bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Carbon flux and forest dynamics: Increased deadwood decomposition in tropical rainforest tree‐fall canopy gaps
Authors: Griffiths Hannah M. , Eggleton Paul , Hemming‐Schroeder Nicole , Swinfield Tom , Woon Joel S. , Allison Steven D. , Coomes David A. , Ashton Louise A. , Parr Catherine L. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractTree mortality rates are increasing within tropical rainforests as a result of global environmental change. When trees die, gaps are created in forest canopies and carbon is transferred from the living to deadwood pools. However, little is known about the effect of tree‐fall canopy gaps on the activity of decomposer communities and the rate of deadwood decay in forests. This means that the accuracy of regional and global carbon budgets is uncertain, especially given ongoing changes to the structure of rainforest ecosystems. Therefore, to determine the effect of canopy openings on wood decay rates and regional carbon flux, we carried out the first assessment of deadwood mass loss within canopy gaps in old‐growth rainforest. We used replicated canopy gaps paired with closed canopy sites in combination with macroinvertebrate accessible and inaccessible woodblocks to experimentally partition the relative contribution of microbes vs. termites to decomposition within contrasting understorey conditions. We show that over a 12 month period, wood mass loss increased by 63% in canopy gaps compared with closed canopy sites and that this increase was driven by termites. Using LiDAR data to quantify the proportion of canopy openings in the study region, we modelled the effect of observed changes in decomposition within gaps on regional carbon flux. Overall, we estimate that this accelerated decomposition increases regional wood decay rate by up to 18.2%, corresponding to a flux increase of 0.27 Mg C ha−1 year−1 that is not currently accounted for in regional carbon budgets. These results provide the first insights into how small‐scale disturbances in rainforests can generate hotspots for decomposer activity and carbon fluxes. In doing so, we show that including canopy gap dynamics and their impacts on wood decomposition in forest ecosystems can help improve the predictive accuracy of the carbon cycle in land surface models.
Advocates for hire: How government contracting shapes politics
Authors: Finger Leslie K. , Lastra‐Anadón Carlos X. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractMany public services in the United States are administered through non‐state actors, many of which are nonprofits with broad social missions. Some scholars show that contracting these organizations can compromise their broader goals and political activities, while others find that such arrangements empower the organizations to engage in advocacy and influence policy. We argue that not only can contracting strengthen nonprofits' capacities to engage in politics and advance their missions, but it can mobilize political activity among those working for and engaging with the nonprofits. We use the case of Teach For America (TFA) and an instrumental variable approach that leverages plausibly exogenous variation in the timing of TFA's arrival in states to show that contracting TFA is related with the arrival of new education reform advocacy groups spearheaded by TFA alumni. This, in addition to TFA's direct efforts, leads to the passage of reform policies—especially charter school laws.
Commodifying feminism: Economic choice and agency in the context of lifestyle influencers and gender consultants
Authors: Petersson McIntyre Magdalena 
Published: January 2021

AbstractFeminism has become a recurrent ingredient in many women's narratives of their selves and is regularly appearing as an important aspect of women's success, happiness and self‐realization. The development has been criticized for upholding a view in which structural inequalities are explained in terms of individual choices; choice feminism. This article examines two professional groups, lifestyle influencers and gender equality consultants. The purpose is to examine how questions of feminism, choice and entrepreneurship are made sense of in these contexts. The article situates the interviewees' explanations in fourth, or even fifth wave feminism to examine whether the embrace of choice still relies on a critique of gender structures and inequalities. Both the consultants and the influencers felt that entrepreneurial success had changed the way society viewed them. The appeal of ‘choice’ was an outcome of a perceived lack of choice, a matter of performing resistance to the culturally defined choices these individuals felt were presented to them. The article contributes to an understanding of the shifting meanings and forms feminism takes in social media and commercial market settings and what it is that these individuals find appealing in addressing individual success as a feminist victory.
Cell‐intrinsic mechanisms to restrain inflammatory responses in T lymphocytes
Authors: Džafo Emina , Bianchi Niccolò , Monticelli Silvia 
Published: January 2021

AbstractA mechanistic understanding of the regulatory circuits that control the effector responses of memory T helper lymphocytes, and in particular their ability to produce pro‐inflammatory cytokines, may lead to effective therapeutic interventions in all immune‐related diseases. Activation of T lymphocytes induces robust immune responses that in most cases lead to the complete eradication of invading pathogens or tumor cells. At the same time, however, such responses must be both highly controlled in magnitude and limited in time to avoid unnecessary damage. To achieve such sophisticated level of control, T lymphocytes have at their disposal an array of transcriptional and post‐transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that ensure the acquisition of a phenotype that is tailored to the incoming stimulus while restraining unwarranted activation, eventually leading to the resolution of the inflammatory response. Here, we will discuss some of these cell‐intrinsic mechanisms that control T cell responses and involve transcription factors, microRNAs, and RNA‐binding proteins. We will also explore how the same mechanisms can be involved both in anti‐tumor responses and in autoimmunity.
Polysaccharides extracted from balanophora polyandra Griff (BPP) ameliorate renal Fibrosis and EMT via inhibiting the Hedgehog pathway
Authors: Li Luoying , Zhou Gang , Fu Rui , He Yumin , Xiao Li , Peng Fan , Yuan Chengfu 
Published: January 2021

AbstractRenal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) is a crucial pathological change leading to chronic kidney disease (CKD). Currently, no effective medicines have been available for treating it. In our research, we examined the effects of polysaccharides extracted from Balanophora polyandra Griff (BPPs) on kidney fibrosis and epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in vivo and in vitro, aiming to explore the underlying mechanisms. By using the mice with unilateral urethral obstruction (UUO) as experimental subjects, we examined the medicinal values of BPPs on alleviating RIF. The effects of BPPs were evaluated by examining the histological staining and relative mRNA and protein expression levels of the related genes. The possible underlying mechanisms were further explored with human normal renal proximal tubular epithelia (HK‐2 cells) as in vitro model. In UUO mice, BPP treatment could significantly alleviate interstitial fibrosis through reducing the components (Collagens I, III and IV) of extracellular matrix (ECM), and reducing the activation of fibroblasts producing these components, as revealed by inhibiting the hallmarks (fibronectin and α‐SMA) of fibroblast activation. Furthermore, BPP administration increased the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and declined those of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). BPPs markedly ameliorated EMT in both the kidneys of UUO mice and TGF‐β1 treated HK‐2 cells. Moreover, BPP treatment decreased the expression levels of several transcriptional factors involved in regulating E‐cadherin expression, including snail, twist and ZEB1. Additionally, the Hedgehog pathway was found to be closely correlated with renal fibrosis and EMT. Altogether, our results clearly demonstrated that BPP treatment effectively inhibited the Hedgehog pathway both in renal tissues of UUO mice and TGF‐β1‐treated HK‐2 cells. Thus, BPPs ameliorated RIF and EMT in vivo and in vitro via suppressing Hedgehog signalling pathway.
Towards Categorical Visibility? The Political Making of a Third Sex in Germany and the Netherlands
Authors: Schotel A.L. , Mügge L.M. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractAlthough international proclamations increasingly recognize legal sex beyond binary categories, domestic legislation is lagging behind. Germany and the Netherlands are the first countries in Western Europe where courts have ruled in favour of a third option. While the German constitution was amended to guarantee a third option, the Dutch government has refrained from implementing comparable legislation. What explains this difference? This article draws on parliamentary debates, newspapers and statements from activists to follow the trajectory of the third option. Building on literature on intersex rights legislation and the diffusion of LGBT rights norms, we find that an established progressive reputation can lead states like the Netherlands to take a back seat, while mobilization by activists was crucial in establishing the self‐determination of legal sex on the German political agenda. Our study contributes to unravelling the complex ways in which new norms shape – or fail to shape – domestic political outcomes.
The impact of insulin on the serotonergic system and consequences on diabetes‐associated mood disorders
Authors: Martin Hugo , Bullich Sébastien , Guiard Bruno P. , Fioramonti Xavier 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThe idea that insulin could influence emotional behaviours has long been suggested. However, the underlying mechanisms have yet to be solved and there is no direct and clear‐cut evidence demonstrating that such action involves brain serotonergic neurones. Indeed, initial arguments in favour of the association between insulin, serotonin and mood arise from clinical or animal studies showing that impaired insulin action in type 1 or type 2 diabetes causes anxiety‐ and depressive symptoms along with blunted plasma and brain serotonin levels. The present review synthesises the main mechanistic hypotheses that might explain the comorbidity between diabetes and depression. It also provides a state of knowledge of the direct and indirect experimental evidence that insulin modulates brain serotonergic neurones. Finally, it highlights the literature suggesting that antidiabetic drugs present antidepressant‐like effects and, conversely, that serotonergic antidepressants impact glucose homeostasis. Overall, this review provides mechanistic insights into how insulin signalling alters serotonergic neurotransmission and related behaviours bringing new targets for therapeutic options.
Backward‐oriented economics
Authors: Frey Bruno S. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractNowadays, academic journals of high standing rarely accept a conceptual idea in a paper not instantly accompanied by econometric estimates. The idea would almost certainly get rejected. Empirical validation based on past statistical data has produced an unfortunate backward orientation in economics. While one can learn from the past, this approach fails when the underlying conditions strongly change.The paper suggests various possibilities to overcome the intense publication pressure in so‐called top journals and the overemphasis on instant empirical evidence. Academia is, however, unlikely to adapt. As economics is too backward oriented, other disciplines or cranks may well dominate future economic policy.
UBI SUNT MACELLA?THE CONTRIBUTION OF NON‐INVASIVE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY TO THE IDENTIFICATION AND STUDY OF ROMAN FOOD MARKETS
Authors: Hoffelinck Adeline , Vermeulen Frank 
Published: January 2021

SummaryWhile the remains of the well‐preserved and excavated towns of Pompeii, Ostia and Herculaneum provide us with a fascinating impression of their once bustling economic life, the study of urban economic space requires a more extensive geographical and methodological framework. This paper investigates whether the systematic use of non‐invasive techniques at other, often neglected, urban sites can deliver a meaningful contribution to the study of Roman urbanism, especially by revealing previously unknown foci of commercial activity in the Roman city. To illustrate the effectiveness of certain non‐destructive strategies, including geophysical prospection and aerial survey, we focus on a specific type of market building that was quite common in the Roman world, themacellum.The case studies presented here demonstrate how non‐invasive archaeological investigation, often in combination with other topographic operations, can facilitate the identification ofmacellaand enhance studies of economic architecture and space in Roman towns in Italy and the provinces.
Tracheal Intubation‐related adverse events in pediatrics anesthesia in Ethiopia
Authors: Tamire Tadese , Garbessa Bayisa , Gebeyehu Geresu , Getachew Lemlem 
Published: January 2021

AbstractBackgroundTracheal intubation is a common intervention for many pediatric surgical patients. Even though it can be lifesaving, it carries a risk of morbidity and even mortality. Evidence is lacking regarding the adverse events related to pediatric intubation in Ethiopia. This study is aimed to assess the scale of tracheal intubation‐related adverse events with its associated factors in pediatrics surgical patients at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.MethodsAn Institutional‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted on 310 pediatric surgical patients who underwent major surgery from December 30, 2019, to February 30, 2020. All pediatrics patients scheduled for surgery under general anesthesia in the study period were included in this study. Data with complete information were entered into Epi Info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 22 for analysis. Descriptive statistics, bivariate, and multivariable logistic regression were computed to identify factors associated with tracheal intubation‐related adverse events. The level of statistical significance was declared at a P‐value of less than .05.ResultIn this study, the overall incidence of tracheal intubation‐related adverse events in pediatrics patients was 36.5%. Being a neonate (AOR = 4.13, 95% CI: 1.26–13.49), emergency surgery (AOR = 3.39, 95% CI: 1.41–8.13), difficult intubation (AOR, 4.08, 95% CI: 1.01–7.50), intubation without using premedication (AOR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.45–10.83), intubation without using muscle relaxant (AOR = 1.81; 95% CI: 1.10–8.14), and tracheal intubation attempted more than three times (AOR = 3.92, 95% CI: 0.16–7.39) were identified as independent predictors of tracheal intubation‐related adverse events.Conclusion and recommendations.The incidence of tracheal intubation‐related adverse events in pediatric surgical patients is high. Anesthesia professionals should be vigilant and have a preplanned strategy to avoid intubation‐related adverse events, especially in high‐risk patients. The use of difficult airway algorithms, oxygen saturation monitoring, and training in simulation room are very important strategies to help reduce patient harm.
Hyperpluralism, political liberalism, and Confucian democracy
Authors: Kim Sungmoon 
Published: January 2021

AbstractIn his recent book, Zhuoyao Li presents one of the most pointed criticisms of Confucian democracy from a political liberal standpoint. Li’s central argument is that liberal democracy, predicated on Rawlsian political liberalism, is the only legitimate form of democracy in East Asia’s pluralist societal context. Li advances his normative argument against Confucian democracy, first by reaffirming Rawls’s public conception of morality, then shifting his point of reference from Rawls to Alessandro Ferrara, and finally, defending a multivariate democracy in East Asia’s pluralist societal context from the viewpoint of Ferrara’s idea of hyperpluralism. In this paper, I defend Confucian democracy as a viable political theory in pluralist East Asia by critiquing Li’s change of the point of reference from Rawls to Ferrara, his imposition of the condition of hyperpluralism on East Asia, and his sweeping logical framework that allows no normative space for Confucian democratic theory.
Voting Women, Protesting Men: A Multilevel Analysis of Corruption, Gender, and Political Participation
Authors: Malmberg Fredrik G. , Christensen Henrik Serup 
Published: January 2021

AbstractPrevious studies have been unable to establish the link between corruption perceptions and political participation. This is partly due to a disregard of different types of political participation, ignoring gender differences in how corruption perceptions affect political participation, and overlooking the importance of context. We therefore here examine gender differences in the links between corruption perceptions and three types of political participation: voting, institutionalized participation between elections, and noninstitutionalized participation between elections. We also examine how the context in the form of the national level of corruption affects these linkages. The data come from International Social Survey Program Citizenship II and includes 31 democracies, analyzed with multilevel regression models. Our results show that women become more likely to vote when faced with corruption, whereas men become more likely to engage in elite‐challenging forms of participation when faced with corruption while women remain unaffected.Related ArticlesCaillier, James. 2010. “Citizen Trust, Political Corruption, and Voting Behavior: Connecting the Dots.” Politics & Policy 38 (5): 1015‐1035. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2010.00267Lagunes, Paul F. 2012. “Corruption's Challenge to Democracy: A Review of the Issues.” Politics & Policy 40 (5): 802‐826. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2012.00384McNally, Darragh. 2016. “Norms, Corruption, and Voting for Berlusconi.” Politics & Policy 44 (5): 976‐1008. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12173
The Cost of Representation: Insurance Status, Gender, and Cardiac Outcomes in Emergency Department Care
Authors: McCrea Austin M. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractRecent innovations in representative bureaucracy push the theory toward the micro‐foundations of who represents and who receives representation. Contributing to the micro theory, I draw from street‐level bureaucracy which recognizes how certain client characteristics beyond a shared identity may make representation too costly. Using data on emergency department visits to Florida hospitals, I explore how the impact of physician‐patient gender matching on client outcomes is moderated by a patient's insurance status. While emergency departments offer universal, public access, services performed on publicly insured and uninsured individuals are reimbursed at a lower rate than the privately insured. These features present an opportunity to test how responsive representation is to different client costs and benefits. The findings suggest that public insurance status is not a barrier for women's representation. However, uninsured women do not see any improvement in outcomes when receiving representation.
Can Leadership Training Improve Organizational Effectiveness? Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment on Transformational and Transactional Leadership
Authors: Jacobsen Christian Bøtcher , Andersen Lotte Bøgh , Bøllingtoft Anne , Eriksen Tine Louise Mundbjerg 
Published: January 2021

AbstractBased on evidence from a large‐scale leadership training field experiment, this article advances our knowledge about the possibilities for training leaders toward more active and effective leadership. In the field experiment, public and private leaders were randomly assigned to a control group or one of three leadership training programs: Transformational, transactional, or a combined program. Employee responses from 463 organizations show that the training can affect leadership behavior positively in very different organizations (primary and secondary schools, daycare centers, tax centers, and bank units). Furthermore, for the subsample of school principals, we find some evidence of training effects on performance in standardized tests in elementary schools and final exams in lower secondary schools. We discuss these findings in relation to training content and performance criteria.
Helping or Hurting? The Efficacy of Municipal Bankruptcy
Authors: Abott Carolyn , Singla Akheil 
Published: January 2021

AbstractLocal governments facing extreme fiscal stress have few options. One that has historically been rare is filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. The limited number of cases has prevented any systematic study of municipal bankruptcy. But given the results of bankruptcy for individuals, there are reasons to believe that bankruptcy can provide a fresh financial start for local governments. This study leverages six municipal bankruptcies in the years immediately following The Great Recession to explore the effects of bankruptcy on local governments’financial health. It employs a variety of empirical approaches to generate a counterfactual for the bankrupt governments and assess the effects of bankruptcy: synthetic control, propensity‐score matching, staggered difference‐in‐differences, and an event study. The results show that bankruptcy is associated with no declines and some meaningful improvements in financial health. These findings suggest that Chapter 9 bankruptcy may provide extremely stressed local governments with a potential path forward.
Legal enclaves as a test environment for innovative products: Toward legally resilient experimentation policies1
Authors: Philipsen Stefan , Stamhuis Evert F. , de Jong Martin 
Published: January 2021

AbstractMany countries adhere to the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development creed that innovation is good for the economy. Experiments are often used to intentionally create space for innovation. Decisions allowing experiments result in temporary legal enclaves for a few, excluding many others. Therefore, they come with risks. The aim of this article is to provide a set of guidelines that help improve the legal resilience of experimentation policies, so they are better able to withstand legal attacks when they occur. To do so, we first arranged the existing diversity of legal experiments in a theoretical model. Special attention was paid to two archetypes of legal experiments: statutory experiments and regulatory sandboxes. Second, we analyzed the impact of both types of experiments on four core legal principles: legality, certainty, equality, and public accountability. From this assessment, we eventually formulated a set of guidelines to secure or improve legal resilience.