bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Commercialisation of Rice Farming in Northeast Thailand
Authors: Suebpongsang Pornsiri , Ekasingh Benchaphun , Cramb Rob 
Published: January 2020

AbstractRice has been central to the culture, economy, and politics of Thailand for more than a millennium, reflecting both the suitability of the natural environment for rice production and the historical origins of Thai agriculture in the migrations of rice-growing populations from southern China. Despite the growth of other agricultural industries since the 1960s and a decline in rice consumption per capita as incomes have grown, rice remains the dominant agricultural industry. For most of the post-war period Thailand has been the world’s largest exporter of rice, until being overtaken by India in 2017. Thai rice is renowned for its quality, including white rice and Thai fragrant or jasmine rice. Whereas the Central Region remains the largest producer of rice for the domestic and export markets, this chapter focuses on the Northeast Region, which lies within the Lower Mekong Basin. It is the high profitability of jasmine rice and the productivity of a related glutinous variety (RD6) that has permitted widespread commercialisation in the Northeast since the 1980s, lifting many rural households out of poverty. We analyse the broad trends in the commercialisation of rice farming in the Northeast in the context of the country as a whole, considering production, marketing, and policy dimensions.
Cross-Border Trade in Sticky Rice from Central Laos to North Central Vietnam
Authors: The Anh Dao , Cong Nghiep Pham 
Published: January 2020

AbstractSticky rice is widely consumed in Vietnam alongside conventional rice, as well as in processed foods. Though sticky rice is an established product in Quang Tri Province, the total output is currently not enough to supply the domestic demand within the province, let alone from other provinces. Given that Quang Tri has access through the Lao Bao Border Gate to one of the largest rice-producing provinces in Laos, where most production is sticky rice, and through the East-West Corridor to Northeast Thailand, which also produces large quantities of sticky rice, it has become a conduit for cross-border trade in this commodity. Nearly 29,000 t of sticky rice was imported through this gate in 2010. Almost all (95%) came through formal trade channels—labelled in Laos with a certificate of product origin, sold to registered enterprises in Vietnam with import permits, checked for food safety and quality standards, and subject to an annual quota. No duty was incurred on these quota imports. The remaining 5% entered in small lots via informal channels. Vietnam has many policies affecting the production and consumption of rice, which also have an impact on sticky rice production and distribution. These policies aim to ensure supply to the domestic market, improve the incomes of rice farmers, and increase foreign exchange earnings through exports. In this context, domestic production of sticky rice is likely to increase; hence the potential for expanding the cross-border trade from Laos is thought to be quite limited.
Adapting the Green Revolution for Laos
Authors: Williams Liana , Cramb Rob 
Published: January 2020

AbstractInitial efforts to introduce Green Revolution practices met obstacles in Laos due to the Vietnam War, early attempt to collectivise agricultural production, and limited investment in agricultural research. Faced with ongoing food shortages, the government embraced agricultural modernisation but lacked the resources to implement it. From 1990 to 2007, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Government of Laos built the nation’s capacity in rice research and developed improved varieties suitable to Lao farming conditions. The program has been credited with bringing the Green Revolution to Laos, supporting increases in rice production to levels of national self-sufficiency, and building national research capacity. This chapter traces the history and processes that have seen the development, use, and spread of improved rice varieties throughout Laos, particularly in the lowlands of the Central and Southern Regions. This history represents a departure from the Green Revolution narratives of other Southeast Asian countries, where the development and use of improved varieties was predicated on access to irrigation and fertiliser and favoured yield over other qualities like taste or aroma. Instead, efforts to improve rice production in Laos emphasised plant breeding based on local conditions and preferences—low input, rainfed production of sticky rice—and built the capacity of Lao institutions and researchers to continue rice breeding after formal project efforts ceased.
Rainfed and Irrigated Rice Farming on the Savannakhet Plain
Authors: Sacklokham Silinthone , Chialue Lytoua , Yang Fue 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe aim of this survey was to characterise rice production in the Savannakhet Plain, which has long been a major rice bowl for Laos. Though situated in this generally favourable environment for rice, the survey villages encompassed a variety of agroecosystems. Upper paddies with sandy soils were drought-prone and without irrigation, hence could only support wet-season rice with lower yields. Lower paddies were more fertile and often had access to pump irrigation from rivers, canals, or ponds; hence, they could often support wet- and dry-season rice crops with somewhat higher yields. Lower paddies along the floodplain of the Champhone River also had fertile soils but were frequently flooded in the wet season; hence, only dry-season rice could be cultivated. The villages had different combinations of these agroecosystems, affecting their surplus-producing potential. The survey shows that, even with low yields and low returns, rice production in the Savannakhet Plain can generate a sizeable surplus for marketing within Laos and internationally. However, farmers are going to remain poor unless they can achieve higher yields and obtain higher and more stable prices. Low incomes will increase the incentives for younger household members to migrate to Vientiane or to Thailand for employment, adding to the shortage of farm labour. Nevertheless, given its comparative advantage in rice production, the Savannakhet Plain is a good focal area for increased investment in research, extension, input supply, mechanisation, and infrastructure to boost productivity and farm incomes.
Unitarization from geometry
Authors: Bonifacio James , Hinterbichler Kurt 
Published: January 2020

AbstractWe study the perturbative unitarity of scattering amplitudes in general dimensional reductions of Yang-Mills theories and general relativity on closed internal manifolds. For the tree amplitudes of the dimensionally reduced theory to have the expected high-energy behavior of the higher-dimensional theory, the masses and cubic couplings of the Kaluza-Klein states must satisfy certain sum rules that ensure there are nontrivial cancellations between Feynman diagrams. These sum rules give constraints on the spectra and triple overlap integrals of eigenfunctions of Laplacian operators on the internal manifold and can be proven directly using Hodge and eigenfunction decompositions. One consequence of these constraints is that there is an upper bound on the ratio of consecutive eigenvalues of the scalar Laplacian on closed Ricci-flat manifolds with special holonomy. This gives a sharp bound on the allowed gaps between Kaluza-Klein excitations of the graviton that also applies to Calabi-Yau compactifications of string theory.
Differentiating factors of intra-articular injectables have a meaningful impact on knee osteoarthritis outcomes: a network meta-analysis
Authors: Phillips Mark , Vannabouathong Christopher , Devji Tahira , Patel Rahil , Gomes Zoya , Patel Ashaka , Dixon Mykaelah , Bhandari Mohit 
Published: January 2020

AbstractPurposeThere are a number of developments in intra-articular therapies that have been determined to be differentiating factors within the classes of treatments. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of intra-articular treatments of primary knee osteoarthritis in the short term (3 months follow-up), using a network meta-analysis design, while taking within-class differentiating factors into consideration.MethodsA literature search of MEDLINE (through OVID), EMBASE (through OVID), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for all trials comparing intra-articular therapies was conducted on November 12, 2018. The treatments assessed were high molecular weight and low molecular weight hyaluronic acid injections, extended-release corticosteroids, standard-release corticosteroids, platelet-rich plasma, and saline. A frequentist network meta-analysis was conducted for each outcome.ResultsSixty-four articles (9710 patients) met the inclusion criteria. High molecular weight hyaluronic acid (− 0.53, 95% CI − 0.81 to − 0.25) and PRP (− 0.79, 95% CI − 1.32 to − 0.26) were the only treatments with a confidence interval that lay completely above the MID threshold; however, PRP results varied within sensitivity analyses. For the function analysis, high molecular weight hyaluronic acid (SMD − 0.76, 95% CI − 1.30 to − 0.22) was the only treatment with a confidence interval entirely above the MID. Extended-release corticosteroid demonstrated a possible benefit in functional improvement (SMD − 0.98, 95% CI − 1.79 to − 0.17) compared to that of standard-release corticosteroid (SMD − 0.14, 95% CI − 0.72 to 0.44).ConclusionHigh molecular weight HA was the only treatment to surpass the MID for both pain and function outcomes. Extended-release corticosteroids may provide additional clinical benefit over standard-release corticosteroids. Platelet-rich plasma demonstrated possibly beneficial results; however, wide confidence intervals and sensitivity analyses made the conclusions of efficacy uncertain.Level of evidenceLevel 1. Systematic review of level 1 evidence.
The pitfalls and promise of liquid biopsies for diagnosing and treating solid tumors in children: a review
Authors: Van Paemel Ruben , Vlug Roos , De Preter Katleen , Van Roy Nadine , Speleman Frank , Willems Leen , Lammens Tim , Laureys Geneviève , Schleiermacher Gudrun , Tytgat Godelieve A. M. , Astrahantseff Kathy , Deubzer Hedwig , De Wilde Bram 
Published: January 2020

AbstractCell-free DNA profiling using patient blood is emerging as a non-invasive complementary technique for cancer genomic characterization. Since these liquid biopsies will soon be integrated into clinical trial protocols for pediatric cancer treatment, clinicians should be informed about potential applications and advantages but also weaknesses and potential pitfalls. Small retrospective studies comparing genetic alterations detected in liquid biopsies with tumor biopsies for pediatric solid tumor types are encouraging. Molecular detection of tumor markers in cell-free DNA could be used for earlier therapy response monitoring and residual disease detection as well as enabling detection of pathognomonic and therapeutically relevant genomic alterations.Conclusion: Existing analyses of liquid biopsies from children with solid tumors increasingly suggest a potential relevance for molecular diagnostics, prognostic assessment, and therapeutic decision-making. Gaps remain in the types of tumors studied and value of detection methods applied. Here we review the current stand of liquid biopsy studies for pediatric solid tumors with a dedicated focus on cell-free DNA analysis. There is legitimate hope that integrating fully validated liquid biopsy–based innovations into the standard of care will advance patient monitoring and personalized treatment of children battling solid cancers.

What is Known:• Liquid biopsies are finding their way into routine oncological screening, diagnosis, and disease monitoring in adult cancer types fast.• The most widely adopted source for liquid biopsies is blood although other easily accessible body fluids, such as saliva, pleural effusions, urine, or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) can also serve as sources for liquid biopsies

What is New:• Retrospective proof-of-concept studies in small cohorts illustrate that liquid biopsies in pediatric solid tumors yield tremendous potential to be used in diagnostics, for therapy response monitoring and in residual disease detection.• Liquid biopsy diagnostics could tackle some long-standing issues in the pediatric oncology field; they can enable accurate genetic diagnostics in previously unbiopsied tumor types like renal tumors or brain stem tumors leading to better treatment strategies
Local Public Corruption and Bank Lending Activity in the United States
Authors: Bermpei Theodora , Kalyvas Antonios Nikolaos , Leonida Leone 
Published: January 2020

AbstractUsing a conviction-based measure, we find that local (state-level) public corruption exerts a negative effect on the lending activity of US banks. Our baseline estimations show that the difference in public corruption between, for example, Alabama, where corruption is high, and Minnesota, where corruption is low, implies that banks headquartered in the former state grant 0.55% less credit (or $3.52 million for the average bank) ceteris paribus. Using proxies for relationship lending and monitoring, we also find that these bank characteristics weaken the negative effect of public corruption on lending. These results are robust to tests that address endogeneity, to the use of perception-based measures of corruption, and after controlling for credit demand conditions. In further analysis, we show that these effects are more evident for smaller banks and banks operating in a single state. These findings provide evidence that public corruption could facilitate information asymmetry in the lending market and, thus, could hinder local development by reducing bank credit.
Decomposing supply-side and demand-side impacts of climate change on the US electricity system through 2050
Authors: Steinberg Daniel C. , Mignone Bryan K. , Macknick Jordan , Sun Yinong , Eurek Kelly , Badger Andrew , Livneh Ben , Averyt Kristen 
Published: January 2020

AbstractClimate change may affect the US electricity system through changes in electricity demand, mediated by increases in average surface temperature, and through changes in electricity supply, mediated by changes in both surface temperature and regional water availability. By coupling projections from four general circulation models (GCMs) with a state-of-the-art US electricity system model—the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS)—this study evaluates both the isolated and combined effects of different climate-mediated drivers of US electricity system change through 2050. Comparing results across climate models allows us to evaluate which effects are robust to uncertainty in projected climate outcomes. Comparing effects of different drivers in isolation and in combination allows us to determine the relative contributions of the climate-mediated effects on system evolution. Our results indicate that national-level energy and economic impacts are largely driven by increases in electricity demand that follow from a consistent increase in surface air temperature that is largely robust to the choice of climate model. Other electricity system changes can be equally or more significant in some regions, but these effects are more regionally variable, less significant when aggregated to the national scale, and less robust to the choice of climate model. The findings show that the impacts of climate change on the electricity system can be understood in terms of fewer drivers and with greater certainty at the national level than at the regional level.
Fresh perspectives on TPACK: pre-service teachers’ own appraisal of their challenging and confident TPACK areas
Authors: Valtonen Teemu , Leppänen Ulla , Hyypiä Mareena , Sointu Erkko , Smits Anneke , Tondeur Jo 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe present study is an extension of studies that measure pre-service teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) confidence. It provides new perspectives on pre-service teachers’ TPACK by shifting the focus to concrete concerns and strengths indicated by pre-service teachers. The target group consists of a cohort of first-year pre-service teachers (N = 86) from a Finnish university. The data used in this study were 86 lesson plans with integrated technology written by first-year pre-service teachers, with a specific section where students outlined their confident and challenging areas in the lesson plan. These sections were analysed quantitatively through the theoretical lens of TPACK. Four TPACK areas were found confident, challenging or both confident and challenging for students. For these first-year pre-service teachers, pedagogical knowledge played the most important role, and the outcomes concretize specific aspects of pedagogical knowledge that can be addressed to develop TPACK in teacher education. The results provide important perspectives on pre-service-teachers’ development of TPACK, revealing the important position of pedagogical knowledge and detailed perspectives on how pre-service teachers view their readiness to use ICT in education.
Primary Physical Science for Student Teachers at Kindergarten and Primary School Levels: Part I—Foundations of an Imaginative Approach to Physical Science
Authors: Corni Federico , Fuchs Hans U. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThis is a theoretical paper in which we describe the motivation for and the design of a novel primary physics course for student teachers at kindergarten and primary school levels that uses cognitive tools such as metaphor, analogy, and narrative. The course has been taught in the master’s program in teacher education at three Universities over the last 5 years. It is based upon a model of the experience of forces of nature that draws upon four existing frameworks in physics, narratology, cognitive linguistics, and a theory of the development of cognitive tools. In short, the course is created upon the foundations of an imaginative, metaphoric and narrative, approach to physical science in general and to forces of nature in particular. Student teachers who learn science based upon this model can more directly relate to how children themselves experience nature and become confident narrators of stories of forces of nature. We describe the notion of Force of Nature (“The Gestalt of Force of Nature”) and explain what we mean by cognitive tools (“Cognitive Tools: Tools of Imagination”) before showing in what sense modern macroscopic physics is both metaphoric and narrative at its core (“An Imaginative Approach to Physical Science”). In “A Systemic Imaginative Approach to Primary Physics”, we give an outline of what is needed in order to apply the approach to a course for primary physics for student teachers. In the final section, we will discuss some questions and challenges raised by this approach and show that it is a viable avenue to bringing together science and the humanities, both for research and for teaching.
Sociodemographic, personal, and disease-related determinants of referral to patient-reported outcome-based follow-up of remote outpatients: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Schougaard Liv Marit Valen , de Thurah Annette , Christensen Jakob , Lomborg Kirsten , Maindal Helle Terkildsen , Mejdahl Caroline Trillingsgaard , Vestergaard Jesper Medom , Winding Trine Nøhr , Biering Karin , Hjollund Niels Henrik 
Published: January 2020

AbstractPurposeWe examined the association between sociodemographic, personal, and disease-related determinants and referral to a new model of health care that uses patient-reported outcomes (PRO) measures for remote outpatient follow-up (PRO-based follow-up).MethodsWe conducted a prospective cohort study among outpatients with epilepsy at the Department of Neurology at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. Included were all persons aged ≥ 15 years visiting the department for the first time during the period from May 2016 to May 2018. Patients received a questionnaire containing questions about health literacy, self-efficacy, patient activation, well-being, and general health. We also collected data regarding sociodemographic status, labour market affiliation, and co-morbidity from nationwide registers. Associations were analysed as time-to-event using the pseudo-value approach. Missing data were handled using multiple imputations.ResultsA total of 802 eligible patients were included in the register-based analyses and 411 patients (51%) responded to the questionnaire. The results based on data from registers indicated that patients were less likely to be referred to PRO-based follow-up if they lived alone, had low education or household income, received temporary or permanent social benefits, or if they had a psychiatric diagnosis. The results based on data from the questionnaire indicated that patients were less likely to be referred to PRO-based follow-up if they reported low levels of health literacy, self-efficacy, patient activation, well-being, or general health.ConclusionBoth self-reported and register-based analyses indicated that socioeconomically advantaged patients were referred more often to PRO-based follow-up than socioeconomically disadvantaged patients.
“Don’t leave me this way!” Drivers of parental hostility and employee spin-offs’ performance
Authors: Vaznyte Egle , Andries Petra , Demeulemeester Sarah 
Published: January 2020

AbstractMany entrepreneurs commercialize an idea they initially developed as employees of an incumbent firm. While some face retaliatory reactions from their (former) employer, others are left alone or even supported. It is not clear, however, why some employee spin-offs face parental hostility while others do not, and to what extent this parental hostility affects employee spin-offs’ performance. Integrating the resource-based view with insights on competition and retaliation, we propose that parental hostility increases with the (perceived) competitive threat posed by an employee spin-off. Specifically, we advance employee spin-offs’ initial strategic actions (offering substitute products, hiring employees of the parent, and attempting to first develop the idea inside the parent) as key drivers of parental hostility and consequent spin-off performance. Results from a pooled dataset of 1083 employee spin-offs in Germany confirm that these initial strategic actions trigger parental hostility, which in turn, and contrary to expectations, positively affects employee spin-offs’ innovation and economic performance. These results advance the literature on employee spin-offs in several ways and have important practical implications.