bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
On the use of data from multiple mobile network operators in Europe to fight COVID-19
Authors: Vespe Michele , Iacus Stefano Maria , Santamaria Carlos , Sermi Francesco , Spyratos Spyridon 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThe rapid spread of COVID-19 infections on a global level has highlighted the need for accurate, transparent and timely information regarding collective mobility patterns to inform de-escalation strategies as well as to provide forecasting capacity for re-escalation policies aiming at addressing further waves of the virus. Such information can be extracted using aggregate anonymized data from innovative sources such as mobile positioning data. This paper presents lessons learnt and results of a unique Business-to-Government initiative between several mobile network operators in Europe and the European Commission. Mobile positioning data have supported policy-makers and practitioners with evidence and data-driven knowledge to understand and predict the spread of the disease, the effectiveness of the containment measures, their socio-economic impacts while feeding scenarios at European Union scale and in a comparable way across countries. The challenges of these data sharing initiative are not limited to data quality, harmonization, and comparability across countries, however important they are. Equally essential aspects that need to be addressed from the onset are related to data privacy, security, fundamental rights, and commercial sensitivity.
Hospital Preparedness, Mitigation, and Response to Hurricane Harvey in Harris County, Texas
Authors: Hines Emmanuelle , Reid Colleen E. 
Published: June 2021

Abstract

Objective:
This case study documents Harris County hospitals’ flood preparedness and mitigation efforts before Hurricane Harvey, their collective response experience during Hurricane Harvey, and their lessons learned in the storm’s aftermath.

Methods:
The case study was constructed using a survey of hospital emergency managers, semi-structured interviews with local agencies involved in public health, emergency management, and health care, and an analysis of news reports and other documents from a variety of government agencies, local organizations, and hospitals themselves.

Results:
Harris County hospitals learned their most valuable lessons through their direct and repeated experience with flooding over the years, leading to improved preparedness before Hurricane Harvey. Hospital emergency response successes included infrastructure improvements, staff resilience, advanced planning, and pre-established collaboration. However, hospitals still experienced challenges with staff burnout, roadway flooding, and patient evacuation.

Conclusions:
Although the current state of hospital flood preparedness and mitigation is rather advanced and mature, it is advisable that Harris County takes steps to strengthen emergency management efforts in hospitals with fewer financial and staffing resources and less direct flood experience.
Air Quality Monitoring During High-Level Biocontainment Ground Transport: Observations From Two Operational Exercises
Authors: Dang Audrey , Williams Brent , Warsing William D. , Noone Michael , Isakov Alexander P. , Tan David K. , Liang Stephen Y. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractObjective:Stretcher transport isolators provide mobile, high-level biocontainment outside the hospital for patients with highly infectious diseases, such as Ebola virus disease. Air quality within this confined space may pose human health risks.Methods:Ambient air temperature, relative humidity, and CO2 concentration were monitored within an isolator during 2 operational exercises with healthy volunteers, including a ground transport exercise of approximately 257 miles. In addition, failure of the blower unit providing ambient air to the isolator was simulated. A simple compartmental model was developed to predict CO2 and H2O concentrations within the isolator.Results:In both exercises, CO2 and H2O concentrations were elevated inside the isolator, reaching steady-state values of 4434 ± 1013 ppm CO2 and 22 ± 2 mbar H2O in the first exercise and 3038 ± 269 ppm CO2 and 20 ± 1 mbar H2O in the second exercise. When blower failure was simulated, CO2 concentration exceeded 10 000 ppm within 8 minutes. A simple compartmental model predicted CO2 and H2O concentrations by accounting for human emissions and blower air exchange.Conclusions:Attention to air quality within stretcher transport isolators (including adequate ventilation to prevent accumulation of CO2 and other bioeffluents) is needed to optimize patient safety.
DOES MONEY BUY FRIENDS? EVIDENCE FROM CHINA'S BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE
Authors: Zeng Yuleng 
Published: June 2021

AbstractStudies of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have focused on the strategic intentions of Beijing, with much less attention paid to its political effects. The argument that the initiative can improve political relationships with BRI countries is assumed rather than empirically grounded. This paper bridges the gap by studying countries’ cooperation and conflict with China. I find that (a) the initiative appears to marginally improve BRI countries’ cooperation and significantly reduce low-intensity conflict; (b) the cooperation-promoting effect is driven only by neighboring countries while the restraining effect for low-intensity conflict results primarily from non-neighboring countries; and (c) there is no systematic evidence so far that the initiative has any effect on high-intensity conflict. These results offer mixed evidence of commercial liberalism in the context of the BRI: money (or the potential thereof) can induce cooperation in the short run, but it may not be enough to fundamentally change interstate relations.
Self-employed surfers, universal credit and the minimally decent life
Authors: Rowe Christopher 
Published: June 2021

AbstractAs part of its response to Covid-19 the government paused the use of the ‘Minimum Income Floor’ (MIF), which restricts the Universal Credit (UC) entitlement of the self-employed. This paper places the MIF in the wider context of conditionality in the social security system and considers a judicial review which claimed that the MIF was discriminatory. The paper focuses on how UC affects the availability of real choices for low-income citizens to limit or escape from wage labour, with two implications of the move to UC highlighted. First, the overlooked labour decommodifying aspect of tax credits, which provided a minimum income guarantee and a genuine alternative to wage labour for people who self-designated as ‘self-employed’, even if their earnings were minimal or non-existent, has been removed. Secondly, UC has in some respects improved the position of low-paid wage labourers in ‘mini-jobs’, who are not subject to conditionality once they work for the equivalent of approximately nine hours a week on the minimum wage.
A SIMPLE CO2 EXTRACTION METHOD FOR RADIOCARBON ANALYSES OF DISSOLVED INORGANIC CARBON IN WATER SAMPLES WITHOUT A CARRIER GAS
Authors: Takahashi Hiroshi A , Handa Hiroko , Minami Masayo 
Published: June 2021

ABSTRACTWe developed a simple and cost-effective method for extracting carbon from dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in water samples without a carrier gas. This method only slightly modifies the existing vacuum line for CO2 purification in radiocarbon research laboratories by connecting several reservoirs and traps. The procedure consists of repeated cycles of CO2 extraction from water into the headspace of the reaction container, expansion of the extracted gas into the vacuum line, and cryogenic trapping of CO2. High CO2 yield (∼98%) was obtained from a variety of water samples with a wide range of DIC concentrations (0.4–100 mmol·L−1, in the case of 1.2 mgC). The δ13C fractionation depended on the CO2 yield, while the 14C concentration was constant within the error range, regardless of the CO2 yield. The average δ13C discrepancy between the results of this method and direct analyses made using the GC-IRMS was 0.02 ± 0.06‰. The standard deviations (1σ) in fraction of modern carbon (F14C) ranged from 0.0002 to 0.0004 for waters below 0.01 of F14C, and below 0.8% of F14C values for waters above 0.1. We conclude that this method is useful for effectively extracting CO2 from DIC in water and yields accurate 14C data.
Anthropometric and body composition parameters in adolescents with the metabolically obese normal-weight phenotype
Authors: Cota Bruna Clemente , Ribeiro Sarah Aparecida Vieira , Priore Silvia Eloiza , Juvanhol Leidjaira Lopes , de Faria Eliane Rodrigues , de Faria Franciane Rocha , Pereira Patrícia Feliciano 
Published: June 2021

AbstractWe aimed to investigate the anthropometric and body composition parameters associated with the metabolically obese normal-weight (MONW) phenotype. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 506 adolescents in Brazil (aged 10–19 y). The MONW phenotype was defined as normal-weight, according to BMI/age, and at least one metabolic alteration. Anthropometric measurements were obtained and the DEXA was used for body composition analysis. Crude and adjusted Poisson regression models with robust variance were used to estimate the associations. The phenotype was positively associated with waist circumference (male: prevalence ratio (PR) = 1·05; 95% CI 1·01, 1·09; female: PR = 1·06; 95% CI 1·02, 1·09), waist:height ratio (male: PR = 1·26; 95% CI 1·07, 1·49; female: PR = 1·29; 95% CI 1·07, 1·56) and android:gynoid fat ratio (male: PR = 1·25; 95% CI 1·03, 1·51; female: PR = 1·39; 95% CI 1·20, 1·62), in both sexes. Furthermore, there was a positive association of phenotype with waist:hip ratio (PR = 1·32; 95% CI 1·06, 1·65) and trunk:arm fat ratio (PR = 1·13; 95% CI 1·02, 1·24) only in males and with trunk:leg fat ratio (PR = 2·84; 95% CI 1·46, 5·53), BAIp (PR = 1·06; 95% CI 1·01, 1·12), fat mass index (PR = 1·24; 95% CI 1·10, 1·41) and regional indices of metabolic load and capacity (PR = 1·29; 95% CI 1·09, 1·53), in females. Anthropometric and body composition parameters indicative of central and total fat are associated with the MONW phenotype.
HUMAN INVENTORSHIP IN EUROPEAN PATENT LAW
Authors: Stanková Eva 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThis article uses the advancements in artificial intelligence as the starting point for consideration of the role of human inventorship in European patent law. It argues that human inventorship is a necessary condition for the existence of an invention and inventive step, with the result that only products of human inventorship merit European patents. It identifies failings of European authorities to reflect this adequately in their approaches to determining patentability. Finally, it recommends recognising human inventorship as an implicit patentability requirement being an aspect of the statutory requirements for an invention and inventive step and extending applicant's disclosure duties correspondingly.
Gender, the Media and Parity: The Case of the 2018 Québec Election
Authors: Duval Dominic , Bouchard Joanie 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThis article investigates the representativeness of news coverage when there are nearly as many female candidates as there are male candidates by considering the 2018 Québec Election, in which 47 per cent of candidates were women. We are interested not only in the magnitude of the coverage (that is, the volume of press coverage received by each candidate) but also in its tone (if the press coverage is negative or positive) and whether these parameters fluctuate based on the gender of the candidates. We know that the quality of the news coverage, and more specifically its tone, can affect voting intentions. We also know that journalists routinely portray politics as a masculine activity, but we know very little about the coverage that local female candidates receive in the context of parity in North America. We find that in spite of exceptional circumstances, female candidates received significantly less coverage than men.
A New Dataset on the Demographics of Canadian Federal Election Candidates
Authors: Johnson Anna , Tolley Erin , Thomas Melanee , Bodet Marc André 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThis research note reports on a new effort to track candidate diversity in Canadian elections. The dataset covers 4,516 candidates who ran in the 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2019 federal elections and includes novel data on their race, Indigenous background and age, alongside information on gender, occupation, prior electoral experience and electoral outcome. We outline the process for collecting and systematizing these data, which relied on genealogical methods and the principle of triangulation. The data can be used to track diversity among electoral candidates over time or merged with other sources to answer district-level questions about representational diversity, electoral dynamics, vote choice and political communications. The method could also be replicated and applied to other levels of government.
How Does Past Experience Impact Hedge Fund Activism?
Authors: Boyson Nicole M. , Ma Linlin , Mooradian Robert M. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractHedge fund activists transfer relevant prior work experience to their activism campaigns. Categorizing activists based on past employment at investment banks (generalists), private equity or special situations partnerships (specialists), or other firms (nonfinancial experts), we relate activists’ prior work experience to their choices and outcomes. Both generalists with codifiable skills and specialists with tacit skills contribute to successful outcomes, but differences in these skills lead to differences in activism processes. Activist choices, market responses, target firm responses, and procedural aspects of activism vary with activist identity. Our analysis examines activists’ heterogeneous skills and highlights their importance in shaping activist interventions.
“The ice has gone”: Vernacular meteorology, fisheries and human–ice relationships on Sakhalin Island
Authors: Mamontova Nadezhda 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThis paper examines vernacular weather observations amongst rural people on Sakhalin, Russia’s largest island on the Pacific Coast, and their relationship to the ice. It is based on a weather diary (2000–2016) of one of the local inhabitants and fieldwork that the author conducted in the settlement of Trambaus in 2016. The diary as a community-based weather monitoring allows us to examine how people understand, perceive and deal with the weather both daily and in the long-term perspective. Research argues that amongst all natural phenomena, the ice is the most crucial for the local inhabitants as it determines human subsistence activities, navigation and relations with other environmental forces and beings. People perceive the ice as having an agency, engage in a dialogue with it, learn and adjust themselves to its drifting patterns. Over the past decade, the inability to predict the ice’s behaviour has become a major problem affecting people’s well-being in the settlement. The paper advocates further integrating vernacular weather observations and their relations with natural forces into research on climate change and local fisheries management policies.
Captain Scott changed his mind: The dogs shall not go to the South Pole
Authors: Alp Bill 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
In September 1909 Captain Scott announced his intention to utilise dog transport in his dash for the Pole - this being his intention until as late as February 1911. In May 1911, Scott lectured expedition members about a new plan for their Southern Journey. His lecture notes include detailed calculations, based solely on ponies and men hauling the sledges – dogs and motor sledges were now surplus to requirements. In less than three months, Scott had supplanted his published scheme of advance. This article investigates evidence relating to Scott’s change of mind. A substantial amount of research has been undertaken and a credible explanation emerges. The First Depot Journey, with its loss of ponies, inadequate animal nutrition (both dogs and ponies) and crevasse incident wrecked Scott’s original scheme of advance. When he commenced detailed planning in April 1911, it became apparent his dogs could not reach the Pole. Scott’s leadership technique for getting his men to understand and support the new transport plan is examined and its influence on current perceptions of the expedition and its men is investigated.
ANNE BOYD AT 75: A CELEBRATION THROUGH THE STRING QUARTET
Authors: Metcalf Thomas 
Published: June 2021

AbstractAnne Boyd (b. 1946) is one of Australia's most celebrated composers and educators. Her formal training began at the University of Sydney, where she worked with Peter Sculthorpe (1929–2014), who became a highly influential figure for her both musically and personally. Having completed her DPhil at the University of York in 1972 on a Commonwealth Scholarship, Boyd took up teaching posts in Sussex and Hong Kong, before returning to Sydney as Professor of Music, the first Australian and first woman to hold this position. Her music has been performed worldwide and draws on a synthesis of East-Asian and Western elements, with a clear focus on timbre and texture, invoking ideas of meditation, nature and ritual. This article presents a transcription of a virtual interview conducted with Boyd in February 2021 and uses the genre of the string quartet as a lens through which the composer elaborates and expands upon some of the key aspects of her musical approach and philosophy.
THE INSTRUMENTALISED CONDUCTOR
Authors: Moore Thomas R. 
Published: June 2021

AbstractThis article explores ways in which artistic directors and composers of new music ensembles have developed and redefined the role of the conductor to achieve specific goals and fulfil musical and artistic need. It will explore various manners in which they have instrumentalised the conductor – literally an embodied role – and opened new possibilities for musical expression. The analysis and examples provided will rely for the most part on material gathered during in-depth interviews conducted with artistic directors, composers, conductors and musicians who are professionally active in the new music field in Europe and beyond. The article endeavours to bring into greater detail artistic and socio-economic motivations for utilising conductors in new music ensembles.
Ketogenic diets and the nervous system: a scoping review of neurological outcomes from nutritional ketosis in animal studies
Authors: Field Rowena , Field Tara , Pourkazemi Fereshteh , Rooney Kieron 
Published: June 2021

AbstractObjectives:Ketogenic diets have reported efficacy for neurological dysfunctions; however, there are limited published human clinical trials elucidating the mechanisms by which nutritional ketosis produces therapeutic effects. The purpose of this present study was to investigate animal models that report variations in nervous system function by changing from a standard animal diet to a ketogenic diet, synthesise these into broad themes, and compare these with mechanisms reported as targets in pain neuroscience to inform human chronic pain trials.Methods:An electronic search of seven databases was conducted in July 2020. Two independent reviewers screened studies for eligibility, and descriptive outcomes relating to nervous system function were extracted for a thematic analysis, then synthesised into broad themes.Results:In total, 170 studies from eighteen different disease models were identified and grouped into fourteen broad themes: alterations in cellular energetics and metabolism, biochemical, cortical excitability, epigenetic regulation, mitochondrial function, neuroinflammation, neuroplasticity, neuroprotection, neurotransmitter function, nociception, redox balance, signalling pathways, synaptic transmission and vascular supply.Discussion:The mechanisms presented centred around the reduction of inflammation and oxidative stress as well as a reduction in nervous system excitability. Given the multiple potential mechanisms presented, it is likely that many of these are involved synergistically and undergo adaptive processes within the human body, and controlled animal models that limit the investigation to a particular pathway in isolation may reach differing conclusions. Attention is required when translating this information to human chronic pain populations owing to the limitations outlined from the animal research.
The effects of the day of trophectoderm biopsy and blastocyst grade on the clinical and neonatal outcomes of preimplantation genetic testing–frozen embryo transfer cycles
Authors: Chen Linjun , Diao Zhenyu , Wang Jie , Xu Zhipeng , Zhang Ningyuan , Fang Junshun , Lin Fei 
Published: June 2021

SummaryThis study analyzed the effects of the day of trophectoderm (TE) biopsy and blastocyst grade on clinical and neonatal outcomes. The results showed that the implantation and live birth rates of day 5 (D5) TE biopsy were significantly higher compared with those of D6 TE biopsy. The miscarriage rate of the former was lower than that of the latter, but there was no statistically significant difference. Higher quality blastocysts can achieve better implantation and live birth rates. Among good quality blastocysts, the implantation and live birth rates of D5 and D6 TE biopsy were not significantly different. Among fair quality and poor quality blastocysts, the implantation and live birth rates of D5 TE biopsy were significantly higher compared with those of D6 TE biopsy. Neither blastocyst grade nor the day of TE biopsy significantly affected the miscarriage rate. Neonatal outcomes, including newborn sex, gestational age, preterm birth, birth weight and low birth weight in the D5 and D6 TE biopsies were not significantly different. Both blastocyst grade and the day of TE biopsy must be considered at the same time when performing preimplantation genetic testing–frozen embryo transfer.
Effect of BMP–Wnt–Nodal signal on stem cell differentiation
Authors: Wang Liyun , Ma Ronghua , Jia Gongxue , Jian Shengyan , Zeng Xianghui , Xiong Zhengfang , Li Binye , Li Chen 
Published: June 2021

SummaryThe generation of germ cells from embryonic stem cells in vitro has current historical significance. Western blot, qPCR, immunofluorescence and flow cytometry assays were used to investigate the differences in expression levels of totipotency and specific markers for Wnt regulation and the related signalling pathways during primordial germ cell-like cell (PGCLC) induction and differentiation. During PGCLC induction, activation of WNT3a increased the expression of NANOG, SOX2 and OCT4, but Mvh, DAZL, Blimp1, TFAP2C, Gata4, SOX17, EOMES, Brachyury and PRDM1 expression levels were significantly reduced. Inhibition of the WNT signal demonstrated the opposite effect. Similarly, inhibitors of BMP and the Nodal/Activin signal were used to determine the effect of signal pathways on differentiation. CER1 affected the Wnt signal and differentiation, but the inhibitor SB only regulated differentiation. BMP–WNT–NODAL were mainly responsible for regulating differentiation. Our results provide a reliable theoretical basis and feasibility for further clinical medical research.