bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Increased survival of patients aged 0‐29 years with osteosarcoma: A period analysis, 1984‐2013
Authors: Wu Jinna , Sun Huanhuan , Li Jie , Guo Yuanqing , Zhang Kuibo , Lang Chuandong , Zou Changye , Ma Haiqing 
Published: July 2018

AbstractPurposeOsteosarcoma is the most common primary malignancy of bone, and typically occurs among children and adolescence. This study aims to evaluate treatment outcomes among children, adolescents and young adults with osteosarcoma over the three decades by the changes in the long‐term relative survival.MethodsOsteosarcoma incidence and relative survival data from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registries during 1984‐2013 were analyzed. The survival differences over three decades, age, sex, race, and socioeconomic status (SES) were assessed by comparing Kaplan‐Meier curves.ResultsThe overall incidence of osteosarcoma kept relatively stable with 0.4 per 100 000 in the three decades with the peak incidence occurring in the aged 10‐19 group. The 10‐year relative survival rate (RSR) increased from 57.7% to 61.0% in the three decades, with the greatest increase in the aged 0‐9 group from 48.2% to 65.7%. The 10‐year RSR improved from 54.1% to 61.5% in males, and from 62.4% to 63.0% in females, respectively, in the three decades. Furthermore, survival dramatically improved from 30% to 60% in the high‐poverty group over the three decades.ConclusionThis study demonstrated that the overall incidence of osteosarcoma remained stable, with an improvement in survival in the three decades. The improved survival was greater in males than in females in the three decades. Furthermore, the survival significantly increased in high‐poverty group, which was attributed to increasing improved health care system and patients with low finance can also have access to receiving effective and consistent treatment without distinction.
ThermoFlex: Heat Storage in Secondary Digesters for Flexible Power Generation of Biogas Plants
Authors: Seick Ingolf , Araya Mónica Vergara , Wiese Jürgen 
Published: July 2018

AbstractFor flexible power generation of biogas plants and effective heat utilization, efficient heat storage technologies will play a decisive role. For this purpose, a process is being developed in the ThermoFlex project, based on controlled operation of a secondary digester in thermophilic temperature ranges after a mesophilic main digester. This allows effective, flexible heat storage in the secondary digester for digester heating and external heat utilization at an acceptable temperature level without additional storage. The process biology of the secondary digester tolerates controlled temperature variations. An overview of the application potential and design of the ThermoFlex process is given. Batch and semicontinuous fermentation tests at various temperatures are described.
In Vitro Culturing and Screening of Candida albicans Biofilms
Authors: Gulati Megha , Lohse Matthew B. , Ennis Craig L. , Gonzalez Ruth E. , Perry Austin M. , Bapat Priyanka , Arevalo Ashley Valle , Rodriguez Diana L. , Nobile Clarissa J. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractCandida albicans is a normal member of the human microbiota that asymptomatically colonizes healthy individuals, however it is also an opportunistic pathogen that can cause severe infections, especially in immunocompromised individuals. The medical impact of C. albicans depends, in part, on its ability to form biofilms, communities of adhered cells encased in an extracellular matrix. Biofilms can form on both biotic and abiotic surfaces, such as tissues and implanted medical devices. Once formed, biofilms are highly resistant to antifungal agents and the host immune system, and can act as a protected reservoir to seed disseminated infections. Here, we present several in vitro biofilm protocols, including protocols that are optimized for high‐throughput screening of mutant libraries and antifungal compounds. We also present protocols to examine specific stages of biofilm development and protocols to evaluate interspecies biofilms that C. albicans forms with interacting microbial partners. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Corporate social responsibility and multiple agency theory: A case study of internal stakeholder engagement
Authors: Calvo Nuria , Calvo Flora 
Published: July 2018

AbstractEmployee engagement via corporate social responsibility (CSR) involves conflicts of interest between firms, employees, and political institutions. We examined the international transfer of employees of an airline company as a case study of a CSR strategy based on human resource management. From the dual approach of multiple agency theory and a resource‐based perspective, we found that by increasing worker mobility costs, the European Union hindered the firm's CSR strategy of employee engagement. This contrasts with the stated aim of the European Union to promote worker mobility.
The effects of creating shared value (CSV) on the consumer self–brand connection: Perspective of sustainable development
Authors: Jin Chang‐Hyun 
Published: July 2018

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to shed light on the self–brand connection by analyzing two relationships: first, the effects on the self–brand connection of the association in a consumer's mind between the corporate strategy known as creating shared value (CSV) and brands that deploy this strategy; second, the effects on the self–brand connection of the association between corporate competence and brands. The paper examines whether the authenticity with which a firm deploys the CSV strategy (and markets products that are perceived as authentic) has a positive effect on the formation of self–brand connections among consumers. A company that manufactures eco‐friendly products and implements a CSV strategy as a means of managing its operations ethically was chosen as the research subject. A total of 1500 consumers participated in the survey. The study found that consumers' perceptions of the associations of CSV and corporate competence with the brand under study are closely related to the self–brand connection. Such associations can also generate self‐identification with a brand as well as brand loyalty. The authenticity of CSV activity and related products was found to play a critical role in the formation of consumer attitudes such as perception of sustainable development.
Pragmatic competence and its relationship with the linguistic and cognitive profile of young adults with dyslexia
Authors: Cappelli Gloria , Noccetti Sabrina , Arcara Giorgio , Bambini Valentina 
Published: July 2018

AbstractThe study assessed the pragmatic skills of 19 well‐compensated Italian‐speaking young adults with dyslexia compared with controls. A comprehensive pragmatic assessment tool was employed, targeting production and comprehension (Assessment of Pragmatic Abilities and Cognitive Substrates [APACS]). Participants were also administered a series of standardized tests to assess verbal and non‐verbal cognitive abilities, including executive functions and social cognition tests. Data were analysed with the aim of understanding whether pragmatic abilities are compromised in dyslexia and of exploring associations between pragmatic performance and other cognitive domains. The performance of the dyslexia group was poorer than that of the control group in both expressive and receptive modalities. Data showed diffuse problems across several domains, with the greatest challenge posed by inferring nonliteral meanings, which indicates that pragmatic inefficiency is an important aspect of the linguistic and communicative profile of dyslexia in adulthood. Explorative correlations highlighted a relation between pragmatic performance and reading and vocabulary abilities, as well as between pragmatics and working memory. This suggests that pragmatic difficulties are strongly tied to the most distinctive aspects of dyslexia, namely, phonological awareness, verbal short‐term memory, pseudo‐word repetition, whereas the link with high‐level executive functions and Theory of Mind is negligible.
Limited potential of deep reefs to serve as refuges for tropical Southwestern Atlantic corals
Authors: Morais Juliano , Santos Bráulio A. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractThe deep reef refuge hypothesis (DRRH) predicts that deep coral reefs may act as refuges against major disturbances affecting shallow reefs, but to date, a few studies have explicitly examined its validity at the community level. We sampled 19 Brazilian reefs distributed between 3 and 61 m depth and tested five DRRH predictions regarding species diversity, distribution, and functional profile of communities. The first prediction was that deep reefs (>30 m depth) should host greater gamma diversity to be able to export species to shallow reefs (<30 m). Second, depth‐generalist species should dominate the shallow reefs; otherwise, local extirpation in shallow areas could not be reverted by the deep reefs. Third, alpha diversity should be greater in deep reefs due to reduced anthropogenic pressure in deeper areas. Fourth, beta diversity should be smaller among shallow than deep reefs due to the human‐induced spread of a few disturbance‐adapted species near sea surface. Finally, the functional composition of shallow reefs should be a subset from that of deep reefs to allow functional recovering of shallower areas. Contrary to expectations, coral communities presented twice more gamma diversity in shallow than deep reefs (13 vs. seven effective species) and only three out of 17 species occurred along the entire gradient. Additionally, the alpha diversity of rare, typical, and dominant species was similar between shallow and deep reefs, and the beta diversity of rare and typical species was about 50% greater in shallow than deep reefs. Supporting the DRRH, coral communities of both reefs were dominated by reef‐building, zooxanthellated, gonochoric corals with brooding or broadcast reproductive mode (Siderastrea stellata and Montastraea cavernosa). However, soft corals were observed only in shallow reefs and azooxanthellated corals were recorded only in deep reefs. These findings revealed a limited potential of deep reefs to serve as refuges for Southwestern Atlantic coral communities, though they may work for two depth‐generalist dominant species. We strongly recommend preventing human disturbances at any depth and including both shallow and deep reefs in regional conservation actions.
The effects of local and landscape habitat attributes on bird diversity in urban greenspaces
Authors: Callaghan Corey T. , Major Richard E. , Lyons Mitchell B. , Martin John M. , Kingsford Richard T. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractContrasting trajectories of biodiversity loss and urban expansion make it imperative to understand biodiversity persistence in cities. Size‐, local‐, and landscape‐level habitat factors of greenspaces in cities may be critical for future design and management of urban greenspaces in conserving bird biodiversity. Most current understanding of bird communities in cities has come from disparate analyses of single cities, over relatively short time periods, producing limited understanding of processes and characteristics of bird patterns for improved biodiversity management of the world's cities. We analyzed bird biodiversity in 112 urban greenspaces from 51 cities across eight countries, using eBird, a broadscale citizen science project. Species richness and Shannon diversity were used as response variables, while percent tree cover, percent water cover, and vegetation index were used as habitat predictor variables at both a landscape (5 and 25 km radius) and local‐scale level (specific to an individual greenspace) in the modeling process, retrieved using Google Earth Engine. Area of a greenspace was the most important predictor of bird biodiversity, underlining the critical importance of habitat area as the most important factor for increasing bird biodiversity and mitigating loss from urbanization. Surprisingly, distance from the city center and distance from the coast were not significantly related to bird biodiversity. Landscape‐scale habitat predictors were less related to bird biodiversity than local‐scale habitat predictors. Ultimately, bird biodiversity loss could be mitigated by protecting and developing large greenspaces with varied habitat in the world's cities.
Anthropogenic versus fish‐derived nutrient effects on seagrass community structure and function
Authors: Allgeier Jacob E. , Layman Craig A. , Montaña Carmen G. , Hensel Enie , Appaldo Richard , Rosemond Amy D. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractHumans are altering nutrient dynamics through myriad pathways globally. Concurrent with the addition of nutrients via municipal, industrial, and agricultural sources, widespread consumer exploitation is changing consumer‐mediated nutrient dynamics drastically. Thus, altered nutrient dynamics can occur through changes in the supply of multiple nutrients, as well as through changes in the sources of these nutrients. Seagrass ecosystems are heavily impacted by human activities, with highly altered nutrient dynamics from multiple causes. We simulate scenarios of altered nutrient supply and ratios, nitrogen:phosphorus (N:P), from two nutrient sources in seagrass ecosystems: anthropogenic fertilizer and fish excretion. In doing so we tested expectations rooted in ecological theory that suggest the importance of resource dynamics for predicting primary producer dynamics. Ecosystem functions were strongly altered by artificial fertilizer (e.g., seagrass growth increased by as much as 140%), whereas plant/algae community structure was most affected by fish‐mediated nutrients or the interaction of both treatments (e.g., evenness increased by ~140% under conditions of low fish nutrients and high anthropogenic nutrients). Interactions between the nutrient sources were found for only two of six response variables, and the ratio of nutrient supply was the best predictor for only one response. These findings show that seagrass structure and function are well predicted by supply of a single nutrient (either N or P). Importantly, no single nutrient best explained the majority of responses—measures of community structure were best explained by the primary limiting nutrient to this system (P), whereas measures of growth and density of the dominant producer in the system were best explained by N. Thus, while our findings support aspects of theoretical expectations, the complexity of producer community responses belies broad generalities, underscoring the need to manage for multiple simultaneous nutrients in these imperiled coastal ecosystems.
Combined detection of AC‐electrokinetic effects: Experiments with three‐axial chicken red blood cells
Authors: Gimsa Jan , Titipornpun Kanokkan , Stubbe Marco , Gimsa Ulrike 
Published: July 2018

AbstractDielectrophoresis (DEP), electrorotation (ROT), and electro‐orientation were used for the dielectric spectroscopy of nucleated three‐axial chicken red blood cells (CRBCs). Because the different AC‐electrokinetic effects are not mutually independent, their DEP and ROT spectra were combined in ranges separated by the reorientation of the CRBCs in the inhomogeneous linear DEP and circular ROT fields. This behavior can be qualitatively described by a single‐shell ellipsoidal model. Whereas in linear fields, the maximum of the Clausius–Mossotti factor along the three axes determines the orientated axis, in circular fields, the minimum of the factor determines the axis perpendicularly orientated to the field plane. Quantitatively, it has not been possible to find a consistent parameter set for fitting the DEP and ROT spectra, as well as the reorientation frequencies. Our ellipsoidal CRBC standard model had semiaxes of a = 7.7 μm, b = 4.0 μm, and c = 1.85 μm, a relative permittivity of 35 to 45 and conductivity of 0.36 to 0.04 S/m for the cytoplasm, combined with a specific capacitance of 10 to 14 mF/m2 and a conductivity of 3500 S/m2 for the cell membrane. The fits in different external conductivity ranges between external conductivities of 0.015 and 1.0 S/m were improved when the membrane capacitance was changed between 4 to 25 mF/m2 depending on the method used. A similar transition was reflected in the effective properties of a three‐shell spherical model containing an internal membranous sphere with the geometry of the CRBC nucleus. Our findings suggest that the simultaneous interpretation of various AC‐electrokinetic spectra is a step toward the dielectric fingerprinting of biological cells.
On the ecohydrology of the Yucatan Peninsula: Evapotranspiration and carbon intake dynamics across an eco‐climatic gradient
Authors: Uuh‐Sonda Jorge M. , Gutiérrez‐Jurado Hugo A. , Figueroa‐Espinoza Bernardo , Méndez‐Barroso Luis A. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractThe hydrology and productivity of the ecosystems of the Yucatan Peninsula (YP) are highly constrained by two factors: (a) the lack of surface drainage networks due to the existence of a highly permeable and connected karstic aquifer roughly the size of the peninsula and (b) a climatic gradient that leads to a transition from seasonally dry deciduous and sub‐deciduous tropical forests, in the north‐western and central parts of the Peninsula, to evergreen forests, in the southern and eastern parts. As a result, surface water fluxes of the YP are restricted to evapotranspiration (ET) that are tightly coupled to ecosystems health and gross primary productivity (GPP). The magnitude and seasonal variation of these fluxes are sensitive to climatic variability and perturbations caused by extreme events such as droughts and tropical storms that are frequent in the YP. In this study, we assess the spatio‐temporal dynamics of ET and GPP above average dry and wet conditions through time series analyses of 15 years of remotely sensed data from both Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite products. Our results show that ET and GPP follow a regional moisture and temperature gradient that highly controls the distribution of ecosystems within the peninsula. We observe that ET and GPP are in phase with the rainy season in the deciduous forests, but for the evergreen forests, only the GPP is in phase. Additionally, and with the exception of droughts on deciduous ecosystems of the northern part of the YP, the productivity of these ecosystems shows a legacy effect, responding more to a defined trajectory (wetting or drying on the previous years), rather than to punctual extreme climatic events. This has implications on the resilience of these ecosystems to natural perturbations of climate. Comparisons between deciduous and evergreen forest indicate that both types of ecosystems have different plant water use strategies in response to hydrologic variability.
Reticular Chemistry of Multifunctional Metal‐Organic Framework Materials
Authors: Lin Rui‐Biao , Xiang Shengchang , Li Bin , Cui Yuanjing , Zhou Wei , Qian Guodong , Chen Banglin 
Published: July 2018

AbstractMetal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline solids constructed by means of reticular chemistry (refers to the connection of molecular building units via strong bonds to make extended structures), which is currently one of the most rapidly expanding platforms for new functional materials. Rational combinations of various building units enable MOFs to show tailorable pore structures. Based on well‐established approaches, including the control over pore size and pore chemistry, immobilization of functional sites, post‐synthetic modification, and multivariate complex, multifunctional MOFs can be readily synthesized. In this brief review, we summarize and highlight our research progress in MOF chemistry on applications including gas storage, gas separations, optical response, chemical sensing, proton conduction, and molecular recognitions.
The ICID Vision 2030 and Action Plan 2017–2021
Authors: Gundogdu Huseyin 
Published: July 2018

AbstractWater, soil, energy and food have been the core values for the existence of human beings as well as other creatures living in the world from the beginning of human history and will increasingly be significant concerns in the future together with environmental issues and climate change due to the rapid growth in the world population, urbanization, industry and poor management of those core needs. Poverty and hunger should be the most important concerns for all humanity to tackle in this developing and changing world, but how? Water, as the key natural resource, is one of the essential inputs to all economic, social and environmental processes in tackling poverty and hunger. The role of agricultural water management, mainly irrigation, in ensuring food security, hence tackling poverty and hunger, is seemingly going to be at the centre of solution proposals. There are actually many scientifically and technologically developed instruments available in this world to solve poverty and hunger. What is needed is action. Poverty and hunger could be tackled with a broader vision and a well‐defined mission together with a detailed action plan. The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), as one of the leading global professional organizations, has initiated more active support for ‘A Water‐Secure World and Free of Poverty and Hunger'. ‘A Road Map to ICID Vision 2030' is a document, developed over past 2 years, that presents an action plan to move towards a water‐secure world free of poverty and hunger through sustainable rural development. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Hydrogen peroxide modulates redox status, energy metabolism, and gene expression in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner in rat liver
Authors: Ahmed‐Farid Omar A. , Rizk Hanan A. , Shehata Ahmed M. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractAimThe aim of this study was to investigate the effect of three different hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels on blood and liver oxidative status, energy metabolites, and gene expression in male albino rats at two time intervals (2 and 4 weeks).MethodsA total of 32 rats were divided into four groups. The first group received tap water and served as control. The second group received low dose of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2; 0.25%), The third group received medium dose of H2O2 (0.5%) and the fourth group received high dose of H2O2 (1%) in drinking water.ResultsPresent data showed that medium and high dose increased oxidative stress markers, decreased cell energy, and decreased antioxidant enzyme gene expression (GPx and Nrf2) and its downstream in contrast low dose did not show significant effects.ConclusionThis study might indicate that hydrogen peroxide medium level is the best dose for redox model status.