4, and N2O) in grasslands constrains our ability to respond to the challenges of future climate change. In this study, we conducted a field experiment using a static closed opaque chamber to investigate the response of GHG fluxes to N addition (69 kg N ha−1 year−1 applied in 3 splits) and grazing exclusion in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau during the growing seasons from 2011 to 2013. Our results showed that winter grazing significantly raised soil temperature (ST), while grazing exclusion (E) had no effect on soil moisture (SM), and N fertilizer (F) had no effect on ST or SM. Aboveground biomass (AB) and root biomass (RB) were not significantly affected by E in 2011-2013 (p > 0.05), but F significantly affected AB and RB (p < 0.05). Compared with winter grazing, only E substantially reduced seasonal mean CO2 emissions (by about 20.1%) during the experimental period. E did not significantly directly affect CH4 uptake, whereas N addition reduced seasonal mean CH4 uptake by about 6.5%, and N addition changed seasonal average absorption of N2O into an emission source. CO2 flux is the major contributor to CO2 equivalent emissions in this area. Our results indicate that exclosure from livestock grazing might be a promising measure to reduce CO2 emissions, while enhanced N addition might reduce CH4 uptake and increase N2O emission in the alpine meadow under future climate change.
Relative Topological Entropy for Actions of Non-discrete Groups on Compact Spaces in the Context of Cut and Project Schemes
Authors: Hauser T. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractIn the study of aperiodic order via dynamical methods, topological entropy is an important concept. In this paper, parts of the theory, like Bowen’s formula for fibre wise entropy or the independence of the definition from the choice of a Van Hove sequence, are extended to actions of several non-discrete groups. To establish these results, we will show that the Ornstein–Weiss lemma is valid for all considered groups which appear in the study of cut and project schemes.
Multidimensional Mortality Selection: Why Individual Dimensions of Frailty Don’t Act Like Frailty
Authors: Wrigley-Field Elizabeth 
Published: March 2020

AbstractTheoretical models of mortality selection have great utility in explaining otherwise puzzling phenomena. The most famous example may be the Black-White mortality crossover: at old ages, Blacks outlive Whites, presumably because few frail Blacks survive to old ages while some frail Whites do. Yet theoretical models of unidimensional heterogeneity, or frailty, do not speak to the most common empirical situation for mortality researchers: the case in which some important population heterogeneity is observed and some is not. I show that, when one dimension of heterogeneity is observed and another is unobserved, neither the observed nor the unobserved dimension need behave as classic frailty models predict. For example, in a multidimensional model, mortality selection can increase the proportion of survivors who are disadvantaged, or “frail,” and can lead Black survivors to be more frail than Whites, along some dimensions of disadvantage. Transferring theoretical results about unidimensional heterogeneity to settings with both observed and unobserved heterogeneity produces misleading inferences about mortality disparities. The unusually flexible behavior of individual dimensions of multidimensional heterogeneity creates previously unrecognized challenges for empirically testing selection models of disparities, such as models of mortality crossovers.
Ethnic Violence and Birth Outcomes: Evidence From Exposure to the 1992 Conflict in Kenya
Authors: Guantai Fredah , Kijima Yoko 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
This study is an examination of the effect of intrauterine exposure to electoral violence on child birth weight, an outcome that has long-term effects on an individual’s education, income, and health in later life. We consider the electoral violence that resulted from the introduction of multiparty democracy in Kenya as an exogenous source of shock, using a difference-in-differences method and a mother fixed-effects model. We find that prenatal exposure to the violence increased the probabilities of low birth weight and a child being of very small size at birth by 19 and 6 percentage points, respectively. Violence exposure in the first trimester of pregnancy decreased birth weight by 271 grams and increased the probabilities of low birth weight and very small size at birth by 18 and 4 percentage points, respectively. The results reaffirm the significance of the nine months in utero as one of the most critical periods in life that shapes future health, economic, and educational trajectories.
Social benefits require a community: the influence of colony size on behavioral immunity in honey bees
Authors: Bonoan Rachael E. , Iglesias Feliciano Paola M. , Chang Joanna , Starks Philip T. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractEmergent properties of eusocial insect colonies (e.g., nest architecture and defense) highlight benefits of group living. Such emergent properties, however, may only function as a benefit if the group is large enough. We tested the effect of group size on colony-level fever in honey bees. When a colony is infected withAscosphaera apis, a heat-sensitive brood pathogen, adult bees raise the temperature to kill the pathogen and keep brood disease free. In relatively large colonies, we show a rhythm to honey bee fever: colonies inoculated withA.apisgenerated a fever in the afternoon and at night but not in the morning. In comparison, relatively small colonies did not generate a fever following inoculation, although they invested more in thermoregulation on a “per bee” basis than control colonies. Thus, in small colonies, honey bee fever could be regarded as a cost of group living: individuals futilely exerted valuable energy towards fighting a pathogen.
Predicting risk of stillbirth and preterm pregnancies with machine learning
Authors: Koivu Aki , Sairanen Mikko 
Published: March 2020

AbstractModelling the risk of abnormal pregnancy-related outcomes such as stillbirth and preterm birth have been proposed in the past. Commonly they utilize maternal demographic and medical history information as predictors, and they are based on conventional statistical modelling techniques. In this study, we utilize state-of-the-art machine learning methods in the task of predicting early stillbirth, late stillbirth and preterm birth pregnancies. The aim of this experimentation is to discover novel risk models that could be utilized in a clinical setting. A CDC data set of almost sixteen million observations was used conduct feature selection, parameter optimization and verification of proposed models. An additional NYC data set was used for external validation. Algorithms such as logistic regression, artificial neural network and gradient boosting decision tree were used to construct individual classifiers. Ensemble learning strategies of these classifiers were also experimented with. The best performing machine learning models achieved 0.76 AUC for early stillbirth, 0.63 for late stillbirth and 0.64 for preterm birth while using a external NYC test data. The repeatable performance of our models demonstrates robustness that is required in this context. Our proposed novel models provide a solid foundation for risk prediction and could be further improved with the addition of biochemical and/or biophysical markers.
Platelets: Mechanistic and Diagnostic Significance in Transplantation
Authors: Khedraki Raneem , Dhar Jayeeta , Baldwin William M. 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Purpose of Review
In addition to their function in coagulation, platelets recently have been recognized as an important component of innate immune responses. This review relates salient immune functions of platelets to transplants.

Recent Findings
Platelets are critical bridges between vascular endothelium and leukocytes. Real-time imaging of platelets has demonstrated that platelets rapidly adhere to vascular endothelium and form a nidus for attachment of neutrophils and then monocytes. However, the majority of platelets subsequently release from endothelium and return to the circulation in an activated state. These recycled platelets have the potential to transport proteins and RNA from the graft to the recipient. Some of the platelets that return to the circulation are attached to leukocytes.

Summary
Platelets have the potential to modulate many elements of the graft and the immune response from the time of organ retrieval through ischemia-reperfusion to acute and chronic rejection. Beyond mechanistic considerations, assays that detect changes in platelet protein or RNA expression could be used to monitor early inflammatory responses in transplants.
Partial Atomic Tin Nanocomplex Pillared Few-Layered Ti3C2Tx MXenes for Superior Lithium-Ion Storage
Authors: Zhang Shunlong , Ying Hangjun , Yuan Bin , Hu Renzong , Han Wei-Qiang 
Published: March 2020

AbstractMXenes have attracted great interest in various fields, and pillared MXenes open a new path with larger interlayer spacing. However, the further study of pillared MXenes is blocked at multilayered state due to serious restacking phenomenon of few-layered MXene nanosheets. In this work, for the first time, we designed a facile NH4+ method to fundamentally solve the restacking issues of MXene nanosheets and succeeded in achieving pillared few-layered MXene. Sn nanocomplex pillared few-layered Ti3C2Tx (STCT) composites were synthesized by introducing atomic Sn nanocomplex into interlayer of pillared few-layered Ti3C2Tx MXenes via pillaring technique. The MXene matrix can inhibit Sn nanocomplex particles agglomeration and serve as conductive network. Meanwhile, the Sn nanocomplex particles can further open the interlayer spacing of Ti3C2Tx during lithiation/delithiation processes and therefore generate extra capacity. Benefiting from the “pillar effect,” the STCT composites can maintain 1016 mAh g−1 after 1200 cycles at 2000 mA g−1 and deliver a stable capacity of 680 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1, showing one of the best performances among MXene-based composites. This work will provide a new way for the development of pillared MXenes and their energy storage due to significant breakthrough from multilayered state to few-layered one.
Intentional Training in Two- vs. Three-Dimensional Spatial Environments to Enhance Spatial Cognition
Authors: Paruchuri Haneesha , Carlin Cole F. , Ehrman Jonathan D. , Marasco Christina C. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractSpatial cognition encompasses the ability to recognize dimensional properties of objects, individually and with respect to other objects. Studies demonstrate that intentional training in spatial cognitive tasks in two-dimensional environments can effectively improve spatial cognitive abilities. The increasing popularity of and access to virtual reality (VR) inspires the question of whether virtual training environments could equally or more effectively improve spatial cognitive abilities. Thirty-three participants (15 males, 18 females) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: control, two-dimensional training, and three-dimensional training and completed a pre- and post-test separated by group-specific training. Reaction times and accuracy rates of completing Shepard-Metzler mental rotation tasks (MRT), cube rotation tasks (CRT), and verbal analogies tasks (VAT) were observed to compare the effectiveness of the training methods. The reaction time results demonstrated a significant improvement from pre- to post-test compared with control in the MRT and CRT in the two-dimensional (MRT: t = 2.663, p < 0.05; CRT: t = 1.668, p < 0.05) and three-dimensional (MRT: t = 1.557, p < 0.05; CRT: t = 1.006, p < 0.05) training groups. In the VAT, only the two-dimensional training group had significant improvement (VAT: t = 2.125, p < 0.05). The three-dimensional group did not have greater improvement in MRT and CRT than the two-dimensional group (p > 0.05), but did have greater improvement than control (p < 0.1). These results indicate that traditional two-dimensional and virtual three-dimensional training give equal improvement in spatial cognitive training outcomes.
Observational Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Using Routine Data: Admission and Discharge Care Bundles for Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Authors: Dixon Padraig , Hollingworth William , Benger Jonathan , Calvert James , Chalder Melanie , King Anna , MacNeill Stephanie , Morton Katherine , Sanderson Emily , Purdy Sarah 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Background
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a prevalent respiratory disease, and accounts for a substantial proportion of unplanned hospital admissions. Care bundles for COPD are a set of standardised, evidence-based interventions that may improve outcomes in hospitalised COPD patients. We estimated the cost effectiveness of care bundles for acute exacerbations of COPD using routinely collected observational data.

Methods
Data were collected from implementation (n = 7) and comparator (n = 7) acute hospitals located in England and Wales. We conducted a difference-in-difference cost-effectiveness analysis using a secondary care (i.e. hospital) perspective to examine the effect on National Health Service (NHS) costs and 90-day mortality of implementing care bundles compared with usual care for patients admitted to hospital with an acute exacerbation of COPD. Adjusted models included as covariates patient age, sex, deprivation, ethnicity and seasonal effects and mixed effects for site.

Results
Outcomes and baseline characteristics of up to 12,532 patients were analysed using both complete case and multiply imputed models. Implementation of bundles varied. COPD care bundles were associated with slightly lower secondary care costs, but there was no evidence that they improved outcomes once adjustments were made for site and baseline covariates. Care bundles were unlikely to be cost effective for the NHS with an estimated net monetary benefit per 90-day death avoided from an adjusted multiply imputed model of −£1231 (95% confidence interval − £2428 to − £35) at a high cost-effectiveness threshold of £50,000 per 90-day death avoided.

Conclusion and Recommendations
Care bundles for COPD did not appear to be cost effective, although this finding may have been influenced by unmeasured variations in bundle implementation and other potential confounding factors.
Tell Me Your Story: How Recruitment Practices Implementing Affirmative Action Laws May Undermine the Laws’ Goals
Authors: Buchter Lisa 
Published: March 2020

AbstractScholars pointed out that antidiscrimination laws do not fully undermine workplace discrimination and that affirmative action policies mostly benefit overqualified or advantaged individuals within minorities. To elucidate this paradox, this case study analyzes how some companies adopted specific selection and assessment processes for job seekers after the reinforcement of a quota for workers with disabilities in France. I observed the creation of alternative recruitment channels, the hiring of disability experts for recruitment, the refusal of resume sorting as a prescreening tool, and an emphasis on face-to-face interviews. While these changes circumvented practices that could have excluded people with disabilities (resume screening as a preselection tool, inaccessible venues for recruitment), they changed these practices only in limited spaces within the organizations. Additionally, while they did help more people get hired, they also compelled more personal disclosure that led to a more emotional assessment of job seekers and enabled “refined statistical discrimination” within pools of job seekers with disabilities. This research therefore reveals recruitment practices that may increase the number of individuals with disabilities hired but that, at the same time, may facilitate overselectivity and trigger significant risks associated with emotional recruitment of individuals with disabilities.
Music effects on phonological awareness development in 3-year-old children
Authors: Vidal Maria Manuel , Lousada Marisa , Vigário Marina 
Published: March 2020

AbstractMusic and language engage similar processing mechanisms, including auditory processing and higher cognitive functions, recruiting partially overlapping brain structures. It has been argued that both are related in child development and that linguistic functions can be positively influenced by music training above 4-years-old. In this randomized control study, with a test–training–retest methodology, 44 children (3–4 years old) were assessed with a phonological awareness test, prior and after an intervention period of a school year with weekly music classes (experimental group,n= 23) or visual arts classes (control group,n= 21) in kindergarten. In the preassessment there were no significant differences between groups. When comparing pre- and postassessment, results showed significant differences in both groups, but music classes’ students outperformed the control group, showing larger differences between the beginning and the end of the intervention. Improvement in both groups is expected due to general developmental reasons. However, the fact that children receiving music classes show greater improvement indicates that music lessons have influenced phonological awareness. Our results support the hypothesis that music training may promote language abilities, specifically phonological awareness, prior to the ages previously studied.
Feature-focusing constraints on implicit learning of function word and meaning associations
Authors: Pham Theresa , Kang Joel Hosung , Johnson Alisha , Archibald Lisa M. D. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractRecent research has begun to investigate implicit learning at the level of meaning. The general consensus is that implicitly linking a word with a meaning is constrained by existing linguistic knowledge. However, another factor to consider is the extent to which attention is drawn to the relevant meanings in implicit learning paradigms. We manipulated the presence of cue saliency during implicit rule learning for a grammatical form (i.e., articles) linked to meaning (i.e., animacy vs. varying notions of size). In a series of experiments, participants learned four novel words but did not know that article usage also depended on a hidden rule, creating an opportunity for implicit rule learning. We found implicit learning through the use of a highly salient meaning (Experiment 1) or if image size was made salient by being explicitly cued (Experiment 3), but not in a low salient paradigm for intrinsic object size (Experiment 2). The findings suggest that implicit learning of semantic information might not be as constrained as previously argued. Instead, implicit learning might be additionally influenced by feature-focusing cues that make the meaning contrasts more salient and thereby more readily available to learning.
The influence of Totten Glacier on the Late Cenozoic sedimentary record
Authors: Donda Federica , Leitchenkov German , Brancolini Giuliano , Romeo Roberto , De Santis Laura , Escutia Carlota , O'Brien Philip , Armand Leanne , Caburlotto Andrea , Cotterle Diego 
Published: March 2020

AbstractAnalysis of multichannel seismic profiles collected on the continental rise off the Sabrina Coast, East Antarctica, has allowed the determination of the acoustic features that are indicative of major evolution steps of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) and highlights the role of meltwater that originated from Totten Glacier in shaping the margin architecture. The arrival of marine-terminating glaciers into the coastal region was recorded by an enhanced sediment input on the continental rise and the nucleation of channel-levees. Downslope sedimentary processes were dominant throughout the Late Cenozoic, testifying to the progressive growth of a highly dynamic, temperate ice sheet on the continent. The last evolutionary step marks the transition to when a full polar glacial regime occurred. The development of a prograding wedge with steeply dipping foresets on the continental shelf and slope exemplifies sedimentation at this time. Other sub-sea-floor observations indicate that downslope fluxes, triggered by glacial meltwater, were still able to deeply erode and deliver sediments to the rise area. This study's findings have led to the identification of expanded and well-preserved sedimentary successions, which we suggest should be considered as priority targets for future International Ocean Discovery Program deep drilling due to the sensitivity of the ice sheet in this area.
An estimate of the South Georgia diving petrelPelecanoides georgicuspopulation at Ile de la Possession, Crozet archipelago
Authors: Barbraud Christophe , Chaigne Adrien , Loubon Maxime , Lamy Olivier , Le Bouard Fabrice 
Published: March 2020

AbstractBurrow-nesting seabirds constitute an important part of seabird diversity, yet accurate estimates of their abundance are largely lacking, limiting our understanding of their population dynamics and conservation status. We conducted a survey to estimate the number of South Georgia diving petrel (Pelecanoides georgicus) burrows during the 2013–14 breeding season on Ile de la Possession, Crozet archipelago, southern Indian Ocean. We used distance sampling and acoustic playback in order to estimate burrow densities ina priori-selected favourable nesting areas. A total of 855 burrows were detected. The mean altitude of burrows was 601.8 ± 69.4 m. The mean burrow detection distance was 1.77 ± 1.63 m. The burrow density was estimated at 15.649 burrows ha-1(95% confidence interval (CI): 10.245–23.903) and the slope-corrected total favourable area was 2365.53 ha, which yielded an estimate 37 018 burrows (95% CI: 24 235–56 544). The playback response rate was 15.8 ± 1.3%, and 40.8 ± 1.7% of burrows were occupied or showed signs of occupation. Occupancy rates were low compared to those measured by systematic burrow inspection in other studies. Assuming that laying occurred in 80–93% of the estimated number of burrows, as estimated by previous studies, gives an estimate of 29 614 (95% CI: 19 388–45 235) to 34 426 (95% CI: 22 538–52 585) breeding pairs.