bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Radiographic quantification of left atrial size in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease
Authors: Lam Christopher , Gavaghan Brad J. , Meyers Fiona E. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBackgroundIn the absence of echocardiography, identification of cardiomegaly via thoracic radiography is a necessary criterion for classification of disease severity in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD).ObjectiveModified‐vertebral left atrial size (M‐VLAS) facilitates objective radiographic assessment of the left atrium (LA) in 2 dimensions and identifies LA enlargement more accurately than existing methods.AnimalsSixty‐four dogs with various stages of MMVD and 6 control healthy dogs.MethodsRetrospective case–control study. Medical records were searched for dogs with varying severity of MMVD. Modified‐vertebral left atrial size, vertebral left atrial size (VLAS), vertebral heart size (VHS), and radiographic left atrial dimension (RLAD) were measured from thoracic radiographs and compared with echocardiographically derived measurements.ResultsPositive correlation to LA/Ao was identified for M‐VLAS (r= 0.77,P< .001), VLAS (r= 0.76,P< .001), RLAD (r= 0.75,P< .001), and VHS (r= 0.67,P< .001). Receiver operating characteristic analyzes provided an area under the curve of 0.97 (95% CI, 0.94‐1.00) for M‐VLAS, which was superior to VHS (0.90, 95% CI, 0.94‐1.00,P= .03) in identifying dogs with LA/Ao ≥1.6. A cut‐off value of ≥3.4 vertebrae using M‐VLAS provided 92.7% sensitivity and 93.1% specificity in predicting LA enlargement.Conclusions and clinical importanceM‐VLAS, which is superior to VHS, offers an accurate and repeatable way to radiographically identify LA enlargement in dogs with MMVD.
A contract‐law analyses of the SMTA of the Plant Treaty: Can it work as a binding contract?
Authors: Tvedt Morten Walløe 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA) of the Plant Treaty is the primary legal tool for making monetary benefit sharing work. International public law, including the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), is binding on states and have no legally binding effect on private companies. Access and benefit‐sharing, both under the ITPGRFA and the convention on biological diversity (CBD), aim at altering the actions of private users and companies. This article analyses the SMTA from a contract‐law perspective raising the question whether the SMTA can work as a binding contract? For a contract to work it must establish legally binding and enforceable obligations on a user of plant genetic resources. The method is to analyse the current SMTA from a contract legal language perspective. It will investigate, ways of coining the obligations in the wording, unclear trigger‐points, lack of remedies against breach of contract and limited enforcement mechanisms can explain lack of user payment. It will draw on contract‐law research to outline possible ways forward to an improved SMTA. The main aim is to contribute to a future improvement of a second generation SMTA.
Sex‐specific expression and DNA methylation in a species with extreme sexual dimorphism and paternal genome elimination
Authors: Bain Stevie A. , Marshall Hollie , de la Filia Andrés G. , Laetsch Dominik R. , Husnik Filip , Ross Laura 
Published: February 2021

AbstractPhenotypic differences between sexes are often mediated by differential expression and alternative splicing of genes. However, the mechanisms that regulate these expression and splicing patterns remain poorly understood. The mealybug,Planococcus citri, displays extreme sexual dimorphism and exhibits an unusual instance of sex‐specific genomic imprinting, paternal genome elimination (PGE), in which the paternal chromosomes in males are highly condensed and eliminated from the sperm.Planococcus citrihas no sex chromosomes and both sexual dimorphism and PGE are predicted to be under epigenetic control. We recently showed thatP. citrifemales display a highly unusual DNA methylation profile for an insect species, with the presence of promoter methylation associated with lower levels of gene expression. Here, we therefore decided to explore genome‐wide differences in DNA methylation between male and femaleP. citriusing whole‐genome bisulphite sequencing. We identified extreme differences in genome‐wide levels and patterns between the sexes. Males display overall higher levels of DNA methylation which manifest as more uniform low levels across the genome. Whereas females display more targeted high levels of methylation. We suggest these unique sex‐specific differences are due to chromosomal differences caused by PGE and may be linked to possible ploidy compensation. Using RNA‐Seq, we identify extensive sex‐specific gene expression and alternative splicing, but we find no correlation withcis‐acting DNA methylation.
Contextual Competence: How residents develop competent performance in new settings
Authors: Teunissen Pim W. , Watling Christopher J. , Schrewe Brett , Asgarova Sevinj , Ellaway Rachel , Myers Kathryn , Topps Maureen , Bates Joanna 
Published: February 2021

AbstractIntroductionMedical education continues to diversify its settings. For postgraduate trainees, moving across diverse settings, especially community‐based rotations, can be challenging personally and professionally. Competent performance is embedded in context; as a result, trainees who move to new contexts are challenged to use their knowledge, skills and experience to adjust. What trainees need to adapt to and what that requires of them are poorly understood. This research takes a capability approach to understand how trainees entering a new setting develop awareness of specific contextual changes that they need to navigate and learn from.MethodsWe used constructivist grounded theory with in‐depth interviews. A total of 29 trainees and recent graduates from three internal medicine training programmes in Canada participated. All participants had completed at least one community‐based rotation geographically far from their home training site. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and anonymised. The interview framework was adjusted several times following initial data analysis.ResultsContextual competence results from trainees’ ability to attend to five key stages. Participants had first to meet their physiological and practical needs, followed by developing a sense of belonging and legitimacy, which paved the way for a re‐constitution of competence and appropriate autonomy. Trainee's attention to these stages of adaptation was facilitated by a process of continuously moving between using their knowledge and skill foundation and recognising where and when contextual differences required new learning and adaptations.DiscussionAn ability to recognise contextual change and adapt accordingly is part of Nussbaum and Sen's concept of capability development. We argue this key skill has not received the attention it deserves in current training models and in the support postgraduate trainees receive in practice. Recommendations include supporting residents in their capability development by debriefing their experiences of moving between settings and supporting clinical teachers as they actively coach residents through this process.
Hydraulic failure and tree size linked with canopy die‐back in eucalypt forest during extreme drought
Authors: Nolan Rachael H. , Gauthey Alice , Losso Adriano , Medlyn Belinda E. , Smith Rhiannon , Chhajed Shubham S. , Fuller Kathryn , Song Magnolia , Li Xine , Beaumont Linda J. , Boer Matthias M. , Wright Ian J. , Choat Brendan 
Published: February 2021

Summary

Eastern Australia was subject to its hottest and driest year on record in 2019. This extreme drought resulted in massive canopy die‐back in eucalypt forests. The role of hydraulic failure and tree size on canopy die‐back in three eucalypt tree species during this drought was examined.

We measured pre‐dawn and midday leaf water potential (Ψleaf), per cent loss of stem hydraulic conductivity and quantified hydraulic vulnerability to drought‐induced xylem embolism. Tree size and tree health was also surveyed.

Trees with most, or all, of their foliage dead exhibited high rates of native embolism (78–100%). This is in contrast to trees with partial canopy die‐back (30–70% canopy die‐back: 72–78% native embolism), or relatively healthy trees (little evidence of canopy die‐back: 25–31% native embolism). Midday Ψleaf was significantly more negative in trees exhibiting partial canopy die‐back (−2.7 to −6.3 MPa), compared with relatively healthy trees (−2.1 to −4.5 MPa). In two of the species the majority of individuals showing complete canopy die‐back were in the small size classes.

Our results indicate that hydraulic failure is strongly associated with canopy die‐back during drought in eucalypt forests. Our study provides valuable field data to help constrain models predicting mortality risk.
Facilitating corals in an early Silurian deep‐water assemblage
Authors: Dhungana Alavya , Mitchell Emily G. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractCorals are powerful ecosystem engineers and can form reef communities with extraordinary biodiversity through time. Understanding the processes underlying the spatial distribution of corals allows us to identify the key biological and physical processes that structure coral communities and how these processes and interactions have evolved. However, few spatial ecology studies have been conducted on coral assemblages in the fossil record. Here we use spatial point process analysis (SPPA) to investigate the ecological interactions of anin situtabulate and rugose coral community (n = 199), preserved under volcanic ash in the Silurian of Ireland.SPPAis able to identify many different sorts of interactions including dispersal limitation and competition within and between taxa. OurSPPAfound that the spatial distribution of rugose corals were best modelled by Thomas clusters (pd = 0.834), indicating a single dispersal episode and that the tabulate corals were best modelled by double Thomas clusters (pd = 0.820), indicating two dispersal episodes. Further, the bivariate distribution was best modelled by linked double clusters (pd = 0.970), giving significant evidence of facilitation between the tabulate and rugose populations, and identifying the facilitators in this community to be the tabulate corals. This interaction could be an important ecological driver for enabling the aggregation of sessile organisms over long temporal periods and facilitation may help to explain trends in reef diversity and abundance during the Ordovician biodiversification and in the early Silurian.
Abscisic acid mediates barley rhizosheath formation under mild soil drying by promoting root hair growth and auxin response
Authors: Zhang Yingjiao , Xu Feiyun , Ding Yexin , Du Huan , Zhang Qian , Dang Xiaolin , Cao Yiying , Dodd Ian C. , Xu Weifeng 
Published: February 2021

AbstractSoil drying enhances root ABA accumulation and rhizosheath formation, but whether ABA mediates rhizosheath formation is unclear. Here, we used the ABA‐deficient mutant Az34 to investigate molecular and morphological changes by which ABA could affect rhizosheath formation. Mild soil drying with intermittent watering increased rhizosheath formation by promoting root and root hair elongation. Attenuated root ABA accumulation in Az34 barley constrained the promotion of root length and root hair length by drying soil, such that Az34 had a smaller rhizosheath. Pharmacological experiments of adding fluridone (an ABA biosynthesis inhibitor) and ABA to drying soil restricted and enhanced rhizosheath formation respectively in Az34 and wild‐type Steptoe barley. RNA sequencing suggested that ABA accumulation mediates auxin synthesis and responses and root and root hair elongation in drying soil. In addition, adding indole‐3‐acetic acid (IAA) to drying soil increased rhizosheath formation by promoting root and root hair elongation in Steptoe and Az34 barley. Together, these results show that ABA accumulation induced by mild soil drying enhance barley rhizosheath formation, which may be achieved through promoting auxin response.
How Well Do They Manage a Crisis? The Government's Effectiveness During the COVID‐19 Pandemic
Authors: Mizrahi Shlomo , Vigoda‐Gadot Eran , Cohen Nissim 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe COVID‐19 pandemic clearly highlighted the importance of effective crisis management and its relationship with citizens’ willingness to cooperate with the government in such turbulent times. We develop a theory and hypotheses about the impact of citizens' experiences on their perceptions of the government's effectiveness during times of crisis. We do so with data collected at two points in time: in late March 2020 during the first peak of the COVID‐19 crisis in Israel, and in October 2020 when Israel was exiting from a second lockdown. The findings demonstrate that during crises citizens focus on the short term and seek immediate results in terms of readiness and preparedness. During such times, the government's responsiveness and transparency, as well as the public's participation in decisions, seem even more important than their trust in the government. Implications and practical recommendations follow.
Asymptotic theory for statistics based on cumulant vectors with applications
Authors: Rao Jammalamadaka Sreenivasa , Taufer Emanuele , Terdik György H. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractFor any given multivariate distribution, explicit formulae for the asymptotic covariances of cumulant vectors of the third and the fourth order are provided here. General expressions for cumulants of elliptically symmetric multivariate distributions are also provided. Utilizing these formulae one can extend several results currently available in the literature, as well as obtain practically useful expressions in terms of population cumulants, and computational formulae in terms of commutator matrices. Results are provided for both symmetric and asymmetric distributions, when the required moments exist. New measures of skewness and kurtosis based on distinct elements are discussed, and other applications to independent component analysis and testing are considered.
What do we know about LGBQ+ college student academic experiences and outcomes?
Authors: Beattie Irenee R. , Van Dyke Nella , Hagaman Natasha 
Published: February 2021

AbstractIn spite of recognition that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer+ (LGBQ+) young adults face challenges associated with their sexual identities, research on inequality in education has only recently begun examining their academic experiences and outcomes in college. Prior work has mainly focused on social and extracurricular experiences during college or academic outcomes among LGBQ+ students in K‐12 settings. In this article, we review the growing body of social science literature on LGBQ+ college students' academic outcomes. A strength of our review is our integration of research on individual, interpersonal, and institutional characteristics and experiences that influence LGBQ+ student outcomes. In reviewing the literature, we identify a number of methodological and theoretical limitations, such as a lack of precision and consistency in defining and conceptualizing LGBQ+ identities and experiences and limited attention to intersections with race, class, and gender. We offer some solutions to these limitations and present a theoretical framework that promises to add clarity and further reliability to future research on LGBQ+ college student outcomes. We conclude by suggesting directions for future research.
Recent pension reforms in Europe: More challenges, new directions. An overview
Authors: Hinrichs Karl 
Published: February 2021

AbstractDuring the last 30 years, all European Union member states have reformed their pension systems. In view of ongoing and intensifying population aging, efforts have aimed at containing the future rise of the contribution rate, improving the system dependency ratio, lowering the benefit ratio and/or infusing tax money or other financial resources into the system. Moreover, since about the early 2000s, we can observe a move towards a multi‐pillar pension system in countries hitherto running a dominant‐pillar system: private pre‐funded occupational pensions and individual provision for old age are given larger roles within the public–private mix of retirement income. An analysis of reforms shows a finite menu of adjustment options, and concrete measures have to be adapted to nation‐specific institutional contexts. Finally, we can conclude that pension reforms focusing on long‐term financial sustainability may increase the risk of old‐age poverty and, thus, violate a central objective of pension schemes.
Inclusive citizenship and degenderization: A comparison of state support in 22 European countries
Authors: Finch Naomi 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThis paper argues that welfare state progress needs to be based upon support for “inclusive citizenship” – the right to care, work and earn. Comparative analyses of welfare have often focused on defamilization to capture these dimensions. But inclusive citizenship requires challenging gender roles in both work (public sphere)andcare (private sphere), and thus the paper argues that the concept of degenderization is a more suitable analytical tool. This paper adds to our understanding by operationalizing the concept of degenderization to compare how (far) 22 European countries degenderize. Indeed, it goes further to examine not just howmuchwelfare states degenderize buthow– whether they focus on degenderingbothwork and care, crucial for “inclusive citizenship”. To examine how states degenderize, it uses a new way of classifying welfare states by examining policy packages using radar charts. It examines how much they degenderize against a yardstick, using the Surface Measure of Overall Performance approach. Seven welfare types were identified, but none fully supported inclusive citizenship. Indeed, the country clusters identified in this study differ from those found by previous studies, challenging commonly held views about which countries ought to be seen as key exemplars. This reflects the paper's distinctive focus on inclusive citizenship – capturing support for degendering care and work – and that it compares countries on the basis of their policy packages. It also examines how approach to and generosity of degenderization are related to gender equality outcomes.
Biochar combined with nitrogen fertilizer affects soil properties and wheat yield in medium‐low‐yield farmland
Authors: Dong Linlin , Wang Jidong , Shen Mingxing , Zhang Haidong , Wang Lingqing , Li Chuanzhe , Lu Changying 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBiochar combined with fertilizer as a soil amendment benefits to improving soil fertility, especially soil organic carbon and crop yield. However, the effect of biochar on the improvement of soil properties and crop yield was varied from soil properties and limited for medium–low‐yield farmland in the North China. During the completely randomized field experiment, SIX treatments (biochar applied as 0, 15 and 30 t·ha‐1, under 240 and 300 kg N ha‐1 nitrogen fertilizer) were applied in wheat season and examined to reveal changes in the SOC and other properties of 0‐ to 10‐cm and 10‐ to 20‐cm soil layers. The results showed that two years after the application of biochar, a significant increase in the SOC was observed, ranging from 19.52% to 97.50% (p < 0.05) in the 0‐ to 20‐cm soil layer. Wheat yield and SOC content increased with increasing amount of biochar applied under the same amount of nitrogen fertilizer. The content of soil available potassium increased significantly under 30 t·ha‐1 biochar application (p < 0.05). Both biochar and nitrogen fertilizer application could increase wheat yield, and the effect of biochar application for increasing wheat yield was better than that of nitrogen fertilizer. Wheat yield and SOC content increased with increasing nitrogen fertilizer at the same amount of biochar application. The principal component analysis results showed that biochar input, SOC, available potassium and total nitrogen were the key factors affecting wheat yield. Biochar application is a fast and effective measure to improve SOC and wheat yield in medium‐ and low‐yield farmlands.
The Creep of Metals—II
Authors: Nadai A. , Davis E. A. 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
In the following a few simpler cases of the slow flow of solids with particular reference to the creep of metals in the strain-hardening range are treated. These means should permit considering the effect of strain hardening when discussing observations on creep. Creep tests with soft and strain-hardened copper at room temperature are included.
The Rate of Growth of Fatigue Cracks
Authors: deForest A. V. 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
The author discusses the resistance of metal to the propagation of cracks, and points out that in the accepted method of fatigue testing the results are not conclusive because there is no distinction between (1) the load and the number of repeated stresses required to start cracks and (2) the load and the number of reversals needed to propagate the cracks to failure. The investigation reported in the paper was undertaken to determine (a) the stress and number of reversals required to start a fatigue crack, and (b) the resistance of the material to the effect of a fatigue crack once it had been formed. The tests reported were conducted on annealed cold-rolled low-carbon steel bars with various finishes. The author presents data on the rate of progress of the cracks and on the size of the cracks, the latter of which was determined by magnetizing the bars and inspecting them with finely divided iron oxide in a bath of kerosene.
Recent Investigations in Plastic Torsion
Authors: MacGregor C. W. , Hrones J. A. 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Tension, double-shear, and torsion tests on cast iron, S.A.E. 1045 annealed steel, and S.A.E. 1112 annealed steel are described in which the quantitative relations between the so-called modulus of rupture, double shear strength, and actual maximum shear stress in the bar at fracture are given for each material. The shear stress distribution over the cross section of each bar at fracture is also determined. Further, the data obtained from tension and torsion tests on the two steels are plotted on a single set of coordinates, namely the octahedral shearing stress τn and the octahedral shearing strain γn. A reasonable check is obtained between the two curves when the shear strain is less than that corresponding to the tensile strength.
Finally, there is described a series of plastic-torsion tests on bars of mild steel with various new cross sections of practical interest, namely, the splined shaft, the circular shaft with two shallow rectangular keyways, double- and four-lipped drills, and I-beams. In these tests, the regions of initial yielding are determined by means of the Fry etching method.
Analysis of Bolted Joints at High Temperature
Authors: Waters E. O. 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
A preliminary study shows that the flanges in a typical bolted joint for piping have a more nearly uniform, and hence more favorable, stress distribution after creep has occurred than when the joint is first tightened up. However, the tightness of the joint depends on the initial elastic stretch of bolts and flanges; hence an estimation of its durability at high temperature is really a compound relaxation problem, and the advantage to be gained by the quasi-uniform stress distribution is apt to be illusory.