bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A small podocnemidoid (Pleurodira, Pelomedusoides) from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil, and the innervation and carotid circulation of side‐necked turtles
Authors: Hermanson Guilherme , Iori Fabiano V. , Evers Serjoscha W. , Langer Max C. , Ferreira Gabriel S. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractPleurodires are less diverse than cryptodires, together forming the two major lineages of crown turtles. Their fossil record, however, is rich. A particularly large number of fossil pleurodires, many belonging to the Podocnemidoidae, has been recovered from the Upper Cretaceous Bauru Group outcrops of south‐central Brazil. Herein we describe an additional pleurodire from this region, Amabilis uchoensis gen. et sp. nov., based on a partially preserved skull. A. uchoensis is recognized as belonging to the Podocnemidoidae by the small entrance to the antrum postoticum and completely developed cavum pterygoidei, being unique among other non‐podocnemidid podocnemidoids for its medially open fenestra postotica and absent basioccipital–opisthotic contact. Our cladistic analysis places A. uchoensis as a sister taxon to Hamadachelys + other podocnemidoids. We further explore the neuroanatomy of side‐necked turtles with the aid of micro‐computed tomography of specimens of the main pleurodiran lineages. Our data shed light on the different carotid circulation patterns in pleurodires, and we propose new phylogenetic characters to describe the neuroanatomical variation of the group. Optimization of these characters shows two independent acquisitions of a foramen for the palatal branch of the carotid in chelids and podocnemidoids, and a unique loss of the vidian nerve canal in chelids, in turtles in general.
PCR inhibition in qPCR, dPCR and MPS—mechanisms and solutions
Authors: Sidstedt Maja , Rådström Peter , Hedman Johannes 
Published: February 2020

AbstractDNA analysis has seen an incredible development in terms of instrumentation, assays and applications over the last years. Massively parallel sequencing (MPS) and digital PCR are now broadly applied in research and diagnostics, and quantitative PCR is used for more and more practises. All these techniques are based on in vitro DNA polymerization and fluorescence measurements. A major limitation for successful analysis is the various sample-related substances that interfere with the analysis, i.e. PCR inhibitors. PCR inhibition affects library preparation in MPS analysis and skews quantification in qPCR, and some inhibitors have been found to quench the fluorescence of the applied fluorophores. Here, we provide a deeper understanding of mechanisms of specific PCR inhibitors and how these impact specific analytical techniques. This background knowledge is necessary in order to take full advantage of modern DNA analysis techniques, specifically for analysis of samples with low amounts of template and high amounts of background material. The classical solution to handle PCR inhibition is to purify or dilute DNA extracts, which leads to DNA loss. Applying inhibitor-tolerant DNA polymerases, either single enzymes or blends, provides a more straightforward and powerful solution. This review includes mechanisms of specific PCR inhibitors as well as solutions to the inhibition problem in relation to cutting-edge DNA analysis.
Facial feedback for reinforcement learning: a case study and offline analysis using the TAMER framework
Authors: Li Guangliang , Dibeklioğlu Hamdi , Whiteson Shimon , Hung Hayley 
Published: February 2020

AbstractInteractive reinforcement learning provides a way for agents to learn to solve tasks from evaluative feedback provided by a human user. Previous research showed that humans give copious feedback early in training but very sparsely thereafter. In this article, we investigate the potential of agent learning from trainers’ facial expressions via interpreting them as evaluative feedback. To do so, we implemented TAMER which is a popular interactive reinforcement learning method in a reinforcement-learning benchmark problem—Infinite Mario, and conducted the first large-scale study of TAMER involving 561 participants. With designed CNN–RNN model, our analysis shows that telling trainers to use facial expressions and competition can improve the accuracies for estimating positive and negative feedback using facial expressions. In addition, our results with a simulation experiment show that learning solely from predicted feedback based on facial expressions is possible and using strong/effective prediction models or a regression method, facial responses would significantly improve the performance of agents. Furthermore, our experiment supports previous studies demonstrating the importance of bi-directional feedback and competitive elements in the training interface.
Incorporation of Rare Earths and Yttrium in Calcite: A Critical Re-evaluation
Authors: Möller Peter , De Lucia Marco 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe reported partition coefficients of REE with calcite are reviewed and critically discussed. In some of the reported experimental sets, REE concentrations are found to be supersaturated with respect to individual REE2(CO3)3 but never to REE(OH)3. Although the solutions are unsaturated with respect to individual REY carbonates, REY including Y are incorporated in calcite surfaces, where they are overgrown by calcite. Charge balances may be obtained by building {REY–Na-(CO3)2}n or by exchange of 2Ca2+ against REY3+ + blank space calcite lattice. These surface compounds may either be homogeneously distributed or clustered. Both the size and frequency of clusters increase with [REY]/[Ca] or [ΣREY3+]/[Ca2+] in solution. If these surface precipitates are removed into solutions saturated with respect to ΣREE2(CO3)3, they start growing in the aqueous phase. In this case, the apparent DREY and kREY values decrease with increasing REY concentrations in solution. In previous studies, only the individual distribution coefficients are reported not considering that the entirety of REY determines their behavior in partitioning. Given enough time, these surface clusters equilibrate with the aqueous phase before being overgrown by calcite. In the double logarithmic plots of {REY}/{Ca} versus [REY]/[Ca] or [REY3+]/[Ca2+], two relationships evolve characterizing the REY distribution in marine calcite and experimental calcites grown in Mg2+-free solutions. The double logarithmic plots of partition coefficients of REYi3+ in calcite grown from seawater show a slope exceeding unity, whereas those from fluids without Mg2+ depict slopes less than unity being both in contrast to the Henderson–Kracek rule.
A process for deriving high quality cellulose nanofibrils from water hyacinth invasive species
Authors: Sun Dongyang , Onyianta Amaka J. , O’Rourke Dominic , Perrin Guilhem , Popescu Carmen-Mihaela , Saw Lip Huat , Cai Zuansi , Dorris Mark 
Published: February 2020

AbstractIn this study, surface chemistry, the morphological properties, water retention values, linear viscoelastic properties, crystallinity index, tensile strength and thermal properties of water hyacinth (WH) cellulose were correlated with the degree of mechanical processing under high-pressure homogenisation. An initial low-pressure mechanical shear of WH stems resulted in the ease of chemical extraction of good quality cellulose using mild concentrations of chemical reagents and ambient temperature. Further passes through the homogeniser resulted in an overall improvement in cellulose fibrillation into nanofibrils, and an increase in water retention property and linear viscoelastic properties as the number of passes increased. These improvements are most significant after the first and second pass, resulting in up to 7.5% increase in crystallinity index and 50% increase in the tensile strength of films, when compared with the unprocessed WH cellulose. The thermal stability of the WH cellulose was not adversely affected but remained stable with increasing number of passes. Results suggest a high suitability for this process to generate superior quality cellulose nanofibrils at relatively low energy requirements, ideal for sustainable packaging applications and as a structural component to bioplastic composite formulations.
Would depositors pay to show that they do not withdraw? Theory and experiment
Authors: Kinateder Markus , Kiss Hubert János , Pintér Ágnes 
Published: February 2020

AbstractIn a Diamond–Dybvig type model of financial intermediation, we allow depositors to announce at a positive cost to subsequent depositors that they keep their funds deposited in the bank. Theoretically, the mere availability of public announcements (and not its use) ensures that no bank run is the unique equilibrium outcome. Multiple equilibria—including bank run—exist without such public announcements. We test the theoretical results in the lab and find a widespread use of announcements, which we interpret as an attempt to coordinate on the no bank run outcome. Withdrawal rates in general are lower in information sets that contain announcements.
The Case Against Linguistic Palaeontology
Authors: Mallory Fintan 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe method of linguistic palaeontology (or palaeolinguistics) has a controversial status within archaeology. According to its defenders, it promises the ability to see into the social and material cultures of prehistoric societies and uncover facts about peoples beyond the reach of archaeology. Its critics see it as essentially flawed and unscientific. Using a particular case-study, the Indo-European homeland problem, this paper attempts to discern the kinds of inference which proponents of linguistic palaeontology make and whether they can be warranted. I conclude that, while the case for linguistic palaeontology has often been overstated, so has the case against it.
Methodology for obtaining contact angles in rock sample images using image processing and polynomial fitting techniques
Authors: Sakugawa P. M. , Jaculli M. A. , Santos R. M. G. , Camargo G. , Barreto C. E. A. G. , Pedrini H. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractEstimating the contact angle in very complex rock pores presents some challenges to accurately identify the fluid–rock contact surface. This work presents a methodology to estimate the contact angle formed by the brine–rock and the brine–oil interfaces on processing high-resolution images provided by micro-CT scan. We focus the discussion on the limitations of the most popular computational techniques used to determine the contact angle and discuss how to select a practical way to evaluate it. The method consists of four steps: (1) processing the images to determine each fluid present in the image, (2) selection of the pixels that will be part of the contact interface of fluids and the contact point, (3) fitting polynomial equations for each interface and selection of the equation that gives the lowest error, (4) estimation of the contact angle based on the more appropriate polynomial equation. The contact angle is calculated based on the slope of the interfaces’ tangents at the contact point. Several types of approaches were tested to determine the contact interface and the contact point. In order to evaluate the applicability of our method, we use an analytically generated image and rock sample images. Potential errors between the angle obtained from the analytically generated image and the angle calculated from the method show the impact of the right selection of pixels during the image processing step. High sensitivity is also observed for the tangent values in the presence or absence of pixels from the rock sample analysis.
Can Behavior Analysis Help Us Understand and Reduce Racism? A review of the Current Literature
Authors: Matsuda Kozue , Garcia Yors , Catagnus Robyn , Brandt Julie Ackerlund 
Published: February 2020

AbstractDespite ongoing efforts to eradicate racism, it persists globally, negatively affecting education, mental health, community relations, and economic development. Every behavior analyst can, and should, contribute to the reduction of racism in some way. Unfortunately, little behavior-analytic research exists to guide us. This article proposes ways that members of our scientific community can learn about racism from a behavioral perspective, extend experimental analyses of prejudice, and intervene to reduce racism in varied settings. It describes both traditional behavior-analytic and functional-contextualist accounts of racism and summarizes the small amount of related empirical and applied research. The review suggests that combining traditional behavior-analytic methods with acceptance and commitment training techniques may attenuate racism more effectively. The article ends with a call to collaborate around this globally important issue—and to do more to reduce racism.
A benchmark dataset of in situ Antarctic surface melt rates and energy balance
Authors: Jakobs Constantijn L. , Reijmer Carleen H. , Smeets C. J. P. Paul , Trusel Luke D. , van de Berg Willem Jan , van den Broeke Michiel R. , van Wessem J. Melchior 
Published: February 2020

AbstractSurface melt on the coastal Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) determines the viability of its ice shelves and the stability of the grounded ice sheet, but very few in situ melt rate estimates exist to date. Here we present a benchmark dataset of in situ surface melt rates and energy balance from nine sites in the eastern Antarctic Peninsula (AP) and coastal Dronning Maud Land (DML), East Antarctica, seven of which are located on AIS ice shelves. Meteorological time series from eight automatic and one staffed weather station (Neumayer), ranging in length from 15 months to almost 24 years, serve as input for an energy-balance model to obtain consistent surface melt rates and energy-balance results. We find that surface melt rates exhibit large temporal, spatial and process variability. Intermittent summer melt in coastal DML is primarily driven by absorption of shortwave radiation, while non-summer melt events in the eastern AP occur during föhn events that force a large downward directed turbulent flux of sensible heat. We use the in situ surface melt rate dataset to evaluate melt rates from the regional atmospheric climate model RACMO2 and validate a melt product from the QuikSCAT satellite.
Review of induced seismicity in geothermal systems worldwide and implications for geothermal systems in the Netherlands
Authors: Buijze Loes , van Bijsterveldt Lonneke , Cremer Holger , Paap Bob , Veldkamp Hans , Wassing Brecht B.T. , van Wees Jan-Diederik , van Yperen Guido C.N. , ter Heege Jan H. , Jaarsma Bastiaan 
Published: February 2020

AbstractGeothermal energy is a viable alternative to gas for the heating of buildings, industrial areas and greenhouses, and can thus play an important role in making the transition to sustainable energy in the Netherlands. Heat is currently produced from the Dutch subsurface through circulation of water between two wells in deep (1.5–3 km) geothermal formations with temperature of up to ∼100 °C. As the number of these so-called doublets is expected to increase significantly over the next decades, and targeted depths and temperatures increase, it is important to assess potential show-stoppers related to geothermal operations. One of these potential hazards is the possibility of the occurrence of felt seismic events, which could potentially damage infrastructure and housing, and affect public support. Such events have been observed in several geothermal systems in other countries. Here we review the occurrence (or the lack) of felt seismic events in geothermal systems worldwide and identify key factors influencing the occurrence and magnitude of these events. Based on this review, we project the findings for seismicity in geothermal systems to typical geothermal formations and future geothermal developments in the Netherlands. The case study review shows that doublets that circulate fluids through relatively shallow, porous, sedimentary aquifers far from the crystalline basement are unlikely to generate felt seismic events. On the other hand, stimulations or circulations in or near competent, fractured, basement rocks and production and reinjection operations in high-temperature geothermal fields are more prone to induce felt events, occasionally with magnitudes ofM> 5.0. Many of these operations are situated in tectonically active areas, and stress and temperature changes may be large. The presence of large, optimally oriented and critically stressed faults increases the potential for induced seismicity. The insights from the case study review suggest that the potential for the occurrence ofM> 2.0 seismicity for geothermal operations in several of the sandstone target formations in the Netherlands is low, especially if faults can be avoided. The potential for induced seismicity may be moderate for operations in faulted carbonate rocks. Induced seismicity always remains a complex and site-specific process with large unknowns, and can never be excluded entirely. However, assessing the potential for inducing felt seismic events can be improved by considering the relevant (site-specific) geological and operational key factors discussed in this article.
AUGUST NEANDER AND THE RELIGION OF HISTORY IN THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY ‘PRIESTHOOD OF LETTERS’
Authors: BENNETT JOSHUA 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe Berlin ecclesiastical historian, August Neander (1789–1850), developed a religiously driven conception of history which excited contemporaries across the Protestant world. This article reconstructs the impetus which Neander gave to the creation of a religiously cosmopolitan historical imagination in Germany, Britain, and the United States. At a time when Hegelian and ‘scientific’ models of historical progress foretold a post-Christian future for civilization, Neander's alternative idea of world history, centred on the leavening spread of the invisible church through contrasting forms of Christianity and culture, exercised a powerful sway over Protestant historians everywhere. His universalizing historical philosophy offered an appealing mode of self-understanding to the networks which translated his ideas into new settings. Appearing to afford a mode of securing Protestantism from the twin dangers of sectarianism and unbelief, Neander's ‘unpartisan’ philosophy simultaneously became an important instrument of Protestant nation-building in the hands of the historians drawn towards it. By considering the interaction between universal and national aspirations in the development and dissemination of Neander's historical philosophy, the article examines the practical implications of historical thought, and connections between national and transnational scales of analysis, in modern religious and intellectual history.
Cross-Border LBOs, Human Capital, and Proximity: Value Addition through Monitoring in Private Equity Investments
Authors: Chemmanur Thomas J. , Hull Tyler J. , Krishnan Karthik 
Published: February 2020

AbstractWe show that cross-border leveraged buyout investments involving U.S. rather than non-U.S. private equity (PE) investors are more likely to have a successful exit (initial public offering or acquisition). Exogenous increases in effective proximity following the signing of “open sky agreements” between the United States and target firms’ home countries increases both the propensity of U.S. PE firms to invest in these firms and the value addition by these investors. We show that such increases in value addition by U.S. PE investors following proximity increases are at least partially due to better monitoring, facilitated by the more efficient allocation of experienced U.S. PE managers to cross-border deals.
Computational approaches for drug discovery against trypanosomatid-caused diseases
Authors: Pereira Claudio A. , Sayé Melisa , Reigada Chantal , Silber Ariel M. , Labadie Guillermo R. , Miranda Mariana R. , Valera-Vera Edward 
Published: February 2020

AbstractDuring three decades, only about 20 new drugs have been developed for malaria, tuberculosis and all neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). This critical situation was reached because NTDs represent only 10% of health research investments; however, they comprise about 90% of the global disease burden. Computational simulations applied in virtual screening (VS) strategies are very efficient tools to identify pharmacologically active compounds or new indications for drugs already administered for other diseases. One of the advantages of this approach is the low time-consuming and low-budget first stage, which filters for testing experimentally a group of candidate compounds with high chances of binding to the target and present trypanocidal activity. In this work, we review the most common VS strategies that have been used for the identification of new drugs with special emphasis on those applied to trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis. Computational simulations based on the selected protein targets or their ligands are explained, including the method selection criteria, examples of successful VS campaigns applied to NTDs, a list of validated molecular targets for drug development and repositioned drugs for trypanosomatid-caused diseases. Thereby, here we present the state-of-the-art of VS and drug repurposing to conclude pointing out the future perspectives in the field.
Distribution of zooplankton in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean
Authors: Venkataramana V. , Anilkumar N. , Swadling K. , Mishra R.K. , Tripathy S.C. , Sarkar A. , Augusta Soares Melena , Sabu P. , Pillai Honey U.K. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe community composition of zooplankton with an emphasis on copepods was assessed in the frontal zones of the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean (SO) during summer 2013. Copepods were the dominant group in both the bongo net and multiple plankton sampler across the entire region. High zooplankton abundance was recorded along each transect in the Polar Front (PF). Community structure in this front was dominated by common taxa, includingCtenocalanus citer,Clausocalanusspp.,Calanoides acutus,Calanus propinquus,Calanus australisandRhincalanus gigas, which together accounted for > 62% of the total abundance.Calocalanusspp.,Neocalanus tonsusandC. propinquuswere indicator species in the Sub-Tropical Front (STF), Sub-Antarctic Front and PF, respectively. A strong contrast in population structure and biovolume was observed between then PF and the STF. The community structure of smaller copepods was associated with the high-temperature region, whereas communities of larger copepods were associated with the low-temperature region. Thus, it seems probable that physical and biological characteristics of the SO frontal regions are controlling the abundance and distribution of zooplankton community structure by restricting some species to the warmer stratified zones and some species to the well-mixed zone.
Retirement incentives and behavior of private and public sector workers
Authors: Coile Courtney , Stewart Susan 
Published: February 2020

AbstractOver the past several decades, private sector workers in the USA with employed-sponsored pensions have experienced a dramatic shift from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution plans, while this trend has been less pronounced for public sector workers. In this paper, we use data from the Health and Retirement Study to explore changes in the retirement incentives and retirement behavior of public and private sector workers over the past quarter-century. We find that both groups have become less likely to report having a DB pension or any pension. Compared to their private sector counterparts, public sector workers have a higher level of retirement wealth and a larger financial gain from continued work at older ages, and these differences by sector are growing across cohorts. Both groups respond to financial incentives in making retirement decisions. However, growing differences by sector in the gain to continued work do not appear to have translated into diverging retirement behavior, as we observe similar trends in the two groups.