bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impacts of alien tree species on the abundance and diversity of terricolous bryophytes
Authors: Dyderski Marcin K. , Jagodziński Andrzej M. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBryophytes comprise an important element of temperate forest biodiversity and functioning. Although numerous studies reported impacts of alien tree species on understorey vegetation, few focused on impacts on bryophytes. Here we checked whether three invasive tree species in Europe (Prunus serotina Ehrh., Quercus rubra L. and Robinia pseudoacacia L.) influence terricolous bryophyte communities, alpha and beta diversity, and cover. We used a set of 186 study plots in western Poland with data on the cover of bryophytes species, as well as light availability, soil C:N ratio and pH. We found that light availability was the main driver of bryophyte species richness, cover and composition. Poor Pinus sylvestris L. forests invaded by P. serotina hosted more species and higher species richness than non-invaded P. sylvestris forests, while forests invaded by Q. rubra and R. pseudoacacia hosted fewer species than native forest types. Low differences among forest types studied resulted from small pools of species and the presence of generalist species. Fagus sylvatica L. forest, Q. rubra and R. pseudoacacia forests hosted the smallest number of species, while the most species rich stands were poor P. sylvestris forest invaded by P. serotina and non-invaded P. sylvestris forests. We concluded that light limitation by invasive species might be more important than dominant tree species identity in limiting terricolous bryophyte species richness and abundance. This requires further studies, accounting for varied abundances of invasive tree species. Therefore, the conservation of sites with high terricolous bryophyte biodiversity needs to be focused on canopy cover.
Benchmarking Energy Quantification Methods to Predict Heating Energy Performance of Residential Buildings in Germany
Authors: Wenninger Simon , Wiethe Christian 
Published: March 2021

AbstractTo achieve ambitious climate goals, it is necessary to increase the rate of purposeful retrofit measures in the building sector. As a result, Energy Performance Certificates have been designed as important evaluation and rating criterion to increase the retrofit rate in the EU and Germany. Yet, today’s most frequently used and legally required methods to quantify building energy performance show low prediction accuracy, as recent research reveals. To enhance prediction accuracy, the research community introduced data-driven methods which obtained promising results. However, there are no insights in how far Energy Quantification Methods are particularly suited for energy performance prediction. In this research article the data-driven methods Artificial Neural Network, D-vine copula quantile regression, Extreme Gradient Boosting, Random Forest, and Support Vector Regression are compared with and validated by real-world Energy Performance Certificates of German residential buildings issued by qualified auditors using the engineering method required by law. The results, tested for robustness and systematic bias, show that all data-driven methods exceed the engineering method by almost 50% in terms of prediction accuracy. In contrast to existing literature favoring Artificial Neural Networks and Support Vector Regression, all tested methods show similar prediction accuracy with marginal advantages for Extreme Gradient Boosting and Support Vector Regression in terms of prediction accuracy. Given the higher prediction accuracy of data-driven methods, it seems appropriate to revise the current legislation prescribing engineering methods. In addition, data-driven methods could support different organizations, e.g., asset management, in decision-making in order to reduce financial risk and to cut expenses.
SARS-CoV-2-directed antibodies persist for more than six months in a cohort with mild to moderate COVID-19
Authors: Glück Vivian , Grobecker Sonja , Tydykov Leonid , Salzberger Bernd , Glück Thomas , Weidlich Tanja , Bertok Manuela , Gottwald Christine , Wenzel Jürgen J. , Gessner André , Schmidt Barbara , Peterhoff David 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Objective
To follow serological immune responses of front-line healthcare workers after PCR-confirmed COVID-19 for a mean of 30 weeks, describe the time-course of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-specific IgG, IgA and IgM levels and to identify associations of the immune response with symptoms, demographic parameters and severity of disease.

Methods
Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S protein-specific IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies were measured at three time points during the 30-week follow-up. COVID-19-specific symptoms were assessed with standardized questionnaires.

Results
95% of the participants mounted an IgG response with only modest decline after week 12. IgG-type antibodies were still detectable in almost 90% of the subjects at 30 weeks. IgA and IgM responses were less robust and antibody titers decreased more rapidly. At 30 weeks, only 25% still had detectable IgA-type and none had IgM-type antibodies. Higher age and higher disease severity were independently associated with higher IgG antibody levels, albeit with wide variations.

Conclusion
Serological immune responses after COVID-19 show considerable inter-individual variability, but show an association with increasing age and higher severity of disease. IgG-type anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies remain positive in 90% of the individuals 30 weeks after onset of symptoms.
Experimental and numerical investigation on the thermal and mechanical behaviours of thermal barrier coatings exposed to CMAS corrosion
Authors: Li Dongxu , Jiang Peng , Gao Renheng , Sun Fan , Jin Xiaochao , Fan Xueling 
Published: March 2021

AbstractCalcium-magnesium-alumino-silicate (CMAS) corrosion is a critical factor which causes the failure of thermal barrier coating (TBC). CMAS attack significantly alters the temperature and stress fields in TBC, resulting in their delamination or spallation. In this work, the evolution process of TBC prepared by suspension plasma spraying (SPS) under CMAS attack is investigated. The CMAS corrosion leads to the formation of the reaction layer and subsequent bending of TBC. Based on the observations, a corrosion model is proposed to describe the generation and evolution of the reaction layer and bending of TBC. Then, numerical simulations are performed to investigate the corrosion process of free-standing TBC and the complete TBC system under CMAS attack. The corrosion model constructs a bridge for connecting two numerical models. The results show that the CMAS corrosion has a significant influence on the stress field, such as the peak stress, whereas it has little influence on the steady-state temperature field. The peak of stress increases with holding time, which increases the risk of the rupture of TBC. The Mises stress increases nonlinearly along the thick direction of the reaction layer. Furthermore, in the traditional failure zone, such as the interface of the top coat and bond coat, the stress obviously changes during CMAS corrosion.
System dynamics mechanism of cross-regional collaborative dispatch of emergency supplies based on multi-agent game
Authors: Qiu Ying , Shi Meng , Zhao Xinna , Jing Yongping 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe cross-regional coordinated dispatch of emergency supplies is a complex issue involving multiple topics, which covers multiple relationships and is affected by multiple variables. In the face of severe emergencies, relief supplies inside a specific area are far from meeting the explosive demand for emergency supplies. Besides, the supply of emergency materials and the disaster areas often have a spatial mismatch. Considering the attributes of externalities and public goods of emergency rescue, there are many obstacles for Local administration of emergency (LAE) and emergency logistics enterprises (ELE) spontaneously carrying out emergency supplies across regions. To solve this complexity problem, this research abstracts higher-level administration of emergency (HAE), LAE and ELE as the main stakeholders, with which a tripartite evolutionary game (ETG) model and a system dynamic (SD) model are constructed to analyze the dynamic mechanism of the complex system and to carry out the numerical simulation of the three-party game process. All the analyses and tests in this study have proved that the strong supervision of HAE has a decisive impact on the realization of cross-regional coordinated dispatch of emergency supplies, and the financial rewards and punishments imposed by HAE on other entities can accelerate or delay the achievement of the equilibrium strategy. However, when HAE chooses not to regulate, the cooperation willingness of LAE affects a lot that all the stakeholders will eventually reach equilibrium at (1,1,1) only if LAE chooses to actively carry out cross-regional coordinated dispatch of emergency supplies.
Polypharmacy in older adults: a narrative review of definitions, epidemiology and consequences
Authors: Pazan Farhad , Wehling Martin 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe number of older adults has been constantly growing around the globe. Consequently, multimorbidity and related polypharmacy have become an increasing problem. In the absence of an accepted agreement on the definition of polypharmacy, data on its prevalence in various studies are not easily comparable. Besides, the evidence on the potential adverse clinical outcomes related to polypharmacy is limited though polypharmacy has been linked to numerous adverse clinical outcomes. This narrative review aims to find and summarize recent publications on definitions, epidemiology and clinical consequences of polypharmacy.MethodsThe MEDLINE database was used to identify recent publications on the definition, prevalence and clinical consequences of polypharmacy using their respective common terms and their variations. Systematic reviews and original studies published between 2015 and 2020 were included.ResultsOne hundred and forty-three definitions of polypharmacy and associated terms were found. Most of them are numerical definitions. Its prevalence ranges from 4% among community-dwelling older people to over 96.5% in hospitalized patients. In addition, numerous adverse clinical outcomes were associated with polypharmacy.ConclusionThe term polypharmacy is imprecise, and its definition is yet subject to an ongoing debate. The clinically oriented definitions of polypharmacy found in this review such as appropriate or necessary polypharmacy are more useful and relevant. Regardless of the definition, polypharmacy is highly prevalent in older adults, particularly in nursing home residents and hospitalized patients. Approaches to increase the appropriateness of polypharmacy can improve clinical outcomes in older adults.
A Preliminary Exploration of Behaviours Associated with Negative Urgency in Individuals High and Low in Chronic Worry
Authors: Malivoire Bailee L. , Stewart Kathleen E. , Koerner Naomi 
Published: March 2021

AbstractWhile chronic worry is typically associated with cautious and harm-avoidant behaviours, there is evidence that people high in chronic worry are characterised by negative urgency (NU), that is, the propensity to act rashly when experiencing negative affect. The present study was a preliminary examination of how rash action and impulsive decision-making manifest for chronic worriers compared to individuals low in worry. In total, 93 participants who endorsed high and low worry and NU responded to open-ended questions about their experience of NU on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Themes were identified using a data-driven approach. Participants high in chronic worry endorsed significantly greater NU compared to those low in worry. However, the types of NU behaviours were similar across participants, with a majority of responses involving initiating interpersonal conflict. Other themes included spending money, excessive eating, alcohol use, and aggressive behaviours. The manifestations of NU were largely consistent with those described in the model of NU. Although individuals higher in chronic worry engaged in NU behaviours to a greater extent, the types of behaviours were similar to those reported by people lower in worry. More research is needed to understand the characteristics of NU-motivated behaviour in individuals high in chronic worry.
Telemedicine Use in Disasters: A Scoping Review
Authors: Litvak Mark , Miller Katherine , Boyle Tehnaz , Bedenbaugh Rachel , Smith Christina , Meguerdichian David , Reisman David , Biddinger Paul , Licurse Adam , Goralnick Eric 
Published: March 2021

AbstractDisasters have many deleterious effects and are becoming more frequent. From a health-care perspective, disasters may cause periods of stress for hospitals and health-care systems. Telemedicine is a rapidly growing technology that has been used to improve access to health-care during disasters. Telemedicine applied in disasters is referred to as disaster telemedicine. Our objective was to conduct a scoping literature review on current use of disaster telemedicine to develop recommendations addressing the most common barriers to implementation of a telemedicine system for regional disaster health response in the United States. Publications on telemedicine in disasters were collected from online databases. This included both publications in English and those translated into English. Predesigned inclusion/exclusion criteria and a PRISMA flow diagram were applied. The PRISMA flow diagram was used on the basis that it would help streamline the available literature. Literature that met the criteria was scored by 2 reviewers who rated relevance to commonly identified disaster telemedicine implementation barriers, as well as how disaster telemedicine systems were implemented. We also identified other frequently mentioned themes and briefly summarized recommendations for those topics. Literature scoring resulted in the following topics: telemedicine usage (42 publications), system design and operating models (43 publications), as well as difficulties with credentialing (5 publications), licensure (6 publications), liability (4 publications), reimbursement (5 publications), and technology (24 publications). Recommendations from each category were qualitatively summarized.
A community health volunteer delivered problem-solving therapy mobile application based on the Friendship Bench ‘Inuka Coaching’ in Kenya: A pilot cohort study
Authors: Doukani Asmae , van Dalen Robin , Valev Hristo , Njenga Annie , Sera Francesco , Chibanda Dixon 
Published: March 2021

Abstract

Background
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the largest care gap for common mental disorders (CMDs) globally, heralding the use of cost-cutting approaches such as task-shifting and digital technologies as viable approaches for expanding the mental health workforce. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a problem-solving therapy (PST) intervention that is delivered by community health volunteers (CHVs) through a mobile application called ‘Inuka coaching’ in Kenya.

Methods
A pilot prospective cohort study recruited participants from 18 health centres in Kenya. People who self-screened were eligible if they scored 8 or higher on the Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20), were aged 18 years or older, conversant in written and spoken English, and familiar with the use of smart mobile devices. The intervention consisted of four PST mobile application chat-sessions delivered by CHVs. CMD measures were administered at baseline, 4-weeks (post-treatment), and at 3-months follow-up assessment.

Results
In all, 80 participants consented to the study, of which 60 participants (female, n = 38; male, n = 22) completed their 4-week assessments, and 52 participants completed their 3-month follow-up assessment. The results showed a significant improvement over time on the Self-Reporting Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20). Higher-range income, not reporting suicidal ideation, being aged over 30 years, and being male were associated with higher CMD symptom reduction.

Conclusion
To our knowledge, this report is the first to pilot a PST intervention that is delivered by CHVs through a locally developed mobile application in Kenya, to which clinically meaningful improvements were found. However, a randomised-controlled trial is required to robustly evaluate this intervention.
Less Populist in Power? Online Communication of Populist Parties in Coalition Governments
Authors: Schwörer Jakob 
Published: March 2021

AbstractRecently several populist parties have become part of coalition governments in multiparty democracies, specifically in Western Europe. Based on the inclusion-moderation thesis, academics assume that incumbent populist parties tone down their populist rhetoric as a result of the daily businesses of deliberation and compromises in coalitions. However, while the assumption of tamed populists in power is widespread, there is little empirical work dealing with the topic. Using a classical quantitative content analysis of 1,210 Facebook posts published by populist parties in Italy, Spain, Austria and New Zealand, this article examines whether opposition parties are more populist and nativist than those in coalition governments. The findings indicate that populists do not decrease the degree of anti-elite and people-centred messages when they are in power but rather change the type of elites they attack and the antagonist groups they juxtapose. We should therefore rethink the validity of the inclusion-moderation thesis for populist parties in coalition governments.
The Danger of Blindly Following: Examining the Relationship Between Authoritarian Leadership and Unethical Pro-organizational Behaviors
Authors: Liu Fangzhou , Liang Jian , Chen Mo 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACTResearchers have paid much attention to the performance implications of authoritarian leadership. However, less effort has been devoted to exploring its ethical consequences at work. Drawing on the social cognitive theory of morality, this study explores the indirect relationship between authoritarian leadership and subordinates’ unethical pro-organizational behaviors (UPB) via displacement of responsibility. A vignette-based experimental study (Study 1) and a time-lagged field study (Study 2) were conducted to test our hypotheses. Consistent findings were accumulated for the indirect relationship between authoritarian leadership and UPB through displacement of responsibility (both Study 1 and 2). Furthermore, this indirect relationship was stronger among employees with low level of moral efficacy (Study 2). We conclude this study by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.
The Fair Value of Bread: Tunisia, 28 December 1983–6 January 1984
Authors: Dakhli Leyla 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe “Bread Riots” that broke out in Tunisia on 28 December 1983 lasted barely ten days. Yet, they cost the lives of over one hundred people. The revolt studied here centred on two popular neighbourhoods of Tunis in the wake of massive, World Bank-sponsored development plans. This article seeks to understand how the inhabitants in these quarters reacted to the establishment of a new welfare state that was more concerned with fighting poverty – or fighting the poor – than with equalizing conditions or offering the same opportunities for everyone. Based on this case study, I argue that the great Bread Revolt of 1983–1984 marked a break with past practices of state reform and popular protest and suggest that International Monetary Fund and World Bank prescriptions and state implementations reconfigured the political and social landscape of independent Tunisia.
The Sedan Chair vs the Steamboat: The Sichuan Route and the Maritime Route in the making of modern Sino-Tibetan relations
Authors: ZHANG HUASHA 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThis article tells the intertwined tales of two historical routes that testify to the extensive geographical distance and profound political connections between Tibet and China throughout the modern era. In much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Sichuan Route operated as the transportation artery upon which the Qing empire depended to maintain authority in Kham and Tibet. It was also the site of a rite of passage for frontier functionaries and a meeting ground between imperial agents and the indigenous population. Despite its destruction after the implosion of the Qing in 1911, the histories and memories of the Sichuan Route continued to influence decision-makers in both China and Tibet in the following decades. The Maritime Route, which emerged in the late nineteenth century with the proliferation of steam transportation in Asia, revolutionized the way in which Tibet connected to China and the rest of the world. It also competed with the Sichuan Route and encouraged the Qing to reconfigure its presence in its non-Chinese territories in the southwest. After the empire fell, political tensions continued to evolve around the Maritime Route, which functioned simultaneously as the reluctant choice of Chinese emissaries and a strategic tool that the Lhasa government wielded to curtail China's influence. Through an exploration of the Sichuan Route and the Maritime Route on the levels of experience and representation, this article sketches the two routes’ troubled interconnections with each other and with every twist and turn in Sino-Tibetan relations from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries.
Cognitive decline among European retirees: impact of early retirement, nation-related and personal characteristics
Authors: Carmel Sara , Tur-Sinai Aviad 
Published: March 2021

AbstractOur study aimed to enhance understanding of memory decline (MD) in old age by evaluating longitudinal effects of personal and national contributing factors. We used data collected by the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) from 12 European countries and Israel. Our sample included 11,930 retirees aged 50+, interviewed at baseline and four years later. MD was evaluated by the change in the number of recalled words from first to second interview. Except for gender, all of our explanatory variables had a significant unique effect on MD – age, education, type of occupation, European geographical region, early retirement, time elapsed from retirement, reason for retirement, active lifestyle, re-employment, health/function status, depressive symptoms, and decline in physical and mental health – over the four years of the study. Our findings indicate that MD can be postponed by national policies such as those which prolong years of education and participation in the workforce, and by social interventions directed to promote active lifestyles in late life, especially in Mediterranean and Eastern European nations.