bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Saudi Arabia’s efforts on combating money laundering and terrorist financing
Authors: Naheem Mohammed Ahmad 
Published: April 2019

Purpose
This paper aims to study Saudi Arabia’s approach to combat money laundering and terrorist financing through legislation, regulation and implementation. Saudi Arabia is an integral part of the global economy and energy market. Saudi Arabia is also an important nexus for incoming foreign investment in the region. The country has, for many years, confronted negative exposure on challenging money laundering and terrorist financing. This paper analyses Saudi Arabia’s efforts to maintain international standards of AML/CTF and distinguishes regulatory practice from the existing comments and conjecture on the country’s performance.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a qualitative study of Saudi Arabia’s approach to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The approach is spread across three stages of AML/CTF policy – namely, legislative, regulatory and implementation. Further, the paper also uses independent evaluation to understand Saudi Arabia’s performance in comparison to the international standards of good AML/CTF practice.

Findings
The paper finds Saudi Arabia in compliance with international standards of AML/CTF practice. The paper also traces strengthening of AML/CTF-related legislation and regulation in Saudi Arabia over the past two decades. The paper also finds significant evidence that suggests a biased representation of Saudi Arabia’s AML/CTF practices. The factual analysis of Saudi Arabia and its AML/CTF practice is in contradiction of the established discourse on the country’s money laundering and terrorist financing risk profile.

Practical implications
The paper presents a legislative and regulatory analysis of Saudi Arabia’s AML/CTF practice. It is important to understand the implications of injudicious conjecture on Saudi Arabia’s financial strategy to diversify the country’s economy (Mouawad, 2005). Commentators and observers must consider the evidence presented in this paper and reassess the discourse regarding Saudi Arabia’s adherence to international standards of AML/CTF.

Originality/value
Understanding Saudi Arabia’s approach to combat money laundering and terrorist financing is essential to the factors that maintain stability in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has participated in the region with government forces to maintain stability. The paper examines the overall risk as per international standards, which can be attributed to Saudi Arabia’s AML/CTF profile.
Does gang membership pay? Illegal and legal earnings through emerging adulthood*
Authors: Augustyn Megan Bears , McGloin Jean Marie , Pyrooz David C. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractGang membership is believed to impede success in the legitimate economic market while simultaneously supporting success in the illegal market. We extend the study of the economic effects of gang membership by using a within‐ and between‐individual analytic design, decomposing gang membership into multiple statuses (i.e., entering a gang, continuously in a gang, leaving a gang, and inactive gang membership), examining legal and illegal earnings simultaneously, and accounting for factors endogenous to gang membership that may contribute to economic achievement. By using panel data from 1,213 individuals who participated in the Pathways to Desistance Study to conduct a multilevel path analysis, we find that active gang membership status is unrelated to legal earnings. Alternatively, entering a gang is associated with increased illegal earnings, attributable to changes in delinquent peers and drug use, whereas leaving a gang has a direct relationship with decreased illegal earnings. Our results indicate that the positive economic effect of gang membership (i.e., illegal earnings and total earnings) is short‐lived and that, on balance, the sum of the gang membership experience does not “pay” in terms of overall earnings.
Inferring multispecies distributional aggregation level from limited line transect‐derived biodiversity data
Authors: Chen Youhua , Shen Tsung‐Jen , Van Chung Hoang , Shi Shengchao , Jiang Jianping , Condit Richard , Hubbell Stephen P. 
Published: April 2019

Abstract

Ecologists have generally concluded that species distributions are not random (e.g. aggregate), based on single‐species studies that applied single‐species–based statistical methods, like the negative binomial model. Although it is common knowledge that some specific species in an ecological community present aggregate distributions, this does not necessarily imply that the entire community presents an aggregate distribution. Studying community‐level distributional aggregation patterns requires different statistical methods.

Herein, by utilizing a novel conspecific‐encounter index derived from a multiple species Markov transition model that accounts for the non‐independent sampling of consecutive individuals along line transects, we were able to show that tree assemblages in tropical forest ecosystems can present a strong signal of extensive distributional interspersion.

This interesting result is not unexpected, given the fact that neighbouring tree individuals in highly diverse tropical forests are usually of different species, resulting in strong niche packing or interspersed patterns. In contrast, for the amphibian assemblages surveyed from southwestern China and central‐south Vietnam, the conspecific‐encounter index was found to be consistently high, implying that amphibian communities tend to be highly aggregate in space.

Conclusively, using the conspecific‐encounter index derived from the Markov non‐independent sampling model, we provide a legible definition of community‐level distributional aggregation as an interspersed or cluster‐like distribution of different species. This definition is not idiosyncratic, as it is coincident with the definition of the contagion index used in landscape ecology. To this end, the model used in this paper establishes a framework explicitly linking community ecology and landscape ecology from a multi‐object perspective.
Profiling of epididymal small non‐protein‐coding RNAs
Authors: Nixon B. , De Iuliis G. N. , Dun M. D. , Zhou W. , Trigg N. A. , Eamens A. L. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractBackgroundOur understanding of epididymal physiology and function has been transformed over the three decades in which the International Meeting Series on the Epididymis has been hosted. This transformation has occurred along many fronts, but among the most significant advances has been the unexpected discovery of the diversity of small non‐protein‐coding RNAs (sRNAs) expressed in the epididymal epithelium and differentially accumulated in the luminal population of spermatozoa.ObjectivesHere we survey recent literature pertaining to profiling the sRNA landscape of the mammalian epididymis with the goal of demonstrating the contribution that these key regulatory elements, and their associated pathways, make to epididymal physiology and sperm maturation.Results and discussionHigh throughput sequencing strategies have fueled an unprecedented advance in our understanding of RNA biology. In the last decade, such high throughput profiling tools have been increasingly applied to study the mammalian epididymis, presaging the discovery of diverse classes of sRNA expressed along the length of the tract. Among the best studied sRNA classes are the microRNAs (miRNA), a sRNA species shown to act in concert with endocrine signals to fine‐tune the segmental patterning of epididymal gene expression. In addition to performing this homeostatic role, epithelial cell‐derived sRNAs also selectively accumulate into the epididymosomes and spermatozoa that occupy the duct lumen. This exciting discovery alludes to a novel form of intracellular communication that contributes to the establishment of the sperm epigenome and its modification under conditions of paternal stress.ConclusionCompelling literature has identified sRNAs as a crucial regulatory tier that allows the epididymis to fulfill its combined roles of sperm transport, maturation, and storage. Continued research in this emerging field will contribute to our growing understanding of the etiology of male factor infertility and potentially allow for the future design of rational therapeutic options for these individuals.
Penalized Local Polynomial Regression for Spatial Data
Authors: Wang Wu , Sun Ying 
Published: April 2019

AbstractWhen performing spatial regression analysis in environmental data applications, spatial heterogeneity in the regression coefficients is often observed. Spatially varying coefficient models, including geographically weighted regression and spline models, are standard tools for quantifying such heterogeneity. In this paper, we propose a spatially varying coefficient model that represents the spatially varying parameters as a mixture of local polynomials at selected locations. The local polynomial parameters have attractive interpretations, indicating various types of spatial heterogeneity. Instead of estimating the spatially varying regression coefficients directly, we develop a penalized least squares regression procedure for the local polynomial parameter estimation, which both shrinks the parameter estimation and penalizes the differences among parameters that are associated with neighboring locations. We develop confidence intervals for the varying regression coefficients and prediction intervals for the response. We apply the proposed method to characterize the spatially varying association between particulate matter concentrations () and pollutant gases related to the secondary aerosol formulation in China. The identified regression coefficients show distinct spatial patterns for nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide during different seasons.
Fungal evolution: major ecological adaptations and evolutionary transitions
Authors: Naranjo‐Ortiz Miguel A. , Gabaldón Toni 
Published: April 2019

ABSTRACTFungi are a highly diverse group of heterotrophic eukaryotes characterized by the absence of phagotrophy and the presence of a chitinous cell wall. While unicellular fungi are far from rare, part of the evolutionary success of the group resides in their ability to grow indefinitely as a cylindrical multinucleated cell (hypha). Armed with these morphological traits and with an extremely high metabolical diversity, fungi have conquered numerous ecological niches and have shaped a whole world of interactions with other living organisms. Herein we survey the main evolutionary and ecological processes that have guided fungal diversity. We will first review the ecology and evolution of the zoosporic lineages and the process of terrestrialization, as one of the major evolutionary transitions in this kingdom. Several plausible scenarios have been proposed for fungal terrestralization and we here propose a new scenario, which considers icy environments as a transitory niche between water and emerged land. We then focus on exploring the main ecological relationships of Fungi with other organisms (other fungi, protozoans, animals and plants), as well as the origin of adaptations to certain specialized ecological niches within the group (lichens, black fungi and yeasts). Throughout this review we use an evolutionary and comparative‐genomics perspective to understand fungal ecological diversity. Finally, we highlight the importance of genome‐enabled inferences to envision plausible narratives and scenarios for important transitions.
Lipoprotein receptor‐related protein 4 autoantibodies in myasthenia gravis: Where are we and where are we going?
Authors: Nakane Shunya , Higuchi Osamu , Takamatsu Koutaro , Mukaino Akihiro , Maeda Yasuhiro , Matsuo Hidenori , Ando Yukio 
Published: April 2019

AbstractMyasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder of the neuromuscular junction that leads to fatigue of skeletal muscles and fluctuating weakness. The pathogenesis of MG is sufficiently diverse to include autoimmune mechanisms. In most patients with MG, autoantibodies against acetylcholine receptor can be detected. In a smaller proportion of patients without anti‐acetylcholine receptor antibodies, autoantibodies to muscle‐specific kinase and low‐density lipoprotein receptor‐related protein 4 (LRP4) are present. LRP4 is critical for neuromuscular junction formation and maintenance. A multimolecular complex is formed among agrin, LRP4 and muscle‐specific kinase that is critical for agrin signaling. The presence of anti‐LRP4 antibodies is associated with mild symptoms of MG, while thymomas are rarely observed in association with MG and LRP4 antibodies. We review recent findings on the pathogenesis, clinical features and treatment of LRP4 MG.
Influence of abutment height and implant depth position on interproximal peri‐implant bone in sites with thin mucosa: A 1‐year randomized clinical trial
Authors: Pico Alexandre , Martín‐Lancharro Pablo , Caneiro Leticia , Nóvoa Lourdes , Batalla Pilar , Blanco Juan 
Published: April 2019

AbstractObjectivesThe aim of this RCT was to assess radiographically the effect of abutment height and depth of placement of platform‐switched implants on interproximal peri‐implant bone loss (IPBL) in patients with thin peri‐implant mucosa.Material and MethodsThirty‐three patients received one prosthesis supported by two implants replacing at least two adjacent missing teeth (66 implants). Patients were randomly allocated and implant insertion depth adapted to abutment height groups (3 mm height group the implants were placed 2 mm subcrestally; 1 mm height group, equicrestally). Clinical and radiological measurements were performed at 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery. Interproximal bone‐level changes were compared between treatment groups using repeated measures mixed ANOVA. The association between IPBL and categorical variables was also analyzed.ResultsThe mean IPBL in 1 mm abutment group was 0.76 ± 0.79 mm at 3 months, 0.92 ± 0.88 mm at 6 months, and 0.95 ± 0.88 mm at 12 months, while in the 3 mm abutment group was 0.06 ± 0.21, 0.07 ± 0.22 mm, and 0.12 ± 0.33 mm, respectively. Significant differences between both groups were observed at every time point. When the influence of patient characteristics and clinical variables was analyzed, no statistically significant differences were also observed.ConclusionsThe use of long abutments, in combination with subcrestal implant position in sites with thin mucosa, led to lower IPBL in comparison with the use of short abutments.
Straight From the Girls: The Importance of Incorporating the EDGE Design Attributes at Exhibits
Authors: Garcia‐Luis Veronica , Dancstep Toni 
Published: April 2019

AbstractThis paper describes a follow‐up focus group study for the larger Exhibit Designs for Girls’ Engagement (EDGE) project. Grounded in Culturally Responsive Pedagogical theory (CRP), the project aimed to understand the relationship between female responsive designs and girls’ engagement at STEM exhibits. After developing a Female‐Responsive Design (FRD) Framework and conducting a large‐scale study to determine the most important design attributes for engaging girls at exhibits, the final step involved a qualitative investigation into those design attributes. Four focus groups with 22 girls aged 8–13 explored their exhibit experiences and discourse. Participants were videotaped while using four exhibits, half of which incorporated the EDGE Design Attributes. Focus group results replicate the previous quantitative study: participants had a largely positive response to the EDGE Design Attributes and evinced greater engagement when the attributes were present at exhibits. As expected, girls’ responsiveness to the design attributes varied— aligning with the CRP approach and highlighting the important fact that not all attributes will work for all girls. To share girls’ voices more broadly with practitioners we provide direct quotes for each design attribute. Finally, of the kinds of learning expressed, girls more often practiced scientific skills by repeating or varying activities at the EDGE exhibits. The results of this study, and the larger project, provide evidence that CRP works well when designing for females and serves as a valuable theory for creating museums that are truly inclusive.
Fire and life history affect the distribution of plant species in a biodiversity hotspot
Authors: Magadzire Nyasha , de Klerk Helen M. , Esler Karen J. , Slingsby Jasper A. 
Published: April 2019

AbstractAimSpecies distribution models (SDMs) provide valuable insights into species–environment relationships and potential climate change impacts on diversity. Most SDMs do not account for the role of natural disturbance regimes such as fire in determining current and future species distributions, or how species traits mediate their response to these stressors. Here, we investigate the importance of fire in determining the distributions of species in fire‐prone fynbos vegetation, and how this varies in relation to different life history traits (growth form and fire‐response strategy).LocationCape Floristic Region, South Africa.MethodsWe modelled the distribution of 104 plant species with different life history traits, using Maxent. The model included five climatic variables, one edaphic and one fire variable. Post hoc analyses of model output and permutation procedures were conducted to assess variable importance across different life history traits. We accounted for phylogenetic autocorrelation using sister species comparisons.ResultsPermutation importance scores identified fire return interval as a major determinant of fynbos species’ distributions. Linear mixed effect analyses revealed that seeder species were significantly more sensitive to fire than resprouters. Coefficients from the (linear) response curves of the different predictors indicated that the occurrence of species across all life histories was negatively associated with longer fire return intervals.Main conclusionsFire and life history traits governing species’ response to fire are key factors determining species distributions in our study system. SDMs that ignore the role of fire in driving species distributions, and how this varies across different life history types, compromise our ability to understand species–environment relationships in fire‐prone ecosystems. There is great need for better spatial data describing historical, current and future fire regimes and for models that can incorporate different responses based on species life histories, to improve vulnerability assessments for fire‐prone ecosystems.
Transnational remittances and state protection of human rights: A case for caution
Authors: Bang James T. , Mandal Arindam , Mitra Aniruddha 
Published: April 2019

AbstractThis paper explores the impact of transnational remittance receipts on state respect for human rights, identifying the latter with the CIRI Index of Physical Integrity Rights which aggregates information on disappearances, extrajudicial killings, political imprisonment, and torture. Based on sample of 106 developing economies considered over the period 1981–2011, we find that remittances have a strong negative impact on state respect for physical integrity rights, the results being robust to alternate specifications and estimation methods. Our results underline the need for caution in evaluating the developmental consequences of remittance inflows, especially on institutional quality.
High‐Performance Work Practices and Job Satisfaction: Gender's Moderating Role
Authors: Brinck Karla , Otten Sina , Hauff Sven 
Published: April 2019

To get a more nuanced picture of the effects of high‐performance work practices (HPWPs), this paper analyzes how gender moderates the relationships between HPWPs and job satisfaction. HPWPs are theoretically linked to gender concepts, followed by an empirical analysis of whether these HPWPs have different effects on job satisfaction for men and women. The results of the theoretical analysis highlight that HPWPs are primarily oriented to the male gender concept. The empirical analysis is based on data from the European Working Condition Survey for Germany (N = 1,044). The results show that gender partially acts as a moderator in the relationships between HPWPs and job satisfaction. The study contributes to the literature by providing deeper and differentiated insights into the relationships between HPWPs and job satisfaction by providing a comprehensive theoretical framework for how HPWPs can affect men and women differently and by empirically analyzing the extents of these relationships.
Extensive validation study of the Parkinson's Disease Composite Scale
Authors: Martinez‐Martin P. , Radicati F. G. , Rodriguez Blazquez C. , Wetmore J. , Kovacs N. , Ray Chaudhuri K. , Stocchi F. ,   the PDCS European Study Group
Published: April 2019

Background and purposeA composite instrument able to rapidly and reliably assess the most relevant motor and non‐motor afflictions suffered by Parkinson's disease (PD) patients in a real world clinic setting is an unmet need. The recently validated PD Composite Scale (PDCS) was designed to fulfil this gap as a quick, comprehensive PD assessment. The objective of this study was extensive evaluation of the PDCS's clinimetric properties using a large international sample.MethodsThis was a cross‐sectional study in which the PDCS, the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale and the Clinical Impression of Severity Index for PD were applied. Basic clinimetric attributes of the PDCS were analysed.ResultsIn total, 776 PD patients were included. The PDCS total score showed negligible floor and ceiling effects. Three factors (54.5% of the variance) were identified: factor 1 included motor impairment, fluctuations and disability; factor 2, non‐motor symptoms; and factor 3, tremor and complications of therapy. Cronbach's alpha was from 0.66 to 0.79. Inter‐rater reliability showed weighted kappa values from 0.79 to 0.98 for items and intraclass correlation coefficient values from 0.95 (Disability) to 0.99 (Motor and total score). The Bland–Altmann method, however, showed irregular concordance. PDCS standard error of measurement and convergent validity with equivalent constructs of other measures were satisfactory (≥0.70). PDCS scores significantly differed by Hoehn and Yahr stage.ConclusionOverall, in line with previous findings, the PDCS is a feasible, acceptable, valid, reliable and precise instrument for quickly and comprehensively assessing PD patients.