bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Decomposition and nutrient release from the mixed leaf litter of three agroforestry species in the Sudanian zone of West Africa
Authors: Cissé Mohamed , Traoré Salifou , Bationo Babou André 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThis study was carried out to determine the rates of decomposition and nutrient release from pure and mixed leaf litter samples of three agroforestry species (Azolla africanaDesv.,Detarium microcarpumGuill. and Perr.andVitellaria paradoxaC.F.Gaertn.) that have potential use as green manure. Litterbags containing a total of 5 g of pure and mixed leaf litter of different quality levels were incubated under field conditions from July to November in 2017. Litter decomposition and nutrient release (N, P, and K) rates were assessed in each litterbag. The decomposition rate (k) indicated that pureA. africanalitter decomposed faster (k = 0.406 week−1) than its mixture withV. paradoxa(k = 0.114 week−1) andD. microcarpum(k = 0.103 week−1).The slowest decomposition rates were found for the pureD. microcarpum(k = 0.075 week−1) andV. paradoxa(k = 0.071 week−1) leaf litters.Mixing withA. africanalitter increased the decomposition rate of bothD. microcarpumandV. paradoxaleaf litter. We conclude that mixing litter of different quality can accelerate the decomposition of pure litter with poor quality and represents a practical biomass management option for farmers to improve nutrient cycling in agroforestry systems.
A linear cascade tunnel for flow investigations of steam turbine rotor tip blades in subsonic nucleating flows
Authors: Pillala Vital Kumar Yadav , Prasad B. V. S. S. S. , Sitaram N. , Mahendran M. , Biswas Debasish , Jimbo Tomohizko 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe paper presents details of a unique experimental facility along with necessary accessories and instrumentation for testing steam turbine cascade blades in wet and nucleating steam. A steam turbine rotor tip cascade is chosen for flow investigations. Cascade inlet flow measurements show uniform conditions with dry air and steam and dry air mixture of different ratios. Exit flow surveys indicate that excellent flow periodicity is obtained. Blade surface static pressure and exit total pressure distributions are also presented with dry air and with steam and dry air mixture of different ratios as the working medium at an exit Mach number of 0.52.
How to Interpret an Investigator’s Brochure for Meaningful Risk Assessment: Results of an AGAH Discussion Forum
Authors: Rengelshausen Jens , Breithaupt-Groegler Kerstin , Donath Frank , Erb-Zohar Katharina , Hardman Tim , Mikus Gerd , Plassmann Stephanie , Wensing Georg , Sourgens Hildegard 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Purpose
A discussion forum was hosted by the Association for Applied Human Pharmacology (AGAH e.V.) to critically debate how to interpret and optimise the Investigator’s Brochure (IB) for meaningful risk assessment of early clinical trials.

Materials and Methods
Four topics were specifically discussed: deficiencies/uncertainties in IBs, guidance for the investigator, reference safety information, and potential risks for human subjects associated with inadequate non-clinical safety assessment in the IB. In each case, 43 participants took part in a real-time online survey with pre-defined questions to capture the audience’s opinion.

Results
The ‘Summary of Data and Guidance for the Investigator’ was considered as the section of the IB with the highest need for improvement with emphasis on readability, comprehensibility, timeliness of data, and appropriateness for risk assessment. It was suggested that the IB should at least be signed by the sponsor’s scientist responsible for the content on pharmacology and toxicology. It was agreed that sponsors should consider thoroughly whether changes to an IB constitute a substantial amendment, and that the IB should include a section on the change history. Non-clinical pharmacology studies with negative outcomes should be reported in the IB in order to avoid assessment bias. The reference safety information for expectedness assessment of suspected serious adverse reactions should be provided as a stand-alone section of the IB.

Conclusion
The overall consensus was that an optimised presentation of data will ensure the best possible understanding of a compound’s characteristics and an optimal benefit-risk assessment which will safeguard the participants in clinical trials.
Generation of a surgical field at the mid-lower mediastinum for thoracoscopic esophagectomy in the left lateral decubitus position: Case series
Authors: Ishii Kenjiro , Tsubosa Yasuhiro , Niihara Masahiro , Mayanagi Shuhei , Booka Eisuke , Haneda Ryoma 
Published: February 2021

ABSTRACT

Introduction:
The generation of a good surgical field at the mid-lower mediastinum during thoracoscopic esophagectomy in the left lateral decubitus position is often complicated. Here, we developed a simple and useful technique for surgical field generation.

Methods:
Among 225 patients who underwent esophageal resection from April 2015 to December 2019, 154 underwent thoracoscopic esophagectomy using our following-described method.
The patients are placed in the left lateral decubitus position similarly to open thoracotomy, and a 12-mm port is inserted at the midaxillary line in the third, fifth, and seventh intercostal spaces and anterior to the inferior angle of the scapula in the ninth (scope port). A 5-mm port is inserted at the inferior angle of the scapular line in the sixth and eighth. The mid-lower mediastinal procedure is performed first, with the operator and camera holder positioned at the ventral side and the assistant at the dorsal side of the patient. A camera displays the surgical field on the monitor as in the prone position. Thoraco-cotton with a stainless-steel shaft is inserted through the third port to compress the upper and lower lobes of right lung and simultaneously make counter traction to the ventral side of the esophagus.

Result:
We hardly encounter any difficulty with surgical field generation in the middle-lower mediastinum without one patient having abnormal divergence of right superior lobar branch, or any patients with intraoperative complications.

Conclusion:
Our newly described method is very simple and easily adapted for thoracoscopic esophagectomy in the left decubitus position.
Policy Dialogue: Black Teachers of the Past, Present, and Future
Authors: Ladson-Billings Gloria , Anderson James D. 
Published: February 2021

In the second half of the twentieth century, the ranks of Black teachers and school administrators declined precipitously. Today, less than 7 percent of American teachers are Black. This loss has had a number of consequences for schools and communities, but perhaps especially for Black students. As recent research has found, Black students benefit socially and academically from having a Black teacher, are less likely to be suspended or expelled, and are more likely to enroll in college.For this inaugural policy dialogue, the HEQ editors asked Gloria Ladson-Billings and James D. Anderson to reflect on the past, present, and future of the Black teacher corps. Their wide-ranging exchange explores the various roles of educators, the legacy of segregation, the role of policy, and the Black experience. They close with a provocative list of research questions for emerging and established scholars to consider.
COMPLETELY PRIME ONE-SIDED IDEALS IN SKEW POLYNOMIAL RINGS
Authors: ALON GIL , PARAN ELAD 
Published: February 2021

AbstractLet R = K[x, σ] be the skew polynomial ring over a field K, where σ is an automorphism of K of finite order. We show that prime elements in R correspond to completely prime one-sided ideals – a notion introduced by Reyes in 2010. This extends the natural correspondence between prime elements and prime ideals in commutative polynomial rings.
Do Private Equity Managers Have Superior Information on Public Markets?
Authors: Gredil Oleg R. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractUsing cash flows from a large sample of buyout and venture funds, I show that private equity (PE) distributions predict returns in the industries of funds’ specialization. My tests distinguish timing skill from reactions to market conditions and spillover effects of PE activity. Fund managers foresee comparable public firms’ earnings but sell at the industry peaks only if they have performance fees to harvest. These results have implications for manager selection and improve our understanding of PE fund returns and the role of PE in capital markets.
Migration aspirations from a youth perspective: focus groups with returnees and youth in Mali
Authors: Bleck Jaimie , Lodermeier Alison 
Published: February 2021

AbstractMali has one of the highest migration rates in Africa, but we still know very little about the processes and drivers of migration – particularly in the context of the current political crisis. This article draws on 27 focus groups with 220 returnees and male youth respondents conducted in the summer of 2018. Respondents cite underemployment and the inability to provide for relatives as well as a feeling of hopelessness about a future life in Mali as drivers of migration. Returnees report that the voyage was more difficult than anticipated. However, even with knowledge of the significant risks they face, most (68%) returnees express a desire to try to migrate again: this is particularly true for returned migrants who failed in an attempt to reach Europe (89%). The research illustrates very different experiences for migrants attempting to reach Europe and those with goals of intra-African migration.
Frontier Governance: Contested and plural authorities in a Karen village after the ceasefire
Authors: KYED HELENE MARIA 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThis article applies the concept of frontier to analytically understand the forms of border governance that are developing in a former combat zone after the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the Myanmar government and the Karen National Union (KNU). In particular, it explores border governance through the lens of judicial interventions, moral ordering, and control of crime. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in 2016–2018, it shows how a Karen-populated area changed from being a military combat zone to an area that is the target of civilian state-making efforts by both the KNU and the Myanmar state. These efforts intermingle and compete, and yet each form of state-making remains incomplete and contested. This has resulted in pluralized authorities and partly overlapping forms of what I conceptualize as ‘frontier border governance’. With its focus on two competing state-making actors, the article adds new insights to the burgeoning literature on frontiers, which predominantly focuses on a single expansionary state.
Neonatal transcatheter closure of a right pulmonary artery to left atrium fistula
Authors: Bertail-Galoin Claire 
Published: February 2021

AbstractA fistula between the pulmonary artery and the left atrium is a rare entity and its diagnosis is uncommon in the neonatal period. There are more reported surgical treatments in the literature than with a transcatheter closure. We report the case of a prenatal diagnosis of a large fistula between the right pulmonary artery and the left atrium with successful transcatheter closure with an Amplatzer duct occluder II 6/4 mm.
Stepping back from the brink: Why multilateral regulation of autonomy in weapons systems is difficult, yet imperative and feasible
Authors: Sauer Frank 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThis article explains why regulating autonomy in weapons systems, entailing the codification of a legally binding obligation to retain meaningful human control over the use of force, is such a challenging task within the framework of the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. It is difficult because it requires new diplomatic language, and because the military value of weapon autonomy is hard to forego in the current arms control winter. The article argues that regulation is nevertheless imperative, because the strategic as well as ethical risks outweigh the military benefits of unshackled weapon autonomy. To this end, it offers some thoughts on how the implementation of regulation can be expedited.
Cloud Formation From a Localized Water Release in the Upper Mesosphere: Indication of Rapid Cooling
Authors: Collins Richard L. , Stevens Michael H. , Azeem Irfan , Taylor Michael J. , Larsen Miguel F. , Williams Bifford P. , Li Jintai , Alspach Jennifer H. , Pautet Pierre‐Dominique , Zhao Yucheng , Zhu Xun 
Published: February 2021

AbstractPolar mesospheric clouds (PMCs) occur in the summer near 82 ‐85km altitude due to seasonal changes of temperature and humidity. However, water vapor and associated PMCs have also been observed associated with rocket exhaust. The effects of this rocket exhaust on the temperature of the upper mesosphere are not well understood. To investigate these effects, 220 kg of pure water was explosively released at 85 km as part of the Super Soaker sounding rocket experiment on the night of January 25–26, 2018 at Poker Flat Research Range (65°N, 147°W). A cloud formed within 18 s and was measured by a ground‐based Rayleigh lidar. The peak altitude of the cloud appeared to descend from 92 to 78 km over 3 min. Temperatures leading up to the release were between 197 and 232 K, about 50 K above the summertime water frost point when PMCs typically occur. The apparent motion of the cloud is interpreted in terms of the expansion of the explosive release. Analysis using a water vapor radiative cooling code coupled to a microphysical model indicates that the cloud formed due to the combined effects of rapid radiative cooling (∼25 K) by meter‐scale filaments of nearly pure water vapor (∼1 ppv) and an increase in the frost point temperature (from 150 to 200 K) due to the high concentration of water vapor. These results indicate that water exhaust not only acts as a reservoir for mesospheric cloud production but also actively cools the mesosphere to induce cloud formation.
Differential Cardiopulmonary Health Impacts of Local and Long‐Range Transport of Wildfire Smoke
Authors: Magzamen Sheryl , Gan Ryan W. , Liu Jingyang , O’Dell Katelyn , Ford Bonne , Berg Kevin , Bol Kirk , Wilson Ander , Fischer Emily V. , Pierce Jeffrey R. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractWe estimated cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality associated with wildfire smoke (WFS) fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the Front Range of Colorado from 2010 to 2015. To estimate WFS PM2.5, we developed a daily kriged PM2.5 surface at a 15 × 15 km resolution based on the Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality System monitors for the western United States; we subtracted out local seasonal‐average PM2.5 of nonsmoky days, identified using satellite‐based smoke plume estimates, from the local daily estimated PM2.5 if smoke was identified by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Hazard Mapping System. We implemented time‐stratified case‐crossover analyses to estimate the effect of a 10 µg/m3 increase in WFS PM2.5 with cardiopulmonary hospitalizations and deaths using single and distributed lag models for lags 0–5 and distinct annual impacts based on local and long‐range smoke during 2012, and long‐range transport of smoke in 2015. A 10 µg/m3 increase in WFS was associated with all respiratory, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospitalizations for lag day 3 and hospitalizations for ischemic heart disease at lag days 2 and 3. Cardiac arrest deaths were associated with WFS PM2.5 at lag day 0. For 2012 local wildfires, asthma hospitalizations had an inverse association with WFS PM2.5 (OR: 0.716, 95% CI: 0.517–0.993), but a positive association with WFS PM2.5 during the 2015 long‐range transport event (OR: 1.455, 95% CI: 1.093–1.939). Cardiovascular mortality was associated with the 2012 long‐range transport event (OR: 1.478, 95% CI: 1.124–1.944).
Central Pacific El Niño as a Precursor to Summer Drought‐Breaking Rainfall Over Southeastern Australia
Authors: Freund Mandy B. , Marshall Andrew G. , Wheeler Matthew C. , Brown Jaclyn N. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractUsing an extended 120‐year record of El Niño events, we distinguish between central Pacific (CP) and eastern Pacific (EP) types to show that the strength of CP events is a factor in the amplitude and sign of the impact on rainfall over southeastern Australia. Both weak and strong CP events cause widespread rainfall deficits in Australia during the onset phase from April to September. However, this relationship reverses over southeastern Australia including the Murray Darling Basin river catchment region for the strongest CP events after October, leading to positive rainfall anomalies during the mature phase of strong CP El Niños. This reversal can be explained by a change in the circulation over eastern Australia from drier, more westerly orientated flow to moister, more easterly onshore flow. These findings may help with seasonal prediction efforts to predict drought‐breaking rain such as occurred in early 2020.
Global Significant Changes in Formaldehyde (HCHO) Columns Observed From Space at the Early Stage of the COVID‐19 Pandemic
Authors: Sun Wenfu , Zhu Lei , De Smedt Isabelle , Bai Bin , Pu Dongchuan , Chen Yuyang , Shu Lei , Wang Dakang , Fu Tzung‐May , Wang Xiaofei , Yang Xin 
Published: February 2021

AbstractSatellite HCHO data are widely used as a reliable proxy of non‐methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) to constrain underlying emissions and chemistry. Here, we examine global significant changes in HCHO columns at the early stage of the COVID‐19 pandemic (January–April 2020) compared with the same period in 2019 with observations from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI). HCHO columns decline (11.0%) in the Northern China Plain (NCP) because of a combination of meteorological impacts, lower HCHO yields as NOx emission plunges (by 36.0%), and reduced NMVOC emissions (by 15.0%) resulting from the lockdown. HCHO columns change near Beijing (+8.4%) due mainly to elevated hydroxyl radical as NOx emission decreases in a NOx‐saturated regime. HCHO columns change in Australia (+17.5%), Northeastern Myanmar of Southeast Asia (+14.9%), Central Africa (+7.8%), and Central America (+18.9%), consistent with fire activities. Our work also points to other changes related to temperature and meteorological variations.
A Lagrangian View of Moisture Transport Related to the Heavy Rainfall of July 2020 in Japan: Importance of the Moistening Over the Subtropical Regions
Authors: Zhao N. , Manda A. , Guo X. , Kikuchi K. , Nasuno T. , Nakano M. , Zhang Y. , Wang B. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe transport and accumulation of moisture played an essential role in the extremely heavy rainfall of July 2020 in Japan. To better understand this event in terms of moisture sources and transport routes, backward particle trajectory analysis was conducted. We found two major moisture sources: transport from the tropics and uptake from the subtropics. A narrow moisture channel was found along the edge of the western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH), transporting the moisture to the Baiu front. However, most moisture from the tropics was lost due to precipitation, and their contributions were reduced to about 15%. In contrast, the subtropical regions contributed over 80% moisture via evaporation and lower tropospheric convection. Among those regions, the western Pacific contributed the most (>33%). This study highlights the role of WPSH in moisture transport and demonstrated the importance of moisture uptake during transport.
Evidence for Clear‐Sky Dimming and Brightening in Central Europe
Authors: Wild Martin , Wacker Stephan , Yang Su , Sanchez‐Lorenzo Arturo 
Published: February 2021

AbstractFor the explanation of the observed decadal variations in surface solar radiation (known as dimming and brightening), the relative importance of clouds and the cloud‐free atmosphere (particularly aerosols) is currently disputed. Here, we investigate this issue using daily data from the prominent long‐term observational radiation record at Potsdam, Germany, over the 71‐year period 1947–2017. We identify cloud‐free days based on synop cloud observations as well as on days with maximum atmospheric transmission. Irrespective of the cloud‐screening method, strong dimming and brightening tendencies in the atmospheric transmission are evident not only under all‐sky but also of similar magnitude under clear‐sky conditions, causing multidecadal variations in surface solar radiation on the order of 10 Wm−2. This points to the cloud‐free atmosphere as a main responsible for dimming and brightening in central Europe and suggests that these variations are anthropogenically forced rather than of natural origin, with aerosol pollutants as likely major drivers.
Multi‐Wavelength Imaging Observations of STEVE at Athabasca, Canada
Authors: Yadav Sneha , Shiokawa Kazuo , Otsuka Yuichi , Connors Martin , St Maurice J.‐P. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractWe present the first multi‐wavelength imaging observations of strong thermal emission velocity enhancement (STEVE) using an all‐sky imager at Athabasca (magnetic latitude = 61.5°N), Canada. This study is based on three STEVE events which were accompanied by picket fence structures in the green‐line. Although the STEVE arc was dominant in 630 and 557.7‐nm, weak emissions were also found in other wavelengths including OI at 844.6, Hβ, Na, and the nominal background filter at 572.5‐nm. As observed at 630 and 557.7‐nm, the STEVE arc started as a faint arc close to the auroral oval and moved equatorward. The 557.7‐nm arc exhibited picket fence structure at later times after it moved equatorward. The picket fence was sometimes found to persist even after the 630‐nm arc had disappeared. During a particular event, the STEVE arcs in both the 630 and 557.7‐nm were found to carry a ribbon‐like motion moving along the arc. We have found that STEVE arcs are embedded in a region of weak diffuse auroral emissions. The STEVE arcs have sharp boundaries and these boundaries are different in red‐ and green‐line. The sharp decrease in the intensity at the immediate poleward edge of the STEVE arc appears as a “dark‐band” in the green‐line images. Based on the horizontal component of the geomagnetic field at Fort Smith (magnetic latitude 67.28°N), we find that the STEVE arc detachment, its equatorward motion, and its brightness coincided with changes in the magnetic activity during the recovery phase of a substorm.
Changes in Diffuse Degassing From the Summit Crater of Teide Volcano (Tenerife, Canary Islands) Prior to the 2016 Tenerife Long‐Period Seismic Swarm
Authors: Padrón Eleazar , Pérez Nemesio M. , Hernández Pedro A. , Melián Gladys , Asensio‐Ramos María , D'Auria Luca , Rodríguez Fátima , Alonso Mar , Amonte Cecilia , Padilla Germán D. , Barrancos José , Calvo David , C. Coldwell Beverley , Pankhurst Matthew J. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractGround surface diffuse degassing and heat flow surveys were conducted at the summit crater of Teide volcano (Tenerife) on a roughly monthly basis from 2013 to 2017 to evaluate their degree of temporal variation and compare with seismovolcanic activity in and around Tenerife Island. We report that significant changes in survey physicochemical and chemical parameters through time were observed. Several geochemical signals record the occurrence of magmatic fluid injections in the hydrothermal system of Tenerife: during June‐August of 2016 there were increases in diffuse H2S emission, observed relatively higher values of diffuse H2S/CO2 He/CO2, and CO2/CH4 degassing ratios and changes in the carbon isotopic ratio of diffuse CO2 degassing. Convective mixing within a magma reservoir triggered by an injection of fresh magma is confirmed as the most plausible scenario to explain the source of fluid injection into the hydrothermal system of Teide.