bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Shifts in soil microbial stoichiometry and metabolic quotient provide evidence for a critical tipping point at 1% soil organic carbon in an agricultural post-mining chronosequence
Authors: Clayton Jessica , Lemanski Kathleen , Bonkowski Michael 
Published: January 2021

AbstractSoil microbial C:N:P stoichiometry and microbial maintenance respiration (i.e. metabolic quotient, qCO2) were monitored along a nutrient gradient in soils from a 52-year space-for-time chronosequence of reclaimed agricultural land after brown-coal mining. Land reclamation produced loess soils of initially low (0.2%) SOC. Consecutive agricultural land management led to a gradual recovery of SOC contents. Our data revealed sudden shifts in microbial stoichiometry and metabolic quotient with increasing SOC at a critical value of 1% SOC. As SOC increased, accrual rate of C into microbial biomass decreased, whereas microbial N increased. Simultaneously, metabolic quotient strongly decreased with increasing SOC until the same critical value of 1% SOC and remained at a constant low thereafter. The microbial fractions of the soil in samples containing < 1% SOC were out of stoichiometric equilibrium and were inefficient at immobilising C due to high maintenance respiration. Increasing SOC above the threshold value shifted the soil microbes towards a new equilibrium where N became growth limiting, leading to a more efficient acquisition of C. The shift in microbial N accrual was preluded by high variation in microbial biomass N in soils containing 0.5–0.9% SOC indicative of a regime shift between microbial stoichiometric equilibria. Our data may help in establishing a quantitative framework for SOC targets that, along with agricultural intensification, may better support feedback mechanisms for a sustainable accrual of C in soils.
Evaluation of two rapid antigen tests to detect SARS-CoV-2 in a hospital setting
Authors: Osterman Andreas , Baldauf Hanna-Mari , Eletreby Marwa , Wettengel Jochen M. , Afridi Suliman Q. , Fuchs Thimo , Holzmann Elena , Maier Anton , Döring Johanna , Grzimek-Koschewa Natascha , Muenchhoff Maximilian , Protzer Ulrike , Kaderali Lars , Keppler Oliver T. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractSuccessful containment strategies for the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic will depend on reliable diagnostic assays. Point-of-care antigen tests (POCT) may provide an alternative to time-consuming PCR tests to rapidly screen for acute infections on site. Here, we evaluated two SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests: the STANDARD™ F COVID-19 Ag FIA (FIA) and the SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Test (RAT). For diagnostic assessment, we used a large set of PCR-positive and PCR-negative respiratory swabs from asymptomatic and symptomatic patients and health care workers in the setting of two University Hospitals in Munich, Germany, i.e. emergency rooms, patient care units or employee test centers. For FIA, overall clinical sensitivity and specificity were 45.4% (n = 381) and 97.8% (n = 360), respectively, and for RAT, 50.3% (n = 445) and 97.7% (n = 386), respectively. For primary diagnosis of asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals, diagnostic sensitivities were 60.9% (FIA) (n = 189) and 64.5% (RAT) (n = 256). This questions these tests’ utility for the reliable detection of acute SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals, in particular in high-risk settings. We support the proposal that convincing high-quality outcome data on the impact of false-negative and false-positive antigen test results need to be obtained in a POCT setting. Moreover, the efficacy of alternative testing strategies to complement PCR assays must be evaluated by independent laboratories, prior to widespread implementation in national and international test strategies.
The general data protection regulation, the clinical trial regulation and some complex interplay in paediatric clinical trials
Authors: Dalrymple H. W. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractAlthough a number of authors have commented upon the impact of the GDPR on clinical trial conduct, few have examined the specific setting of paediatric trials. Whilst the general principles are the same as those for adults, some additional considerations arise. The ages of consent relating to data privacy and clinical trial participation are different in a number of countries, but the distinction is often not recognised in non-drug trials. Accidental pregnancies in clinical trials always raise complexities, but these are amplified when the trial subject is a minor, and the processes described in clinical trial protocols rarely take account of GDPR requirements. This paper describes approaches which can be taken to ensure the rights of children are respected.Conclusion: The conduct of paediatric clinical trials within GDPR requirements is quite possible provided authors think carefully when drafting protocols.

What is Known:•GDPR is applicable to clinical trials, including paediatric trials.•A number of challenges at the interface between the GDPR and CTR have been described.

What is New:•The application of the GDPR to certain specific situations in paediatric trials does not appear to have been explored.•Three such situations are described and solutions offered.
Generalisation and robustness investigation for facial and speech emotion recognition using bio-inspired spiking neural networks
Authors: Mansouri-Benssassi Esma , Ye Juan 
Published: January 2021

AbstractEmotion recognition through facial expression and non-verbal speech represents an important area in affective computing. They have been extensively studied from classical feature extraction techniques to more recent deep learning approaches. However, most of these approaches face two major challenges: (1) robustness—in the face of degradation such as noise, can a model still make correct predictions? and (2) cross-dataset generalisation—when a model is trained on one dataset, can it be used to make inference on another dataset?. To directly address these challenges, we first propose the application of a spiking neural network (SNN) in predicting emotional states based on facial expression and speech data, then investigate, and compare their accuracy when facing data degradation or unseen new input. We evaluate our approach on third-party, publicly available datasets and compare to the state-of-the-art techniques. Our approach demonstrates robustness to noise, where it achieves an accuracy of 56.2% for facial expression recognition (FER) compared to 22.64% and 14.10% for CNN and SVM, respectively, when input images are degraded with the noise intensity of 0.5, and the highest accuracy of 74.3% for speech emotion recognition (SER) compared to 21.95% of CNN and 14.75% for SVM when audio white noise is applied. For generalisation, our approach achieves consistently high accuracy of 89% for FER and 70% for SER in cross-dataset evaluation and suggests that it can learn more effective feature representations, which lead to good generalisation of facial features and vocal characteristics across subjects.
COVID-19 and the rise of virtual medicine in spine surgery: a worldwide study
Authors: Swiatek Peter R. , Weiner Joseph A. , Johnson Daniel J. , Louie Philip K. , McCarthy Michael H. , Harada Garrett K. , Germscheid Niccole , Cheung Jason P. Y. , Neva Marko H. , El-Sharkawi Mohammad , Valacco Marcelo , Sciubba Daniel M. , Chutkan Norman B. , An Howard S. , Samartzis Dino 
Published: January 2021

AbstractPurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic forced many surgeons to adopt “virtual medicine” practices, defined as telehealth services for patient care and online platforms for continuing medical education. The purpose of this study was to assess spine surgeon reliance on virtual medicine during the pandemic and to discuss the future of virtual medicine in spine surgery.MethodsA comprehensive survey addressing demographic data and virtual medicine practices was distributed to spine surgeons worldwide between March 27, 2020, and April 4, 2020.Results902 spine surgeons representing seven global regions responded. 35.6% of surgeons were identified as “high telehealth users,” conducting more than half of clinic visits virtually. Predictors of high telehealth utilization included working in an academic practice (OR = 1.68,p = 0.0015) and practicing in Europe/North America (OR 3.42,p < 0.0001). 80.1% of all surgeons were interested in online education. Dedicating more than 25% of one’s practice to teaching (OR = 1.89,p = 0.037) predicted increased interest in online education. 26.2% of respondents were identified as “virtual medicine surgeons,” defined as surgeons with both high telehealth usage and increased interest in online education. Living in Europe/North America and practicing in an academic practice increased odds of being a virtual medicine surgeon by 2.28 (p = 0.002) and 1.15 (p = 0.0082), respectively. 93.8% of surgeons reported interest in a centralized platform facilitating surgeon-to-surgeon communication.ConclusionCOVID-19 has changed spine surgery by triggering rapid adoption of virtual medicine practices. The demonstrated global interest in virtual medicine suggests that it may become part of the “new normal” for surgeons in the post-pandemic era.
Antifungal activity of MAF-1A peptide against Candida albicans
Authors: Cheng Rong , Xu Qiang , Hu Fangfang , Li Hongling , Yang Bin , Duan Zonggang , Zhang Kai , Wu Jianwei , Li Wei , Luo Zhenhua 
Published: January 2021

AbstractInvasive candidiasis is a major threat to human health, and Candida albicans is the most common pathogenic species responsible for this condition. The incidence of drug-resistant strains of C. albicans is rising, necessitating the development of new antifungal drugs. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have recently attracted attention due to their unique ability to evade the drug resistance of microorganisms. However, the mechanism of their activity has not yet been identified. The current study analyzed the mode of action of MAF-1A by confocal microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, fluorescent staining, flow cytometry, and qRT-PCR. The results indicate that MAF-1A disrupts the cell membrane of C. albicans and enters the cell where it binds and interacts with nucleic acids. qRT-PCR demonstrated that the expression of several sterol biosynthesis–related genes in C. albicans was increased after MAF-1A treatment. Together, these findings suggest that MAF-1A exerts antifungal action by affecting both the cell membrane and intracellular components. The antifungal mechanism of MAF-1A is unique, and its identification has great research and clinical significance.
Web access monitoring mechanism via Android WebView for threat analysis
Authors: Imamura Yuta , Orito Rintaro , Uekawa Hiroyuki , Chaikaew Kritsana , Leelaprute Pattara , Sato Masaya , Yamauchi Toshihiro 
Published: January 2021

AbstractMany Android apps employ WebView, a component that enables the display of web content in the apps without redirecting users to web browser apps. However, WebView might also be used for cyberattacks. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, although some countermeasures based on access control have been reported for attacks exploiting WebView, no mechanism for monitoring web access via WebView has been proposed and no analysis results focusing on web access via WebView are available. In consideration of this limitation, we propose a web access monitoring mechanism for Android WebView to analyze web access via WebView and clarify attacks exploiting WebView. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of this mechanism by modifying Chromium WebView without any modifications to the Android framework or Linux kernel. The evaluation results of the performance achieved on introducing the proposed mechanism are also presented here. Moreover, the result of threat analysis of displaying a fake virus alert while browsing websites on Android is discussed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed mechanism.
Interference mitigation: impact on GNSS timing
Authors: Borio Daniele , Gioia Ciro 
Published: January 2021

AbstractWhile interference mitigation techniques can significantly improve the performance of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver in the presence of jamming, they can also introduce distortions, biases and delays on the GNSS measurements and on the final receiver solution. We analyze the impact of five interference mitigation techniques on the solution provided by a GNSS timing receiver that operates in a known location and under static conditions. In this configuration, the receiver only estimates its clock bias and drift, which can be potentially affected by interference mitigation. The analysis has been performed considering a multiconstellation case, including GPS L1 Coarse Acquisition (C/A), Galileo E1b/c and Beidou B1c signals. Tests were also conducted on the wideband Galileo E5b modulation. In all cases, real jammers were used to challenge GNSS signal reception. The techniques analyzed are four Robust Interference Mitigation (RIM) approaches and the Adaptive Notch Filter (ANF). From the analysis, it emerges that RIM techniques do not affect the receiver clock bias and drift. On the other hand, the ANF introduces a modulation-dependent delay on the clock bias. This delay is difficult to predict and is common to signals adopting modulations with similar spectral characteristics. In this respect, interoperable signals such as the Galileo E1b/c and Beidou B1c components are affected in the same way by the ANF, which leaves the Galileo–Beidou intersystem bias unaltered. Stability analysis has also been performed: interference mitigation does not significantly increase the short-term characteristics of the estimated clock bias and drift for low jamming levels.
Feuer frei auf das Wolfsrudel?
Authors: Gläß Anne-Christin , Brade Alexander 
Published: January 2021

ZusammenfassungDer vorliegende Beitrag widmet sich dem Zweiten Gesetz zur Änderung des Bundesnaturschutzgesetzes
(BNatSchG), das am 13.3.2020 in Kraft getreten ist. Dabei gibt es berechtigte Zweifel, ob es sein eigentliches
Ziel erreichen wird: durch eine bundeseinheitliche Regelung – einzelnen landesspezifischen Rechtsverordnungen
nachfolgend – Rechtssicherheit für die Erteilung artenschutzrechtlicher Ausnahmegenehmigungen
zu schaffen und so den Vollzug zu erleichtern. Die Änderungen, allen voran der neu ins Gesetz aufgenommene
§45a Abs. 2 BNatSchG, werfen die Frage nach der Vereinbarkeit mit dem Unionsrecht (neu) auf. Dies
gilt besonders im Lichte der jüngsten Rechtsprechung des EuGH, der mit Urteilen vom 10.10.2019 und
11.6.2020 nochmals den hohen Wert des Artenschutzes und die daraus folgenden Verpflichtungen für den
Umgang mit dem Wolf hervorgehoben hat.
Heavy traffic analysis for single-server SRPT and LRPT queues via EDF diffusion limits
Authors: Kruk Łukasz 
Published: January 2021

AbstractExtending the results of Kruk (Queueing theory and network applications. QTNA 2019. Lecture notes in computer science, vol 11688. Springer, Cham, pp 263–275, 2019), we derive heavy traffic limit theorems for a single server, single customer class queue in which the server uses the Shortest Remaining Processing Time (SRPT) policy from heavy traffic limits for the corresponding Earliest Deadline First queueing systems. Our analysis allows for correlated customer inter-arrival and service times and heavy-tailed inter-arrival and service time distributions, as long as the corresponding stochastic primitive processes converge weakly to continuous limits under heavy traffic scaling. Our approach yields simple, concise justifications and new insights for SRPT heavy traffic limit theorems of Gromoll et al. (Stoch Syst 1(1):1–16, 2011). Corresponding results for the longest remaining processing time policy are also provided.
Managing the Complexity of Dialogues in Context: A Data-Driven Discovery Method for Dialectical Reply Structures
Authors: Yaskorska-Shah Olena 
Published: January 2021

AbstractCurrent formal dialectical models postulate normative rules that enable discussants to conduct dialogical interactions without committing fallacies. Though the rules for conducting a dialogue are supposed to apply to interactions between actual arguers, they are without exception theoretically motivated. This creates a gap between model and reality, because dialogue participants typically leave important content-related elements implicit. Therefore, analysts cannot readily relate normative rules to actual debates in ways that will be empirically confirmable. This paper details a new, data-driven method for describing discussants’ actual reply structures, wherein corpus studies serve to acknowledge the complexity of natural argumentation (itself understood as a function of context). Rather than refer exclusively to propositional content as an indicator of arguing pro/contra a given claim, the proposed approach to dialogue structure tracks the sequence of dialogical moves itself. This arguably improves the applicability of theoretical dialectical models to empirical data, and thus advances the study of dialogue systems.
Should I stay, or should I go? self-legitimacy of attorneys in an authoritarian state
Authors: Khalikova Yulia , Kazun Anton 
Published: January 2021

AbstractIn non-democracies, lawyers face various constraints ranging from the absence of acquittals or violations of their clients’ rights to threats and criminal proceedings against them. Yet, we know little about the working conditions of attorneys’ in authoritarian regimes, and what influences their desire to remain in the profession. Using a survey of attorneys in Russia, our study demonstrates which factors impact the desire to stay in the profession and how self-legitimacy influences these choices. We find that the frequency of violations of their clients’ rights by law enforcement agencies undermines self-legitimacy of attorneys. In turn, this increases the attorneys’ willingness to leave the profession, which is mitigated by two factors. First, attorneys with closer contacts with their colleagues in the regional bar associations are less willing to leave the bar for other career options. Second, when such associations actively exclude their members for violations of professional ethics, bona fide attorneys are more willing to stay. Lastly, we find that the expressed desire of leaving the profession transforms into actual voluntary leave in the following year. These findings have important implications, as attorneys do not only defend their clients but can also influence the political regime, either through the mobilisation of law or engaging into collective actions with their colleagues.
Detecting Feeding Problems in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: van Dijk M. W. G. , Buruma M. E. , Blijd-Hoogewys E. M. A. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractFeeding problems are prevalent in children with ASD. We investigated whether the Montreal Children’s Hospital Feeding Scale (MCH-FS, Ramsay et al. in Pediatrics and Child Health 16:147–151, 2011) can be used for young children with ASD. Participants (1–6 years) were selected from a clinical ASD sample (n = 80) and a general population sample (n = 1389). Internal consistency was good in both samples. In general, parents of children with ASD reported more feeding problems than those from the population sample. The response patterns on the individual items was highly similar. There was a slight increase in symptoms with age in the population sample, but not in the ASD sample. These results suggest that the MCH-FS can be used in populations that include children with ASD.
Effect of dexamethasone as osteogenic supplementation in in vitro osteogenic differentiation of stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth
Authors: Sordi Mariane Beatriz , Curtarelli Raissa Borges , da Silva Izabella Thaís , Fongaro Gislaine , Benfatti Cesar Augusto Magalhães , de Souza Magini Ricardo , Cabral da Cruz Ariadne Cristiane 
Published: January 2021

AbstractIn in vitro culture systems, dexamethasone (DEX) has been applied with ascorbic acid (ASC) and β-glycerophosphate (βGLY) as culture media supplementation to induce osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. However, there are some inconsistencies regarding the role of DEX as osteogenic media supplementation. Therefore, this study verified the influence of DEX culture media supplementation on the osteogenic differentiation, especially the capacity to mineralize the extracellular matrix of stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED). Five groups were established: G1—SHED + Dulbecco’s Modified Eagles’ Medium (DMEM) + fetal bovine serum (FBS); G2—SHED + DMEM + FBS + DEX; G3—SHED + DMEM + FBS + ASC + βGLY; G4—SHED + DMEM + FBS + ASC + βGLY + DEX; G5—MC3T3-E1 + α Minimal Essential Medium (MEM) + FBS + ASC + βGLY. DNA content, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, free calcium quantification in the extracellular medium, and extracellular matrix mineralization quantification through staining with von Kossa, alizarin red, and tetracycline were performed on days 7 and 21. Osteogenic media supplemented with ASC and β-GLY demonstrated similar effects on SHED in the presence or absence of DEX for DNA content (day 21) and capacity to mineralize the extracellular matrix according to alizarin red and tetracycline quantifications (day 21). In addition, the presence of DEX in the osteogenic medium promoted less ALP activity (day 7) and extracellular matrix mineralization according to the von Kossa assay (day 21), and more free calcium quantification at extracellular medium (day 21). In summary, the presence of DEX in the osteogenic media supplementation did not interfere with SHED commitment into mineral matrix depositor cells. We suggest that DEX may be omitted from culture media supplementation for SHED osteogenic differentiation in vitro studies.
Grieving the Living: The Social Death of Former Jehovah’s Witnesses
Authors: Ransom Heather J. , Monk Rebecca L. , Heim Derek 
Published: January 2021

AbstractAddressing a relative lack of research investigating the experiences of individuals who have left the Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW), this research utilizes a social identity approach to examine qualitatively, the process of transitioning towards post-JW life, experiences of ostracism and perceived threats to self-identity. Semi-structured interviews were carried out in the homes of six former JWs, and transcripts were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Narratives suggest that experiences of ostracism following religious exit can be associated with diminished mental health, while having a sense of agency and establishing new (online) social connections may help mitigate adverse consequences. Implications and future research directions are discussed.
Genetic dissection of maize drought tolerance for trait improvement
Authors: Liu Shengxue , Qin Feng 
Published: January 2021

AbstractMaize is one of the most important crops, but its production is threatened by drought stress worldwide. Thus, increased drought tolerance has been a major goal of maize breeding. Conventional breeding strategies have led to significantly increase of maize yields; however, these strategies often fail to meet the need for drought stress tolerance enhancement. Here, we focus on progress related to the genetic dissection of drought tolerance in maize at different developmental stages achieved through linkage mapping and association mapping. Moreover, recent molecular breeding systems, including transgenic, genome-wide marker-assisted selection, and genome editing technologies, have provided a more direct, efficient, and accurate approach for trait improvement. We also provide perspectives on future directions regarding multi-omics studies and maize improvement. Overall, the application of acquired knowledge will facilitate maize breeding to meet the challenges.