bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Student governments in Chinese higher education: reflection on college students’ and student cadres’ political trust
Authors: Huang Wei , Yao Panpan , Li Fan , Liao Xiaowei 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThis paper documents the structure and operations of student governments in contemporary Chinese higher education and their effect on college students’ political trust and party membership. We first investigate the structure and power distribution within student governments in Chinese universities, specifically focusing on the autonomy of student governments and the degree to which they represent students. Second, using a large sample of college students, we examine how participating in student government affects their political trust and party membership. Our results show that student government in Chinese higher education possesses a complex, hierarchical matrix structure with two main parallel systems—the student union and the Chinese Communist Party system. We found that power distribution within student governments is rather uneven, and student organisations that are affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party have an unequal share of power. In addition, we found that students’ cadre experience is highly appreciated in student cadre elections, and being a student cadre significantly affects their political trust and party membership during college.
The potential for parasite spill-back from commercial bumblebee colonies: a neglected threat to wild bees?
Authors: Martin Callum D. , Fountain Michelle T. , Brown Mark J. F. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractCommercially-reared bumblebee colonies provide pollination services to numerous crop species globally. These colonies may harbour parasites which can spill-over to wild bee species. However, the potential for parasites to spread from wild to commercial bumblebees, which could then lead to parasite spill-back, is poorly understood. To investigate this, parasite-free commercial Bombus terrestris audax colonies, which are used commercially for strawberry pollination, were placed into seasonal strawberry crops for either 6- or 8-week blocks across two key time periods, early spring and early summer. Bumblebees were removed from colonies weekly and screened for the presence of parasites. In the early spring placement, only one parasite, the highly virulent neogregarine Apicystis bombi, was detected at a low prevalence (0.46% across all bees screened). In contrast, all colonies placed in the crop in the early summer became infected. A trypanosome, Crithidia bombi, and A. bombi were the most prevalent parasites across all samples, reaching peak prevalence in screened bees of 39.39% and 18.18% respectively at the end of the experimental period. The prevalence of A. bombi was greater than most UK records from wild bumblebees, suggesting that commercial colonies could enhance levels of A. bombi infection in wild bees through spill-back. Studies on larger geographical scales with different commercial colony densities are required to fully assess spill-back risk. However, seasonal management, to minimise spill-back opportunities, and treatment of commercial colonies to prevent infection, could be implemented to manage the potential risks of parasite spill-back to wild bees.Implications for insect conservation Our results show that commercial bumblebee populations do pick up infections, most likely from wild bees, and that these infections can reach prevalences where they may pose a threat to wild bees via parasite spill-back. More research is required to clarify the extent of this potential threat.
Modular production control using deep reinforcement learning: proximal policy optimization
Authors: Mayer Sebastian , Classen Tobias , Endisch Christian 
Published: May 2021

AbstractEU regulations on $$\textit{CO}_2$$

CO
2

limits and the trend of individualization are pushing the automotive industry towards greater flexibility and robustness in production. One approach to address these challenges is modular production, where workstations are decoupled by automated guided vehicles, requiring new control concepts. Modular production control aims at throughput-optimal coordination of products, workstations, and vehicles. For this np-hard problem, conventional control approaches lack in computing efficiency, do not find optimal solutions, or are not generalizable. In contrast, Deep Reinforcement Learning offers powerful and generalizable algorithms, able to deal with varying environments and high complexity. One of these algorithms is Proximal Policy Optimization, which is used in this article to address modular production control. Experiments in several modular production control settings demonstrate stable, reliable, optimal, and generalizable learning behavior. The agent successfully adapts its strategies with respect to the given problem configuration. We explain how to get to this learning behavior, especially focusing on the agent’s action, state, and reward design.
Identity of mass-flowering crops moderates functional trait composition of pollinator communities
Authors: Beyer Nicole , Kirsch Felix , Gabriel Doreen , Westphal Catrin 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Context
Pollinator declines and functional homogenization of farmland insect communities have been reported. Mass-flowering crops (MFC) can support pollinators by providing floral resources. Knowledge about how MFC with dissimilar flower morphology affect functional groups and functional trait compositions of wild bee communities is scarce.

Objective
We investigated how two morphologically different MFC, land cover and local flower cover of semi-natural habitats (SNH) and landscape diversity affect wild bees and their functional traits (body size, tongue length, sociality, foraging preferences).

Methods
We conducted landscape-level wild bee surveys in SNH of 30 paired study landscapes covering an oilseed rape (OSR) (Brassica napus L.) gradient. In 15 study landscapes faba beans (Vicia faba L.) were grown, paired with respective control landscapes without grain legumes.

Results
Faba bean cultivation promoted bumblebees (Bombus spp. Latreille), whereas non-Bombus densities were only driven by the local flower cover of SNH. High landscape diversity enhanced wild bee species richness. Faba bean cultivation enhanced the proportions of social wild bees, bees foraging on Fabaceae and slightly of long-tongued bumblebees. Solitary bee proportions increased with high covers of OSR. High local SNH flower covers mitigated changes of mean bee sizes caused by faba bean cultivation.

Conclusions
Our results show that MFC support specific functional bee groups adapted to their flower morphology and can alter pollinators` functional trait composition. We conclude that management practices need to target the cultivation of functionally diverse crops, combined with high local flower covers of diverse SNH to create heterogeneous landscapes, which sustain diverse pollinator communities.
Collaborative augmentation and simplification of text (CoAST): pedagogical applications of natural language processing in digital learning environments
Authors: Shardlow Matthew , Sellar Sam , Rousell David 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThe digitisation of higher education is raising significant questions about the impact of artificial intelligence and automation on teaching and learning environments, highlighting the need to investigate how teachers and students can work with new educational technologies in complementary ways. This paper reports results from a pilot study of the collaborative augmentation and simplification of text (CoAST) system, which is online software designed to facilitate the engagement of university students with theoretically-sophisticated academic texts. CoAST offers a digital learning interface that uses natural language processing algorithms to identify words that can be difficult to understand for readers at different ability levels. Course lecturers use their pedagogical content knowledge to add brief annotations to identified words. The software was trialed using a quasi-experimental design with (1) 23 undergraduate Education Studies students and (2) 23 digital and technology solutions students. Results suggest that CoAST offers a digital learning environment that can effectively mediate and enhance pedagogical relationships between teachers, students, and complex theoretical texts.
Unification and mathematical explanation
Authors: Knowles Robert 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThis paper provides a sorely-needed evaluation of the view that mathematical explanations in science explain by unifying. Illustrating with some novel examples, I argue that the view is misguided. For believers in mathematical explanations in science, my discussion rules out one way of spelling out how they work, bringing us one step closer to the right way. For non-believers, it contributes to a divide-and-conquer strategy for showing that there are no such explanations in science. My discussion also undermines the appeal to unifying power in support of the enhanced indispensability argument.
Turmoil over the crisis: innovation capabilities and firm exit
Authors: Grazzi Marco , Piccardo Chiara , Vergari Cecilia 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThis work investigates the relationship between the characteristics and survival probabilities of firms, distinguishing between “involuntary” firm exit and exit by merger and acquisition (M&A). More in detail, we study how, and to what extent, innovation capabilities, as proxied by patents and trademarks, are able to shape, together with standard performance variables, the observed dynamics at the firm level. By using comprehensive data on Italian firms from business registers, we separate the administrative procedures leading to “involuntary” exit from those ending up with an event of M&A. We find that while higher productivity is associated with a lower probability of “involuntary” exit, productivity increases the chances of being the target for M&A. As far as intellectual property instruments are concerned, they tend to reduce the probability of both “involuntary” exit and M&A. However, the relative importance of the two instruments differs according to the exit route: patents are more relevant than trademarks in preventing “involuntary” exit, while the opposite is true for M&A.Plain English Summary We investigate firm’s exit after a crisis. Overall innovation plays a positive role, but the relative importance of IP depends on the exit route: patents are more relevant than trademarks against “involuntary” exit, while the opposite is true for M&A. We resort to the virtual universe of Italian limited liability firms from manufacturing, trade, and service to investigate the determinants of firm survival over the period 2010–2014. We scrutinize detailed administrative data on significant events occurring to firms to distinguish between events leading to involuntary exit and to M&A. In addition to the evidence on innovation, our results show that higher productivity decreases the probability of “involuntary” exit, yet productivity increases the chances of being the target for M&A. Taken together, these findings warn against a simplistic perspective on exit: the role of innovation and firm characteristics heavily depends on the exit route.
Biodegradation of Natural Rubber: Microcosm Study
Authors: Bosco Francesca , Mollea Chiara 
Published: May 2021

AbstractIn the present work, natural rubber (NR) biodegradation, by means of a microbial consortium, naturally selected in a tyre dump soil, has been evaluated. To this purpose, prepared soil microcosms were incubated for 236 days, at room temperature, and natural light/dark cycles. The effect of primary C-source and fresh soil addition, soil aeration, and humidity maintenance has been monitored by means of microbiological and respirometric analysis, dry weight loss determinations, and SEM micrographs. During the incubation, in biodegradation microcosms (BD), containing NR samples, the produced CO2 was significantly higher than that of biotic controls (BC). Furthermore, after 236 days, a NR dry weight loss of 15.6%, in BD microcosms, was registered, about four-fold higher than that registered in BC control (3.7%). Obtained results confirmed that the naturally selected microbial consortium was able to use NR as the only C-source and to biodegrade it. The positive effect of soil mixing evidenced that the biodegradation process was mainly carried out by aerobic biomass, especially filamentous fungi, as confirmed by microbial counts and SEM observations. Results obtained in the microcosm study provided useful information in terms of soil aeration and nutrient amendment in view of a future biodegradation process scale-up.
Plättchenkonzentrate in der Behandlung von Rotatorenmanschettenläsionen
Authors: Blunier Raphael , Frommer Marvin Lucas , Zumstein Matthias , Schär Michael 
Published: May 2021

Zusammenfassung
Hintergrund
Trotz stetiger Verbesserungen bei der Refixationstechnik von Rotatorenmanschettenrupturen (RMR) ist die Rerupturrate mit 26,6 % nach wie vor hoch. Aus diesem Grund wird heute deshalb versucht, die Manschettenheilung zusätzlich mit biologischen Mitteln zu augmentieren. In diese Kategorie fällt die Augmentation mittels Plättchenkonzentraten. Neben der einfachen Gewinnung und Herstellung gibt es für diese autolog gewonnenen Konzentrate relativ tiefe regulatorische Hürden. Dass diese Konzentrate nur Minuten nach der Blutentnahme und Zentrifugation wieder appliziert werden können, ist ein weiterer Vorteil. Der Begriff Plättchenkonzentrate stellt eine große inhomogene Gruppe von verschiedenen Konzentraten mit unterschiedlichen Eigenschaften dar. Bedingt durch unterschiedliche Herstellungsprozesse weist nicht jedes Plättchenkonzentrat die gleichen Eigenschaften auf.

Fragestellung
Ist die biologische Augmentation mit Plättchenkonzentraten bei Rotatorenmanschettenläsionen mit einem verbesserten Outcome verbunden? Wie unterscheiden sich die gängigen Plättchenkonzentratprodukte in ihrem klinischen und radiologischen Resultat?

Material und Methoden
Die Suche fand via PubMed mit Einschluss von 26/289 Studien von 2007 bis 2020 statt.

Ergebnisse und Diskussion
Die Evaluation der heute verfügbaren Studien zeigt, dass nur P‑PRP („pure platelet-rich plasma“) zur biologischen Augmentation von RMR-Refixationen empfohlen werden kann. Hier zeigte sich eine signifikant tiefere Rerupturrate in den P‑PRP-Gruppen. Aber auch in dieser Plättchenuntergruppe sind die Resultate heterogen. Bei der konservativen Therapie von Partialrupturen und Tendinopathien der Manschette zeigt sich kein Benefit nach biologischer Augmentation mittels Plättchenkonzentrate.
How Sustained is Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Long-term Efficacy?
Authors: Guimarães Marta , Osório Catarina , Silva Diogo , Almeida Rui F. , Reis António , Cardoso Samuel , Pereira Sofia S. , Monteiro Mariana P. , Nora Mário 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Purpose
The rate of weight regain after Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB) can hamper the procedure long-term efficacy for obesity treatment and related comorbidities. To evaluate the rate of weight loss and comorbidity remission failure 10 years or more after RYGB surgery.

Materials and methods
Retrospective observational cohort study. Patients submitted to RYGB for obesity treatment at a single centre with 10 years or more after surgery underwent a clinical reassessment.

Results
Among the subjects invited for clinical revaluation (n = 585), only those who performed RYGB and attended the hospital visit were included in the study (n = 281). The pre-operative mean body mass index (BMI) was 44.4 ± 6.1 kg/m2. Mean post-operative time was 12.2 ± 1.1 years. After surgery, mean BMI was significantly lower 33.4 ± 5.8 kg/m2 (p < 0.0001), 29.5% with a BMI < 30 kg/m2. Mean Total Weight Lost (%TWL) was 24.3 ± 11.4%, reaching a %TWL ≥ 20% in 70.1% with a mean %TWL of 30.0 ± 7.0%. Co-morbidities remission rate was 54.2% for type 2 diabetes, 34.1% for hypertension, 52.4% for hyperlipidemia and 50% for obstructive sleep apnea. Early complications rate was 13.2% and revision surgery occurred in 2.8% of patients. Four patients died of RYGB complications within the first 90 days after surgery.

Conclusion
RYGB has a high rate of long-term successful weight loss and obesity-associated comorbidity improvement. Weight loss failure requiring revision surgery occurs in a small proportion of patients. Our data confirms the long-term effectiveness of RYGB as primary bariatric intervention.

Graphical abstract
Multi-featured collective perception with Evidence Theory: tackling spatial correlations
Authors: Bartashevich Palina , Mostaghim Sanaz 
Published: May 2021

AbstractCollective perception allows sparsely distributed agents to form a global view on a common spatially distributed problem without any direct access to global knowledge and only based on a combination of locally perceived information. However, the evidence gathered from the environment is often subject to spatial correlations and depends on the movements of the agents. The latter is not always easy to control and the main question is how to share and to combine the estimated information to achieve the most precise global estimate in the least possible time. The current article aims at answering this question with the help of evidence theory, also known as Dempster–Shafer theory, applied to the collective perception scenario as a collective decision-making problem. We study eight most common belief combination operators to address the arising conflict between different sources of evidence in a highly dynamic multi-agent setting, driven by modulation of positive feedback. In comparison with existing approaches, such as voter models, the presented framework operates on quantitative belief assignments of the agents based on the observation time of the options according to the agents’ opinions. The evaluated results on an extended benchmark set for multiple options ($$n>2$$

n
>
2

) indicate that the proportional conflict redistribution (PCR) principle allows a collective of small size ($$N=20$$

N
=
20

), occupying $$3.5\%$$

3.5
%

of the surface, to successfully resolve the conflict between clustered areas of features and reach a consensus with almost $$100\%$$

100
%

certainty up to $$n=5$$

n
=
5

.
When imperfect is preferred: the differential effect of aesthetic imperfections on choice of processed and unprocessed foods
Authors: Suher Jacob , Szocs Courtney , van Ittersum Koert 
Published: May 2021

AbstractSome companies design processed foods to contain aesthetic imperfections such as non-uniformities in shape, color, or texture. Simultaneously, consumers annually discard millions of pounds of unprocessed, safe-to-eat fruits and vegetables owing to aesthetic imperfections. Why design processed foods with aesthetic imperfections when people discard unprocessed foods because of them? Seven studies, including a choice study at a grocery store and an incentive-compatible study, show that the effect of aesthetic imperfections on consumer preferences depends on whether foods are unprocessed or processed. While imperfections negatively influence preferences for unprocessed foods, they positively influence preferences for processed foods. We attribute this preference shift to consumers making opposing inferences about the human care involved in producing aesthetically imperfect processed and unprocessed foods. Building on research highlighting the positive effects of human presence in production, we thus show that perceived care drives food choice. We discuss implications for product design, retail promotion, and sustainability.
How does consumer engagement evolve when brands post across multiple social media?
Authors: Unnava Vasu , Aravindakshan Ashwin 
Published: May 2021

AbstractBrands allocate their social media advertising across multiple platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Because consumers use multiple social media, brand communications on one platform could generate engagement within the same platform (direct effects) and potentially impact engagement with the brand on the other platforms (spillover effects). Additionally, past engagement with a post on a platform could sustain into the future, thereby improving the longevity of posts (carryover effects). These effects could also vary across platforms. Drawing on recent advertising literature, the authors propose and test differential carryover, spillover, and direct effects within and across social media. The empirical analysis indicates that these effects exist and are significant, supporting the propositions presented. The analysis provides generalizable guidelines to social media marketers on the effectiveness of the various platforms at sustaining a post and at creating direct and spillover effects across other platforms. Finally, the study also exemplifies a resource allocation model for brands to use when allocating their efforts across the various social media platforms to maximize both consumer engagement and the firm’s return on social media investment.
Activated fibroblasts enhance cancer cell migration by microvesicles-mediated transfer of Galectin-1
Authors: Toti Alessandra , Santi Alice , Pardella Elisa , Nesi Ilaria , Tomasini Richard , Mello Tommaso , Paoli Paolo , Caselli Anna , Cirri Paolo 
Published: May 2021

AbstractCancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are one of the main components of the stromal compartment in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and the crosstalk between CAFs and cancer cells is essential for tumor progression and aggressiveness. Cancer cells mediate an activation process, converting normal fibroblasts into CAFs, that are characterized by modified expression of many proteins and increased production and release of microvesicles (MVs), extracellular vesicles generated by outwards budding from the cell membrane. Recent evidence underlined that the uptake of CAF-derived MVs changes the overall protein content of tumor cells. In this paper, we demonstrate that tumor activated fibroblasts overexpress Galectin-1 (Gal-1) and consequently release MVs containing increased levels of this protein. The uptake of Gal-1 enriched MVs by tumor cells leads to the upregulation of its intracellular concentration, that strongly affects cancer cell migration, while neither proliferation nor adhesion are altered. Accordingly, tumor cells co-cultured with fibroblasts silenced for Gal-1 have a reduced migratory ability. The present work reveals the key role of an exogenous protein, Gal-1, derived from activated fibroblasts, in cancer progression, and contributes to clarify the importance of MVs-mediated protein trafficking in regulating tumor-stroma crosstalk.
Observing Justice at Guantánamo Bay: Human Rights NGOs and Trial Monitoring at the US Military Commissions
Authors: Lohne Kjersti 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThe article critically considers the role of NGOs at the US naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. On the basis of observation of pre-trial hearings for the case against Khalid Sheik Mohammed et al.—those allegedly responsible for the September 11 attacks—the article analyses NGOs as trial monitors of the US military commissions set up to deal with ‘alien unprivileged enemy belligerents’. In spite of continued efforts by human rights NGOs and incremental improvements in the military commissions’ institutional arrangements and practice, the article shows how NGOs have become so much a part of the everyday operation of justice at ‘Gitmo’ that they legitimate the military commissions’ claim to be delivering fair and transparent justice.