bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Pattern biases, but not positional cues, influence learning in the little brown skink, Scincella lateralis
Authors: Paulissen Mark A. 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Studies of many lizard species have established they are capable of learning to escape to one specific retreat out of several available retreats and will escape to it when subjected to a simulated predator attack. Recently, researchers have focused on the processes involved in learning, including what cues lizards use to learn to escape to a retreat. Previous work on the little brown skink lizard, Scincella lateralis, has shown that it is capable of learning to escape to a specific retreat when it has gained prior experience with its environment and that its performance is better when a retreat is associated with a vertical stripe local cue than when the retreat was associated with a horizontal stripe one. Here I report the results of two additional experiments undertaken to gain a better understanding of how little brown skinks react to cues in their environment. In Experiment 1, the positional cue test, I tested if little brown skinks could be trained to escape to a specific retreat when the only cue available was a positional cue that lizards could use to orient themselves by conducting a series of trials in which little brown skinks were trained to escape to the retreat to the left or the right of a vertical cylinder. Only 2 of the 16 (12.5%) little brown skinks met the learning criterion. This was not significantly different from what is expected if lizards chose their retreats at random suggesting little brown skinks are poor at learning when only a positional cue is available. In Experiment 2, the pattern bias test, I tested if the little brown skink’s superior performance learning to escape to a retreat with a vertical stripe cue in previous experiments was due to a bias for vertical stripes (or against horizontal stripes) through a series of trials in which little brown skinks had to choose between two escape retreats: one with a vertical stripe local cue and the other with a horizontal stripe local cue. A significant bias for the vertical stripe local cue retreat was found among 24 adults, but not among 12 neonates. These results suggest pattern bias among adult little brown skinks impacted the results of previous studies. The possibility that lizards may have biases for colours or shapes and that these biases may have an impact on learning studies is discussed.
Postproverbial and Postmodern Aesthetics in Ify Asia Chiemeziem’s New Media Proverbs
Authors: Fadare Nureni Oyewole 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Postproverbials are postmodern proverbs that deconstruct the structural and semantic aspects of the traditional proverbs. They are proverbs coined either from the existing proverbs as anti-proverbs or from those that are created newly as new proverbs. The focus of this paper is to examine the tenets of the postproverbials and postmodernism found in the new media proverbs of Ify Asia Chiemeziem’s. About twenty-three proverbs are carefully selected from Chiemeziem’s Facebook wall grouped, and critically analysed according to their contents. References are made to some Yoruba, Nupe and Hausa postproverbials subject to further research. It is observed that most of the proverbs are decorated with sexual imageries, which deconstruct the hitherto held sacrilegious nature of human sex organs featuring in African proverbs. The proverbs are created for their humouristic purposes and as a tool for creating traffics on Chiemeziem’s Facebook wall. The selected new proverbs have proved that postproverbials give room for innovation and creativity, which engenders the formation of new proverbs. Postproverbials are not ethnic-based, rather, a postmodern phenomenon culturing across cultures and traditions. The paper, thus, concludes that the emerging facts about postproverbials are indications that the theory is viable and will endure the test of time.
Determining the Domain of Postproverbials in Human Language Development Theories and Stages
Authors: Ayodele Taiwo Adesoji 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Language acquisition is a fundamental phenomenon in the linguistic enterprise. Chomsky claims that, “the human brain provides an array of capacities that enter into the use and understanding of Language (the language faculty (FL))”. Using the descriptive approach, this paper explores, justifies, and determines the place of the human linguistic capacity to articulate and engage postproverbials vis-a-vis Chomsky’s model of grammar and few scholarly positions. This article aims at providing evidence that, compared to others; Chomsky’s idea of linguistic competence is the most appropriate account for the use and understanding of postproverbials. The study revealed that the first sentences/the intermediate proficiency stage presents humans with the capacity to develop, use, and understand postproverbials, and this attains full development at the advanced fluency stage to establish postproverbial as one of the capacities that the human brain provides, located in the FL, and that its use and understanding is consciously employed.
Cambium phenology and dendrochronology of the endangered tropical tree Ocotea catharinensis Mez
Authors: da Costa Warlen Silva , Da Cunha Maura , Macedo Tahysa Mota , Iguatemy Mariana de Andrade , Quinet Alexandre , Rodrigues Pablo José Francisco Pena , Barros Claudia Franca 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Ocotea catharinensis occurs mainly in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and is highly threatened by timber logging, forest fragmentation, and habitat loss. The remnant populations of this species are genetically rich, which may be related to the presence of long-lived trees, and so it is imperative to understand their growth and age. In this study, we analyzed trees of O. catharinensis from dense ombrophylous forest, its dendrochronological potential, the period of cambial activity and dormancy, and the influence of climate on annual growth. The species showed distinct annually-formed tree-rings, with cambial activity during summer and autumn, and cambial dormancy during winter and spring. A tree-ring width chronology was built from 1852–2015. The estimated age of the sampled trees varied from 40 to 164 years. O. catharinensis in our study site does not show a strong age–diameter relationship, hence similar diameters at breast height resulted in differences in ages by as much as 50 years. The resulting tree-ring width chronology is positively correlated with March precipitation, the transition month between rainy and dry seasons. This study brings valuable contributions to the understanding of the growth of O. catharinensis, which is a novelty for this species and important to the maintenance of these long-lived trees in natural forests.
The Response of the Nordic Seas to Wintertime Sea Ice Retreat
Authors: Wu Yue , Stevens David P. , Renfrew Ian A. , Zhai Xiaoming 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThe ocean response to wintertime sea ice retreat is investigated in the coupled climate model HiGEM. We focus on the marginal ice zone and adjacent waters of the Nordic seas, where the air–sea temperature difference can be large during periods of off-ice winds promoting high heat flux events. Both control and transient climate model ensembles are examined, which allows us to isolate the ocean response due to sea ice retreat from the response due to climate change. As the wintertime sea ice edge retreats toward the Greenland coastline, it exposes waters that were previously covered by ice, which enhances turbulent heat loss and mechanical mixing, leading to a greater loss of buoyancy and deeper vertical mixing in this location. However, under global warming, the buoyancy loss is inhibited as the atmosphere warms more rapidly than the ocean, which reduces the air–sea temperature difference. This occurs most prominently farther away from the retreating ice edge, over the Greenland Sea Gyre. Over the gyre the upper ocean also warms significantly, resulting in a more stratified water column and, as a consequence, a reduction in the depth of convective mixing. In contrast, closer to the coast the effect of global warming is overshadowed by the effect of the sea ice retreat, leading to significant changes in ocean temperature and salinity in the vicinity of the marginal ice zone.
Experimental investigation of the mechanical behavior of glass fiber/high fluidity polyamide-based composites for automotive market
Authors: Ramezani-Dana Hossein , Gomina Moussa , Bréard Joël , Orange Gilles 
Published: April 2021

In this work, we examine the relationships between the microstructure and the mechanical properties of glass fiber–reinforced polyamide 6,6 composite materials ( V f = 54%). These materials made by thermocompression incorporate different grades of high fluidity polyamide-based polymers and two types of quasi-UD glass fiber reinforcement. One is a classic commercial fabric, while the other specially designed and manufactured incorporates weaker tex glass yarns (the spacer) to increase the planar permeability of the preform. The effects of the viscosity of the polymers and their composition on the wettability of the reinforcements were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy observations of the microstructure. The respective influences of the polymers and the spacer on the mechanical performance were determined by uniaxial tensile and compression tests in the directions parallel and transverse to the warp yarns. Not only does the spacer enhance permeability but it also improves physical and mechanical properties: tensile longitudinal Young’s modulus increased from 38.2 GPa to 42.9 GPa (13% growth), tensile strength increased from 618.9 MPa to 697 MPa (3% growth), and decrease in ultimate strain from 1.8% to 1.7% (5% reduction). The correlation of these results with the damage observed post mortem confirms those acquired from analyses of the microstructure of composites and the rheological behaviors of polymers.
Intragastric Single-Port Surgery: An Innovative and Multipurpose Technique for the Therapy of Upper Digestive Tract Lesions
Authors: Li Renjie , Veltzke-Schlieker Wilfried , Adler Andreas , Ismail Mahmoud , Badakhshi Harun , Zorron Ricardo 
Published: April 2021

Background: Endoscopic treatment can represent a technical challenge for several special situations, such as resecting gastric tumors with larger size or in unfavorable sites and performing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). This study aims to describe an innovative and multipurpose technique, intragastric single-port surgery (IGS), which can be applied for abovementioned special situations and for assessing its safety, feasibility, and efficacy. Methods: IGS technique was performed through a 2–3 cm skin incision, where the stomach wall is exteriorized and fixed to the skin. The single-port device is inserted and intragastric access is gained for laparoscopic or endoscopic instruments. Three purposes of IGS were performed: (1). gastric intraluminal lesions resection; (2). to perform ERCP after RYGB; and (3). revision of pancreaticogastric anastomosis after pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy. Results: IGS was performed successfully in 20 patients. Ten patients underwent gastric intraluminal lesion resection, mostly for gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (n = 7, 70%); all pathological specimens were with negative margin, mean operation time was 102.3 ± 43.5 minutes, and mean postoperative hospital stay was 4.6 ± 1.5 days. Nine patients underwent ERCP after RYGB, cleaning of the bile duct was successful in all patients (100%), and mean operation time and mean postoperative hospital stay were 140.6 ± 46.3 minutes and 4.4 ± 2.6 days, respectively. One patient underwent pancreaticogastric anastomosis revision. There were no mortalities in our series. Conclusions: IGS is a safe, feasible, and effective technique for gastric intraluminal lesion resection and for performing ERCP after RYGB, while it has the potential for other future applications.
Mepolizumab improves sino-nasal symptoms and asthma control in severe eosinophilic asthma patients with chronic rhinosinusitis and nasal polyps: a 12-month real-life study
Authors: Detoraki Aikaterini , Tremante Eugenio , D’Amato Maria , Calabrese Cecilia , Casella Claudia , Maniscalco Mauro , Poto Remo , Brancaccio Raffaele , Boccia Matilde , Martino Maria , Imperatore Clara , Spadaro Giuseppe 
Published: April 2021

Background: Severe eosinophilic asthma is frequently associated to chronic rhinosinusitis and nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) that contribute to poor asthma control. Mepolizumab is an anti-IL-5 monoclonal antibody, approved for the treatment of severe eosinophilic asthma. A limited number of studies have assessed the efficacy of mepolizumab on CRSwNP in severe asthmatics. We aim to evaluate the efficacy of mepolizumab on sino-nasal symptoms, polyp growth and asthma control in severe eosinophilic asthma patients with CRSwNP in real life. Methods: In this study 44 severe eosinophilic asthma patients with CRSwNP were treated with mepolizumab (100 mg q4w) for 1 year. The following outcomes were assessed before (T0), after 6 (T6) and 12 months (T12) of treatment: sino/nasal outcome test (SNOT-22), Total Endoscopic Nasal Polyp Score (TENPS), %FEV1 (FEV1/FEV1 predicted) and Asthma control test (ACT). Blood eosinophil count, exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) and prednisone intake were measured. In a subgroup of patients, nasal cytology was performed before (T0), after 6 (T6) and after 12 months (T12) of treatment with mepolizumab. Results: We reported a significant reduction of SNOT-22 [from 51.5 ± 21.2 at baseline (T0) to 31.70 ± 17.36 at T6 and 29.7 ± 21.5 at T12 (T0–T12 p < 0.001)] and a decrease of TENPS (from 2.88 ± 3.07 to 1.70 ± 2.37 and 1.77 ± 2.56 at T0, T6 and T12, respectively, T0–T12 p = 0.99). A significant improvement of %FEV1, ACT and a decrease in blood eosinophils and mean prednisone intake were also reported. No statistically significant decreasing trend was measured for FENO. Nasal cytology findings suggest a significant reduction of eosinophil percentage following mepolizumab treatment (from 16.8 ± 7.2% to 3.6 ± 6.2% and 0.8 ± 2.4% at T0, T6 and T12 respectively, T0 to T12: p < 0.001). Conclusions: Mepolizumab improves sino-nasal and asthma symptoms and reduces polyp growth in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma and concomitant CRSwNP in real life. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.
Sex-specific longitudinal association of DNA methylation with lung function
Authors: Sunny Shadia Khan , Zhang Hongmei , Relton Caroline L. , Ring Susan , Kadalayil Latha , Mzayek Fawaz , Ewart Susan , Holloway John W. , Arshad S. Hasan 
Published: April 2021

Investigating whether DNA methylation (DNA-M) at an earlier age is associated with lung function at a later age and whether this relationship differs by sex could enable prediction of future lung function deficit.A training/testing-based technique was used to screen 402 714 cytosine-phosphate-guanine dinucleotide sites (CpGs) to assess the longitudinal association of blood-based DNA-M at ages 10 and 18 years with lung function at 18 and 26 years, respectively, in the Isle of Wight birth cohort (IOWBC). Multivariable linear mixed models were applied to the CpGs that passed screening. To detect differentially methylated regions (DMRs), DMR enrichment analysis was conducted. Findings were further examined in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Biological relevance of the identified CpGs was assessed using gene expression data.DNA-M at eight CpGs (five CpGs with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and three CpGs with FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC)) at an earlier age was associated with lung function at a later age regardless of sex, while at 13 CpGs (five CpGs with FVC, three with FEV1and five with FEV1/FVC), the associations were sex-specific (pFDR<0.05) in IOWBC, with consistent directions of association in ALSPAC (IOWBC-ALSPAC consistent CpGs). cg16582803 (WNT10A) and cg14083603 (ZGPAT) were replicated in ALSPAC for main and sex-specific effects, respectively. Among IOWBC-ALSPAC consistent CpGs, DNA-M at cg01376079 (SSH3) and cg07557690 (TGFBR3) was associated with gene expression both longitudinally and cross-sectionally. In total, 57 and 170 DMRs were linked to lung function longitudinally in males and females, respectively.CpGs showing longitudinal associations with lung function have the potential to serve as candidate markers in future studies on lung function deficit prediction.
Numerical Optimization for the Geometric Configuration of Ceramics Perform in HCCI/ZTAP Wear-Resistant Composites Based on Actual Particle Model
Authors: Xu Ruiju , Lu Tianlong , Zhang Jiankang , Jiang Yehua , Chong Xiaoyu , Feng Jing 
Published: April 2021

AbstractIn order to reduce the thermal stress in high chromium cast iron (HCCI) matrix composites reinforced by zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) ceramic particles, finite element simulation is performed to optimize the geometric configuration of ceramics perform. The previous model simplifies the overall structure of the ceramic particle preform and adds boundary conditions to simulate the particles, which will cause uncontrollable error in the results. In this work, the equivalent grain models are used to describe the actual preform, making the simulation results closer to the actual experimental results. The solidification process of composite material is simulated, and the infiltration between molten iron and ceramic particles is realized. Thermal stress in solidification process and compression stress distribution are obtained. The results show that adding 10-mm round holes on the preform can improve the performance of the composite, which is helpful to prevent the cracks and increases the plasticity of the material.
Conversation from antiferromagnetic MnBr2 to ferromagnetic Mn3Br8 monolayer with large MAE
Authors: Hu Y. , Jin S. , Luo Z. F. , Zeng H. H. , Wang J. H. , Fan X. L. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractA pressing need in low energy spintronics is two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnets with Curie temperature above the liquid-nitrogen temperature (77 K), and sizeable magnetic anisotropy. We studied Mn3Br8 monolayer which is obtained via inducing Mn vacancy at 1/4 population in MnBr2 monolayer. Such defective configuration is designed to change the coordination structure of the Mn-d5 and achieve ferromagnetism with sizeable magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE). Our calculations show that Mn3Br8 monolayer is a ferromagnetic (FM) half-metal with Curie temperature of 130 K, large MAE of − 2.33 meV per formula unit, and atomic magnetic moment of 13/3μB for the Mn atom. Additionally, Mn3Br8 monolayer maintains to be FM under small biaxial strain, whose Curie temperature under 5% compressive strain is 160 K. Additionally, both biaxial strain and carrier doping make the MAE increases, which mainly contributed by the magneto-crystalline anisotropy energy (MCE). Our designed defective structure of MnBr2 monolayer provides a simple but effective way to achieve ferromagnetism with large MAE in 2D materials.
Effects of CsSnxPb1−xI3 Quantum Dots as Interfacial Layer on Photovoltaic Performance of Carbon-Based Perovskite Solar Cells
Authors: Zhang Chi , He Zhiyuan , Luo Xuanhui , Meng Rangwei , Chen Mengwei , Lu Haifei , Yang Yingping 
Published: April 2021

AbstractIn this work, inorganic tin-doped perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) are incorporated into carbon-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) to improve their photovoltaic performance. On the one hand, by controlling the content of Sn2+ doping, the energy level of the tin-doped PQDs can be adjusted, to realize optimized band alignment and enhanced separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. On the other hand, the incorporation of tin-doped PQDs provided with a relatively high acceptor concentration due to the self-p-type doping effect is able to reduce the width of the depletion region near the back surface of the perovskite, thereby enhancing the hole extraction. Particularly, after the addition of CsSn0.2Pb0.8I3 quantum dots (QDs), improvement of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) from 12.80 to 14.22% can be obtained, in comparison with the pristine device. Moreover, the experimental results are analyzed through the simulation of the one-dimensional perovskite/tin-doped PQDs heterojunction.
Impact of parent-child separation on children’s social-emotional development: a cross-sectional study of left-behind children in poor rural areas of China
Authors: Shi Huifeng , Wang Yuanyuan , Li Mengshi , Tan Chang , Zhao Chunxia , Huang Xiaona , Dou Yan , Duan Xiaoqian , Du Yufeng , Wu Tianchen , Wang Xiaoli , Zhang Jingxu 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Background
Parent-child separation is a considerable adversity for left-behind children (LBC), but there is little evidence on the association between detailed characteristics of parent-child separation and social-emotional development among LBC. This study examined the characteristics of parent-child separation and its impacts on developmental delay among under-3 LBC in poor rural China.

Methods
We used data from 811 LBC surveyed in five poor counties in rural China in 2018. Detailed characteristics of their parental migration were recalled by their primary caregivers in face-to-face interviews. The children’s social-emotional development was measured by using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional. Logistic regression was employed to examine the association of detailed characteristics of parent-child separation with early social-emotional problems after adjusting for the children’s and primary caregivers’ sociodemographic characteristics.

Results
287 (35.4%) children were left behind by fathers and cared for by mothers (FM-MC), while 524 (64.6%) were left behind by both parents and cared for by grandparents (PM-GC). The rate of social-emotional problems among LBC was 36.8% (PM-GC vs FM-MC: 40.6% vs 29.5%; aOR 1.51, 95% CI: 1.06 to 2.16). For paternal migration, the medians of the child’s age at the first migration and average duration per migration were 3 months (IQR: 1 to 9 months) and 4.48 months (IQR: 2.38 to 7.54 months), respectively. For maternal migration, the corresponding values were 9 months (IQR: 6 to 13 months) and 4.65 months (IQR: 2.71 to 7.62 months), respectively. On average, LBC had been separated from fathers for 72% of their life due to paternal migration and from mothers for 52% of their life due to maternal migration. No significant association was found between the detailed characteristics of paternal migration and social-emotional development among LBC, while social-emotional problems among LBC were significantly associated with the proportion of cumulative duration of maternal migration in the child’s lifetime (aOR 2.83; 95% CI: 1.13 to 7.10).

Conclusions
LBC under 3 years had a high risk of social-emotional problems in poor rural China. Cumulative exposure to maternal migration may be detrimental to LBC’s early social-emotional development. Programs are necessary to support these children as well as their families.