bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of COVID-19 on Clinical Research Units (CRUs)
Authors: Subramain Maran , Wangui-Verry Jackline M. , Sprenger Kimberly J. , Comellas Alejandro P. , Barlow Patrick B. 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
Few studies have explored the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented for Clinical Research Units (CRUs), the solutions that have been implemented, and the changes that have been made in the operational guidelines for these entities. This study sought to identify and document common practices implemented by CRUs around the United States of America (USA) when addressing the unique challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This descriptive study utilized a non-experimental mixed-methods approach and gathered data from representatives of 43 CRUs across the USA. An online survey was followed by in-depth interviews. The findings show that challenges faced from the COVID-19 pandemic, changes made to daily operations, and lessons learned are very similar across CRUs. Although most CRUs never stopped performing essential clinical research, many adapted to the pandemic by engaging in virtual visits, and many played key roles in administering and supporting both COVID-19 therapeutic and vaccine trials. Follow-up interviews showed that processes for formal approval and reopening were similar across CRUs. In addition to highlighting the significance of the role played by CRUs during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study addresses the relevance of CRUs and lays the groundwork for future conversations on the importance of these units.
Building an institutional K awardee program at UC Davis through utilization of CTSA resources
Authors: Guo Betty P. , Rainwater Julie , Neves Stacey , Anuurad Erdembileg , Wun Ted , Berglund Lars 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
NIH offers multiple mentored career development award mechanisms. By building on the UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) from its initial NIH funding in 2006, we created an institution-wide K scholar resource. We investigated subsequent NIH funding for K scholars and to what extent CTSC research resources were used. Using NIH RePORTER, we created a database of UC Davis investigators who obtained K01, K08, K23, K25, or K99, as well as institutional KL2 or K12 awards and tracked CTSC research resource use and subsequent funding success. Overall, 94 scholars completed K training between 2007 and 2020, of which 70 participated in one of four institutional, NIH-funded K programs. An additional 103 scholars completed a mentored clinical research training program. Of 94 K awardees, 61 (65%) later achieved NIH funding, with the majority receiving a subsequent individual K award. A higher proportion (73%) of funded scholars used CTSC resources compared to unfunded (48%). Biostatistics and Biomedical Informatics were most commonly used and 55% of scholars used one or more CTSC resource. We conclude that institutional commitment to create a K scholar platform and use of CTSC research resources is associated with high NIH funding rates for early career investigators.
Incidence of interruptive penicillin allergy alerts in patients with previously documented beta-lactam exposure: Potential for leveraging the electronic health record to identify erroneous allergies
Authors: Van Groningen Nicole , Duncan Ray , Cook-Wiens Galen , Kwong Aaron , Sonesen Matthew , Nuckols Teryl K. , Cassel Suzanne L. , Pevnick Joshua M. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractBackground:Approximately 10% of patients report allergies to penicillin, yet >90% of these allergies are not clinically significant. Patients reporting penicillin allergies are often treated with second-line, non–β-lactam antibiotics that are typically broader spectrum and more toxic. Orders for β-lactam antibiotics for these patients trigger interruptive alerts, even when there is electronic health record (EHR) data indicating prior β-lactam exposure.Objective:To describe the rate that interruptive penicillin allergy alerts display for patients who have previously had a β-lactam exposure.Design:Retrospective EHR review from January 2013 through June 2018.Setting:A nonprofit health system including 1 large tertiary-care medical center, a smaller associated hospital, 2 emergency departments, and ˜250 outpatient clinics.Participants:All patients with EHR-documented of penicillin allergies.Methods:We examined interruptive penicillin allergy alerts and identified the number and percentage of alerts that display for patients with a prior administration of a penicillin class or other β-lactam antibiotic.Results:Of 115,081 allergy alerts that displayed during the study period, 8% were displayed for patients who had an inpatient administration of a penicillin antibiotic after the allergy was noted, and 49% were displayed for patients with a prior inpatient administration of any β-lactam.Conclusions:Many interruptive penicillin allergy alerts display for patients who would likely tolerate a penicillin, and half of all alerts display for patients who would likely tolerate another β-lactam.
Decreasing incidence of Acinetobacter baumannii pneumonia and trends in antibiotic consumption: A single-center retrospective observational study
Authors: Peters Andrew T. , Pickens Chiagozie I. , Postelnick Michael J. , Zembower Teresa R. , Qi Chao , Wunderink Richard G. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractObjective:To describe the epidemiology of Acinetobacter baumannnii (AB) pneumonia at our center, including the antibiotic exposure patterns of individual AB pneumonia cases and to investigate whether hospital-wide antibiotic consumption trends were associated with trends in AB pneumonia incidence.Design:Single-center retrospective study with case-control and ecological components.Setting:US private tertiary-care hospital.Participants and methods:All hospitalized patients with AB infection from 2008 to 2019 were identified through laboratory records; for those with AB pneumonia, medical records were queried for detailed characteristics and antibiotic exposures in the 30 days preceding pneumonia diagnosis. Hospital-wide antibiotic consumption data from 2015 through 2019 were obtained through pharmacy records.Results:Incidence of both pneumonia and nonrespiratory AB infections decreased from 2008 to 2019. Among the 175 patients with AB pneumonia, the most frequent antibiotic exposure was vancomycin (101 patients). During the 2015–2019 period when hospital-wide antibiotic consumption data were available, carbapenem consumption increased, and trends negatively correlated with those of AB pneumonia (r = −0.48; P = .031) and AB infection at any site (r = −0.63; P = .003). Conversely, the decline in AB infection at any site correlated positively with concurrent declines in vancomycin (r = 0.55; P = .012) and quinolone consumption (r = 0.51; P = .022).Conclusions:We observed decreasing incidence of AB infection despite concurrently increasing carbapenem consumption, possibly associated with declining vancomycin and quinolone consumption. Future research should evaluate a potential role for glycopeptide and quinolone exposure in the pathogenesis of AB infection.
Flying males mediate oviposition and migration in femaleMythimna separata(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Authors: Wang Chengliang , Zhang Lei , Lv Weixiang 
Published: August 2021

AbstractIn recent decades, the oriental armyworm,Mythimna separata(Walker), has caused severe damage to staple grains in China. However, little is known about whenM. separatabegin their first migration and the role of males in reproduction and migration. Here, the migratory benefits and reproductive costs of flight frequency were examined in adults under laboratory conditions. We found that flying males had a positive effect on ovarian and reproductive development in females who flew for 1–2 nights by comparing two treatment groups (flying and nonflying male groups). Moreover, flying males decreased the flight capacity and flight propensity of females. In contrast, flight for more than two nights by males significantly inhibited ovarian and reproductive development in adult females. Compared with the controls (0 night), male flight for 1–2 nights significantly shortened the preoviposition period but significantly increased ovarian and reproductive development in females. However, male flight for more than three nights significantly inhibited female reproduction and flight capacity. These results indicate thatM. separatabegin their first migration within 2 days after emergence and fly for two nights. Prolonged flight times can result in significant reproductive costs. Females initiated their first migration earlier than males due to a stronger flight capacity. These observed findings will be useful for forecasting and monitoring population dynamics to prevent outbreaks ofM. separataand reduce crop losses.
In the Spirit of the Pioneers
Authors: Atkins Keletso E. 
Published: August 2021

Life is filled with tiny ironies; or as the old ones steeped in the tradition of the church would say, “the Lord sometimes moves in mysterious ways.”More than twenty-five years ago, after completing the two year city college degree, I applied to the BA program in history at Roosevelt University located in downtown Chicago and at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern invited me to take a series of tests. The first set of tests was to determine my intelligence quotient; the second set was designed to measure manual dexterity.
Policy Reform in Africa: How Effective?
Authors: Lancaster Carol 
Published: August 2021

The United Nations Special Session on the Critical Ecnomic Situation in Africa concluded in June 1986 with the Adoption of a Programme of Action which included an explicit recognition of African policy failures and the need for reform:The endogenous aggravating factors include deficiencies in institutional and physical infrastructures, economic strategies and policies that have fallen short, in some cases, of achieving their objectives, disparities in urban and rural development and income distribution, insufficient managerial/administrative capacities, inadequate human resource development and lack of financial resources...Urgent, far reaching and imaginative economic policies are required to avert further deterioration in the economic conditions in Africa...
Farewell from the Editor
Authors: Hawk Beverly 
Published: August 2021

ASA journal editors have great power. They decide whose work will be distributed to the membership in the Association’s journals. They can enforce silence or welcome thought. I am deeply honored to have been offered such a trust, and I hope I have fulfilled my obligations to your expectations. My four years as editor of Issue has been deeply satisfying. I have had the pleasure of working with many of you, and I have been privileged to read some of the very best work in African Studies.I was offered the position of editor of Issue one year after my diagnosis of breast cancer, and I thought it was a great chance to make a contribution to African Studies. If I might have been tempted to ignore the body as it serves the mind, this wake-up call offered me new understanding of the corporeal sources of my thoughts. To reconcile the spirit with the body is insight. Our bodies are our homes. They create, sustain, and challenge our work.
American Teachers in African Universities: The Case of Law
Authors: Paul James C. N. 
Published: August 2021

This paper is concerned with the role and responsibilities of Americans who go to African universities to profess, and with the rationale of such undertakings.In some ways, this may seem to be a threadbare topic. The values to be achieved from such transcultural experiences have long been assumed. At least since World War II and Senator Fulbright’s great initiatives, teaching abroad has been a favored activity. Yet recently we have taken a more skeptical view. The Fulbright and other programs are in some disarray in Africa today, and there is no longer much enthusiasm, in official “development circles,” for exporting university teachers.
The evolving economic importance of Polish forests between 1918 and 1945
Authors: Jendrzejewski Błażej 
Published: August 2021

AbstractPoland, going through three partitions and two wars, has suffered enormous losses across many dimensions. Polish forests have been damaged or destroyed by direct or indirect results of those tragic events and at the same time, timber and non-timber forest products played an important role in rebuilding the nation. This article illustrates the scale of the losses and the economic importance of Polish forests between 1918 and 1945. Actions of three partitioning states (Russia, Prussia and Austria) left the newly liberated Poland with damaged and destroyed forests. For example, during the Second World War, Germany protected its forests by shifting the entire burden of war supplies (that is, wood, game, resin and tanning bark) onto the forests of the occupied countries, including Poland. Despite being left in a bad condition, Polish forests were able to provide wood and non-wood products necessary for the reconstruction of the country and helped to jumpstart some of the sectors of the national economy. This article provides a review of the literature on twentieth century Polish forestry, with a specific focus on its changing economic importance, government perception and policy and the role of forestry to Polish economic, political and cultural life.
‘On behalf of the city’: wax and urban diplomacy in the late medieval Baltic and North Sea
Authors: Whelan Mark 
Published: August 2021

AbstractFocusing on the largely unpublished ‘city accounts’ (‘Stadsrekeningen’) of Bruges, this article examines the city's giving of prestigious Baltic beeswax to their lords, the Valois and (later) Habsburg dukes of Burgundy. It sheds new light on urban government by analysing how civic leaders across north-western Europe used the apiary product to manage often fraught relationships with their rulers and reinforce their identities as trading centres or outposts of international repute. More broadly, the gifting of Baltic beeswax points to the political and diplomatic prestige associated with the trade and display of the commodity in the later medieval period and the desire of urban leaders and communities to extract symbolic and political capital from its exchange.
The Second Boat of Africa’s New Diaspora: Looking at the Other Side of the Global Divide with an Emphasis on Sudan
Authors: Elnur Ibrahim 
Published: August 2021

“Even if you cannot relocate to Nigeria immediately, visit home to see in which way you can lend a hand in rebuilding the country,” said Nigeria’s first lady Stella Obasanjo, on a recent visit to Cape Town, South Africa.“My dad thought I was crazy for coming back,” said Osifo with a hearty laugh. “People are looking for ways to get out.”“Why are you coming back?” (Singer 2001).The processes of globalization have accelerated the exodus of the highly skilled from the collapsing modernization project. This article suggests that the flight of the educated elite is linked to the relative strength of the nation-state and both the length and intensity of internal conflicts. It is also suggested that the “skills exodus” may represent a major disruption in the political and social development of Africa, leading to further marginalization and affecting Africa’s capacity to revive development or envision an alternative development path. The emphasis is on Sudan’s unprecedented massive skills exodus during the past three decades, suggesting that this one case is extremely relevant to the rest of the continent, given the country’s favorable situation at the time of its independence in 1956.
Modeling the Viscosity of Anhydrous and Hydrous Volcanic Melts
Authors: Langhammer D. , Di Genova D. , Steinle‐Neumann G. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe viscosity of volcanic melts is a dominant factor in controlling the fluid dynamics of magmas and thereby eruption style. It can vary by several orders of magnitude, depending on temperature, chemical composition, and water content. The experimentally accessible temperature range is restricted by melt crystallization and gas exsolution. Therefore, modeling viscosity as a function of temperature and water content is central to physical volcanology. We present a model that describes these dependencies by combining a physically motivated equation for temperature dependence of viscosity and a glass transition temperature () model for the effects of water. The equation uses the viscosity at infinite temperature , , and the steepness factor as fitting parameters. We investigate the effect of leaving free as a parameter and fixing its value, by fitting anhydrous viscosity data of 45 volcanic melts using the temperature dependent model. Both approaches describe experimental data well. Using a constant therefore provides a viable route for extrapolating viscosity from data restricted to small temperature intervals. Our model describes hydrous data over a wide compositional range of terrestrial magmas (26 data sets) with comparable or better quality than literature fits. With constrained, we finally apply our model to viscosities derived by differential scanning calorimetry and find—by comparing to viscometry based data and models—that this approach can be used to reliably describe the dependence of viscosity on temperature and water content. This introduces important implications for modeling the effects of nanostructure formation on viscosity.
Earth's Energy Imbalance From the Ocean Perspective (2005–2019)
Authors: Hakuba M. Z. , Frederikse T. , Landerer F. W. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractEarth's energy imbalance (EEI) represents the rate of global energy accumulation in response to radiative forcings and feedbacks. Ocean heat uptake (OHU) poses a vital constraint on EEI and its uncertainty. Considering recent geodetic observations, geophysical corrections, and new estimates of the ocean's expansion efficiency of heat, we translate steric sea‐level change, the difference of total sea‐level and ocean‐mass change, into an OHU of 0.86 [0.62, 1.10, 5%–95%] Wm−2 for the period 2005–2019. Adding components of non‐oceanic heat uptake, we obtain an EEI of 0.94 [0.70, 1.19] Wm−2, which is at the upper end of previous assessments, but agrees within uncertainty. Interannual geodetic OHU variability exhibits a higher correlation with top‐of‐the‐atmosphere net radiative flux than hydrographic‐only data, but has a three times larger standard deviation. The radiation fluxes and the geodetic approach suggest an increase in heat uptake since 2005, most markedly in recent years.
Non‐Negligible Contribution to Seasonally Thawing Depth of Active Layer From Extreme Warming Events in the Tanggula Permafrost Region of Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau
Authors: Zhu Xiaofan , Wu Tonghua , Hu Guojie , Ni Jie , Zou Defu , Chen Jie , Li Xiangfei , Wu Xiaodong , Li Ren 
Published: August 2021

AbstractDespite rising interest in the impacts of long‐term gradual climate warming on permafrost changes, little is known about the changes in active‐layer thermal conditions after transient and abrupt extreme warming events. Here, we investigated the Tanggula permafrost region of the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau using in situ meteorological and active‐layer hydrothermal data. The results showed that the magnitude of variation in the thermal condition of the active layer was positively correlated with the duration and intensity of extreme warming events. The average contribution rate of extreme warming events to seasonally thawing depth was 13.5% ± 4.9% from April to October, and higher rates occurred in the initial and final stages of the thawing process. The thawing process of the active layer was the main factor controlling the thermal responses of this layer to extreme warming events. Moreover, the interannual differences in active‐layer thermal conditions during the thawing period were likely related to the interannual differences in the frequency and intensity of extreme warming events.
Alien Aeolian Bedforms: A Comparative Sedimentary Analysis of the Dingo Gap Bedform and Hidden Valley Ripple Traverses, Gale Crater, Mars
Authors: Bretzfelder Jordan M. , Day Mackenzie 
Published: August 2021

AbstractAt the end of January 2014 (Sols 528–540), the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity approached the valley opening known as Dingo Gap. Spanning this gap was an unusual bedform with a maximum height of 1.34 m and a maximum width of ∼8 m. Curiosity encountered, imaged, and successfully traversed this atypical bedform. In August of 2014, Curiosity began to traverse a field of ripples in Hidden Valley, but was forced to abort the attempt due to high wheel slip. The Hidden Valley ripples are ∼1/6 of the height of the Dingo Gap bedform, and yet posed a serious hazard to the rover. Here, we present a sedimentological analysis of the Dingo Gap bedform and the Hidden Valley ripples and discuss how their differences may have impacted rover traversability. The Dingo Gap and Hidden Valley bedforms are morphologically similar to many commonly observed bedforms on Mars that have few clear analogs on Earth, and Curiosity's encounters provide a framework for studying these bedforms in detail. Furthermore, the rover tracks across the bedforms have persisted for >5 Earth years, even through a global dust storm. The longevity of the tracks demonstrates that on multi‐year timescales (a) sediment transport on some Martian bedforms is inactive or slow enough that areas disturbed by the rover are not resurfaced, and (b) the rate of dust deposition on the Martian surface, even after a global dust storm, is too low to create an optically thick layer.
Socioeconomic inequalities in the food environment and body composition among school-aged children: a fixed-effects analysis
Authors: Mölenberg Famke J. M. , Mackenbach Joreintje D. , Poelman Maartje P. , Santos Susana , Burdorf Alex , van Lenthe Frank J. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractBackgroundThere is limited evidence regarding socioeconomic inequalities of exposure to the food environment and its contribution to childhood obesity.MethodsWe used data from 4235 children from the Generation R Study, a large birth-cohort conducted in the city of Rotterdam, The Netherlands. We included 11,277 person-observations of body mass index (BMI) and 6240 person-observations of DXA-derived fat mass index (FMI) and fat-free mass index (FFMI) when children were between 4 and 14 years. We applied linear regression models to evaluate changes in the relative and absolute exposure of fast-food outlets, and the healthiness of the food environment within 400 m from home by maternal education. Furthermore, we used individual-level fixed-effects models to study changes in the food environment to changes in BMI, FMI and FFMI.ResultsChildren from lower educated mothers were exposed to more fast-food outlets at any time-point between the age of 4 and 14 years. Over a median period of 7.1 years, the absolute (0.6 fast-food outlet (95% CI: 0.4–0.8)) and relative (2.0%-point (95% CI: 0.7–3.4)) amount of fast-food outlets increased more for children from lower as compared to higher educated mothers. The food environment became more unhealthy over time, but no differences in trends were seen by maternal education level. Changes in the food environment were not associated with subsequent changes in BMI, FMI and FFMI. For children from lower educated mothers not exposed to fast-food at first, we found some evidence that the introduction of fast-food was associated with small increases in BMI.ConclusionsOur findings provide evidence of widening inequalities in exposure to fast-food in an already poor food environment. Access to more fast-food outlets does not seem to have an additional impact on BMI in contemporary contexts with ubiquitous fast-food outlets.