bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Environmental degradation at Lake Urmia (Iran): exploring the causes and their impacts on rural livelihoods
Authors: Schmidt Matthias , Gonda Robert , Transiskus Sebastian 
Published: March 2020

AbstractDuring the last 20 years, Lake Urmia, once recognised as one of the largest hypersaline lakes on the planet, has suffered from severe environmental degradation. As a result of climate change and human activities, the lake has been largely desiccated. Previous work around the unfolding environmental disaster mainly focused on Lake Urmia’s water regime, water level fluctuations, crisis causes and possible actions to revive its fortunes. However, there has been little discussion on the prevailing socio-economic consequences for rural livelihoods affected by the disaster. This paper investigates the impacts of the desiccation on rural households and analyses the occurrence and different forms of local villagers’ coping strategies. We present the findings of field research in the region, whereby open and semi-structured interviews, with both regional experts from different institutions and local residents, were conducted. Evidence from this study suggests that rural communities near the lake are considerably dependent on the lake basin’s ecosystem services, such as water availability, clean air, soil and local climate regulation—all of which are heavily threatened by progressive environmental degradation. In particular, tourism decline and losses in agriculture have already led to emigration to larger cities, presenting challenges for both rural and urban infrastructures. Overall, the vulnerability of rural households to the crisis was found to be high for reasons such as poverty, lack of income alternatives and a lack of institutional mitigation and adaptation policies.
Name and shame? Evidence from the European Union tax haven blacklist
Authors: Rusina Aija 
Published: March 2020

AbstractI study publication of the European Union (EU) tax haven blacklist on December 5, 2017, to examine whether and how the use of recognized tax havens affects firm value. I find that the tax haven naming and shaming by the EU was associated with a negative stock price reaction of firms with tax haven subsidiaries. Overall, publication of the blacklist erased $56 billion in market capitalization among the implicated firms. The largest reaction was for those tax havens, for which it was not foreseeable that they would be included in the blacklist. Retail firms experienced a larger decrease in share price than firms in other industries, which is consistent with a potential consumer backlash. Also more tax-aggressive firms faced more negative returns, which suggests that investors expect firms might be audited or fined for past or overly aggressive tax avoidance. The negative reaction was less pronounced in countries with low levels of investor protection and weakly governed firms with substantial conflicts of interest between principals and shareholders. This is consistent with increased scrutiny and potential for countermeasures associated with the blacklist, which reduce opportunities for managerial wealth diversion.
Research on science and technological entrepreneurship education: What needs to happen next?
Authors: Linton Jonathan D. , Xu Wei 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThis paper discusses the challenges of technological entrepreneurship education in the current education system and the questions that need to be answered to improve the efficacy and efficiency of technological entrepreneurship education. The nature of technological entrepreneurship requires a diversified set of skills for success; however, the traditional education system focuses on single discipline. Consequently, it is difficult for either engineers and scientists who are lacking managerial skills or management students who are lacking of engineer or science oriented knowledge to be successful. A further concern is that different communities have entirely different perceptions of how entrepreneurship is defined often causing both confusion and disagreement in communications between researchers and educators with each other. The paper considers the existing literature and develops a series of comprehensive questions that still need to be addressed. By answering these questions, the traditional education methods can be transformed to be more appropriate and useful for technological entrepreneurship education.
The High Temperature Vibrational Partition Function of Stretching of Triatomic Systems
Authors: Buchowiecki Marcin 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThe statistical thermodynamic model for the vibrational partition function with separated stretching and bending is developed. The model is studied on the example of $$\hbox {CO}_{2}$$CO2 molecule for temperature up to 20,000 K with the aim to describe efficient dissociation by deposition of energy mainly to the stretching modes of vibration. The observed separation of bending mode at lower temperatures suggest that it is possible to construct such kinetic model of plasma in which the high vibrational temperature of stretching and the low vibrational temperature of bending are obtained resulting in an efficient dissociation. In particular, the proposed model is extended to ideal-gas version where all the interactions between atoms are taken into account. The idea behind such approach is to eliminate contributions to partition functions stemming from non-interacting dissociated fragments of the molecule. The application areas of such partition functions are discussed and the full vibrational partition functions based on that model are compared with the known data.
Public–private contribution to biopharmaceutical discoveries: a bibliometric analysis of biomedical research in UK
Authors: Fabiano Gianluca , Marcellusi Andrea , Favato Giampiero 
Published: March 2020

AbstractBasic research creates new knowledge that fuels technological advances. However, budgetary concerns and escalating R&D prices are challenging organizations to show returns from investments in scientific research. Few attempts are made to analyse research that leads to pharmaceutical innovation. In particular, the financial contribution of public and private organizations to the riskiest stage of biomedical discovery has remained unclear and partially unexplored. This study is a first attempt to shed light on the financial support to basic research by public and private sectors using publications data. We conducted an exploratory analysis of funding acknowledgments on publications authored by the founding scientists of 91 ‘drug originator’ companies in United Kingdom. The nature and distribution of the support acknowledged to the research conducted before the company creation was analysed and the impact of publications and type of support were statistically tested. We found the majority of publications acknowledged public institutions, whereas, commercial organisations were likely to support those with privately affiliated authors. Based on these findings, we discussed the need to foster collaborative research and to set adequate incentives for shared risks and benefits from investments in knowledge creation.
Mechanisms and Points of Control in the Spread of Inflammation: A Mathematical Investigation
Authors: Bayani A. , Dunster J. L. , Crofts J. J. , Nelson M. R. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractUnderstanding the mechanisms that control the body’s response to inflammation is of key importance, due to its involvement in myriad medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease and asthma. While resolving inflammation has historically been considered a passive process, since the turn of the century the hunt for novel therapeutic interventions has begun to focus upon active manipulation of constituent mechanisms, particularly involving the roles of apoptosing neutrophils, phagocytosing macrophages and anti-inflammatory mediators. Moreover, there is growing interest in how inflammatory damage can spread spatially due to the motility of inflammatory mediators and immune cells. For example, impaired neutrophil chemotaxis is implicated in causing chronic inflammation under trauma and in ageing, while neutrophil migration is an attractive therapeutic target in ailments such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We extend an existing homogeneous model that captures interactions between inflammatory mediators, neutrophils and macrophages to incorporate spatial behaviour. Through bifurcation analysis and numerical simulation, we show that spatially inhomogeneous outcomes can present close to the switch from bistability to guaranteed resolution in the corresponding homogeneous model. Finally, we show how aberrant spatial mechanisms can play a role in the failure of inflammation to resolve and discuss our results within the broader context of seeking novel inflammatory treatments.
A case study: impact of target surface mesh size and mesh quality on volume-to-surface registration performance in hepatic soft tissue navigation
Authors: Hattab Georges , Riediger Carina , Weitz Juergen , Speidel Stefanie 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Purpose
Soft tissue deformation severely impacts the registration of pre- and intra-operative image data during computer-assisted navigation in laparoscopic liver surgery. However, quantifying the impact of target surface size, surface orientation, and mesh quality on non-rigid registration performance remains an open research question. This paper aims to uncover how these affect volume-to-surface registration performance.

Methods
To find such evidence, we design three experiments that are evaluated using a three-step pipeline: (1) volume-to-surface registration using the physics-based shape matching method or PBSM, (2) voxelization of the deformed surface to a $$1024^3$$

1024
3

voxel grid, and (3) computation of similarity (e.g., mutual information), distance (i.e., Hausdorff distance), and classical metrics (i.e., mean squared error or MSE).

Results
Using the Hausdorff distance, we report a statistical significance for the different partial surfaces. We found that removing non-manifold geometry and noise improved registration performance, and a target surface size of only 16.5% was necessary.

Conclusion
By investigating three different factors and improving registration results, we defined a generalizable evaluation pipeline and automatic post-processing strategies that were deemed helpful. All source code, reference data, models, and evaluation results are openly available for download: https://github.com/ghattab/EvalPBSM/.
The contribution of small-scale food production in urban areas to the sustainable development goals: a review and case study
Authors: Nicholls Elizabeth , Ely Adrian , Birkin Linda , Basu Parthiba , Goulson Dave 
Published: March 2020

AbstractFood production depends upon the adequate provision of underpinning ecosystem services, such as pollination. Paradoxically, conventional farming practices are undermining these services and resulting in degraded soils, polluted waters, greenhouse gas emissions and massive loss of biodiversity including declines in pollinators. In essence, farming is undermining the ecosystem services it relies upon. Finding alternative more sustainable ways to meet growing food demands which simultaneously support biodiversity is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity. Here, we review the potential of urban and peri-urban agriculture to contribute to sustainable food production, using the 17 sustainable development goals set by the United Nations General Assembly as a framework. We present new data from a case study of urban gardens and allotments in the city of Brighton and Hove, UK. Such urban and peri-urban landholdings tend to be small and labour-intensive, characterised by a high diversity of crops including perennials and annuals. Our data demonstrate that this type of agricultural system can be highly productive and that it has environmental and social advantages over industrial agriculture in that crops are usually produced using few synthetic inputs and are destined for local consumption. Overall, we conclude that food grown on small-scale areas in and near cities is making a significant contribution to feeding the world and that this type of agriculture is likely to be relatively favourable for some ecosystem services, such as supporting healthy soils. However, major knowledge gaps remain, for example with regard to productivity, economic and employment impacts, pesticide use and the implications for biodiversity.
Application of technology assessments to co-learning for regional transformation: a case study of biomass energy systems in Tanegashima
Authors: Kikuchi Yasunori , Nakai Miwa , Kanematsu Yuichiro , Oosawa Kazutake , Okubo Tatsuya , Oshita Yuko , Fukushima Yasuhiro 
Published: March 2020

AbstractJapan is faced with sustainability challenges such as resource security and depopulation. Well-coordinated, multifaceted actions including a shift from imported fossil to locally available renewable resources and empowering of rural areas are vital in tackling these challenges. Here, we present our co-learning approach to practice the multifaceted actions with a case study on Tanegashima, an isolated Japanese island. In these actions, thorough understanding of the feasible technologies, the locally available resources, and the socioeconomic aspects of the local community should be shared among the stakeholders to acquire the momentum for a change. In addition to the technoeconomic analysis, several other analyses were conducted to reveal the concerns of respective stakeholders, share the understandings on the possibilities of technology options, and their socioeconomic implications on local sustainability. Tools such as the life cycle assessment, input–output analysis, and choice experiments based on questionnaire surveys on the residents' preferences are used for the analyses. The stakeholders were provided with the results during a 5-year period, through more than 30 co-learning events, e.g., symposiums, seminars, and workshops. A total of ca. 1400 participants from residents, local industries, public organizations, and a high school joined these events. These opportunities gradually converted the concerns of the local stakeholders on their future regional energy systems into expectations and yielded constructive alternatives in technology implementation that can use the locally available resources. The changes in residents’ mind set through the co-learning processes induced by the contributions of the outsiders, providing professional insights acquired from the analyses and through the interactions with local stakeholders were examined in this study. This study demonstrates that the holistic incorporation of scientific technology assessments into co-learning can help coordinate the collaboration between researchers and local stakeholders toward regional transformation.
Nuclear Factor I/A Controls A-fiber Nociceptor Development
Authors: Qi Lu , Yin Guangjuan , Zhang Yongchao , Tao Yeqi , Wu Xiaohua , Gronostajski Richard M. , Qiu Mengsheng , Liu Yang 
Published: March 2020

AbstractNoxious mechanical information is transmitted through molecularly distinct nociceptors, with pinprick-evoked sharp sensitivityviaA-fiber nociceptors marked by developmental expression of the neuropeptide Y receptor 2 (Npy2r) and von Frey filament-evoked punctate pressure informationviaunmyelinated C fiber nociceptors marked by MrgprD. However, the molecular programs controlling their development are only beginning to be understood. Here we demonstrate that Npy2r-expressing sensory neurons are in fact divided into two groups, based on transient or persistent Npy2r expression. Npy2r-transient neurons are myelinated, likely including A-fiber nociceptors, whereas Npy2r-persistent ones belong to unmyelinated pruriceptors that co-express Nppb. We then showed that the transcription factors NFIA and Runx1 are necessary for the development of Npy2r-transient A-fiber nociceptors and MrgprD+C-fiber nociceptors, respectively. Behaviorally, mice with conditional knockout ofNfia, but notRunx1showed a marked attenuation of pinprick-evoked nocifensive responses. Our studies therefore identify a transcription factor controlling the development of myelinated nociceptors.
The CD40-CD40L Dyad as Immunotherapeutic Target in Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Bosmans Laura A. , Bosch Lena , Kusters Pascal J.H. , Lutgens Esther , Seijkens Tom T.P. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractChronic inflammation drives the development of atherosclerosis. Despite optimal treatment of classical cardiovascular risk factors, a substantial portion of the population has elevated inflammatory biomarkers and develops atherosclerosis-related complications, indicating that a residual inflammatory risk drives atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in these patients. Additional anti-inflammatory therapeutic strategies are therefore required. The co-stimulatory molecule CD40 and its ligand CD40L (CD154) have a central role in the regulation of the inflammatory response during the development of atherosclerosis by modulating the interaction between immune cells and between immune cells and non-immune cells. In this review, we discuss the role of the CD40-CD40L dyad in atherosclerosis, and we discuss recent studies on the therapeutic potential of novel CD40-CD40L targeting strategies in cardiovascular medicine.
Prognostic impact of a tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte subtype in triple negative cancer of the breast
Authors: Jamiyan Tsengelmaa , Kuroda Hajime , Yamaguchi Rin , Nakazato Yoshimasa , Noda Shuhei , Onozaki Masato , Abe Akihito , Hayashi Mitsuhiro 
Published: March 2020

AbstractBackgroundTumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have recently been reported as an important factor in the tumor microenvironment and influence the growth and progression of cancer. However, the relationship between immune cell subpopulations, such as CD4+, CD8+, and FOXP3+, in breast cancer, especially in triple negative carcinoma (TNC), remains unclear.MethodsThe subjects were 107 patients with TNC that were surgically resected at Dokkyo Medical University Hospital between 2006 and 2018. The expression of CD4+, CD8+, and FOXP3+ was evaluated in TILs and expressed as the numbers of positive cells.ResultsUnivariate analysis revealed that the TILs were not prognostically significant. In multivariate analyses, increased infiltration of intratumoral (i) CD4+ TILs was found to have a good prognosis in relapse-free survival (RFS). In contrast, a high stromal CD8+ TILs level was found to be a favorable prognostic factor in RFS (p = 0.038) and overall survival (OS) (p = 0.046). A low sFOXP3 + TILs level was significantly associated with favorable RFS (p < 0.001) and OS (p = 0.029).ConclusionsThe present study demonstrated no difference in TILs and survival in TNC. However, there was a significant correlation in prognosis with levels of iCD4+, sCD8+, and sFOXP3 + TILs in TNC. The difference in TNC clinical outcome may be due to the subtype of the infiltrating TILs.
Towards A Peaceful Society: Job Involvement of Personnel of the Nigerian Police and Some Human Activator Variables
Authors: Ogunyemi A. O. , Fasanmi S. S. , Adesoye E. O. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractJob involvement is a relatively recent construct that could enhance employee performance. Previous research findings have shown strong associations between job involvement and organizational productivity, but very few studies have been conducted to examine the link between job involvement and some human activator variables (perceived organizational justice, organizational support, and group efficacy) among employees in Nigerian organizations. This study therefore employed a correlational design to investigate this link using 200 personnel of the Nigerian police chosen through disproportional stratified sampling. Results suggest that job involvement correlates significantly with the three predictor variables: procedural justice, perceived organizational support, and group efficacy. It was also found out that and the predictor variables accounted for 52.2% of the variance in the job involvement among Nigerian Police Force. It was recommended, among other things, that psychological intervention programmes that could enhance job involvement of Nigerian police personnel be introduced by government.
Local atomic decompositions for multidimensional Hardy spaces
Authors: Kania-Strojec Edyta , Plewa Paweł , Preisner Marcin 
Published: March 2020

AbstractWe consider a nonnegative self-adjoint operator L on $$L^2(X)$$

L
2

(
X
)

, where $$X\subseteq {{\mathbb {R}}}^d$$

X
⊆

R

d

. Under certain assumptions, we prove atomic characterizations of the Hardy space $$\begin{aligned} H^1(L) = \left\{ f\in L^1(X) \ : \ \left\| \sup _{t>0} \left| \exp (-tL)f \right| \right\| _{L^1(X)}<\infty \right\} . \end{aligned}$$

H
1

(
L
)

=

f
∈

L
1

(
X
)

:

sup

t
>
0

exp
(
-
t
L
)
f

L
1

(
X
)

<
∞

.

We state simple conditions, such that $$H^1(L)$$

H
1

(
L
)

is characterized by atoms being either the classical atoms on $$X\subseteq {\mathbb {R}^d}$$

X
⊆

R

d

or local atoms of the form $$|Q|^{-1}\chi _Q$$

|
Q
|

-
1

χ
Q

, where $$Q\subseteq X$$

Q
⊆
X

is a cube (or cuboid). One of our main motivation is to study multidimensional operators related to orthogonal expansions. We prove that if two operators $$L_1, L_2$$

L
1

,

L
2

satisfy the assumptions of our theorem, then the sum $$L_1 + L_2$$

L
1

+

L
2

also does. As a consequence, we give atomic characterizations for multidimensional Bessel, Laguerre, and Schrödinger operators. As a by-product, under the same assumptions, we characterize $$H^1(L)$$

H
1

(
L
)

also by the maximal operator related to the subordinate semigroup $$\exp (-tL^\nu )$$

exp
(
-
t

L
ν

)

, where $$\nu \in (0,1)$$

ν
∈
(
0
,
1
)

.
Surface- and volume-based investigation on influences of different Varestraint testing parameters and chemical compositions on solidification cracking in LTT filler metals
Authors: Thomas Maximilian , Vollert Florian , Weidemann Jens , Gibmeier Jens , Kromm Arne , Kannengießer Thomas 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThe subject of this study is how, and to what extent, Varestraint/Transvarestraint test results are influenced by both testing parameters and characteristics of evaluation methods. Several different high-alloyed martensitic LTT (low transformation temperature) filler materials, CrNi and CrMn type, were selected for examination due to their rather distinctive solidification cracking behaviour, which aroused interest after previous studies. First, the effects of different process parameter sets on the solidification cracking response were measured using standard approaches. Subsequently, microfocus X-ray computer tomography (μCT) scans were performed on the specimens. The results consistently show sub-surface cracking to significant yet varying extents. Different primary solidification types were found using wavelength dispersive X-ray (WDX) analysis conducted on filler metals with varying Cr/Ni equivalent ratios. This aspect is regarded as the main difference between the CrNi- and CrMn-type materials in matters of cracking characteristics. Results show that when it comes to testing of modern high-performance alloys, one set of standard Varestraint testing parameters might not be equally suitable for all materials. Also, to properly accommodate different solidification types, sub-surface cracking has to be taken into account.