bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
How and when informative visit processes can bias inference when using electronic health records data for clinical research
Authors: Goldstein Benjamin A , Phelan Matthew , Pagidipati Neha J , Peskoe Sarah B 
Published: July 2019

Abstract

Objective
Electronic health records (EHR) data have become a central data source for clinical research. One concern for using EHR data is that the process through which individuals engage with the health system, and find themselves within EHR data, can be informative. We have termed this process informed presence. In this study we use simulation and real data to assess how the informed presence can impact inference.

Materials and Methods
We first simulated a visit process where a series of biomarkers were observed informatively and uninformatively over time. We further compared inference derived from a randomized control trial (ie, uninformative visits) and EHR data (ie, potentially informative visits).

Results
We find that only when there is both a strong association between the biomarker and the outcome as well as the biomarker and the visit process is there bias. Moreover, once there are some uninformative visits this bias is mitigated. In the data example we find, that when the “true” associations are null, there is no observed bias.

Discussion
These results suggest that an informative visit process can exaggerate an association but cannot induce one. Furthermore, careful study design can, mitigate the potential bias when some noninformative visits are included.

Conclusions
While there are legitimate concerns regarding biases that “messy” EHR data may induce, the conditions for such biases are extreme and can be accounted for.
Quantitative methods for the determination of abundance of mobile prey of ghost crabs, Ocypode Weber, 1795 (Decapoda: Brachyura: Ocypodidae), a top predator on sandy shores
Authors: Yong Adeline Y P , Lim Shirley S L 
Published: July 2019

ABSTRACT
Ghost crabs, OcypodeWeber, 1795 (Decapoda: Brachyura: Ocypodidae) are the top-benthic predators on sandy beaches in the sub-tropical and tropical regions around the world. They are omnivores and opportunistic feeders with varied feeding modes, such that they can exert cascading trophic effects on intertidal communities. Although there is a wealth of literature on the diet of ghost crabs based on qualitative reports of direct observation of predation, tracks/signs of feeding activities, or presence/absence data of prey items in foregut content analyses, there is hardly any quantitative analyses of food resources in the field that are available to these top predators on the sandy shore. While the abundance of immobile food resources can be ascertained by sediment sample assays, specialized sampling methods have been used for the collection and enumeration of mobile prey items. There is a need also to understand the period of foraging activity of the study species in order to track the predator-prey interaction at the appropriate time of the day. We outline three techniques suitable for the collection of prey types with different distribution, activity period and mobility: 1) surface-dwelling prey, 2) prey that burrow, and 3) prey that are capable of flying, a novel method that has not been utilized and described before.
Nuclear Humanitarianism
Authors: Chiam Madelaine , Hood Anna 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
In recent years, humanitarianism has been portrayed as a revolutionary new force in the anti-nuclear movement. This article challenges this progressive understanding of humanitarianism’s role in nuclear affairs by exploring how the language and concept of humanitarianism have been deployed by two states that have been deeply involved in international nuclear law projects over the last 50 years: Australia and New Zealand. It argues that contrary to popular perceptions about the radical potential of humanitarianism in nuclear affairs, the phenomenon’s track record in Australia and New Zealand is chequered. Indeed, in certain key respects, humanitarianism has impeded anti-nuclear agendas in Australia and New Zealand: first, the ambiguity inherent in the language of humanitarianism has allowed it to be deployed to support the maintenance of nuclear weapons; and secondly, humanitarianism has generated outcomes that often support and reinforce the status quo legally and structurally. The article also offers some reflections on the relationship between humanitarianism and international law in the nuclear context. Specifically, it shows how the Australian and New Zealand case studies reveal contradictory approaches to, and understandings of, humanitarianism as law.
The South America Tomato Leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), Spreads Its Wings in Eastern Africa: Distribution and Socioeconomic Impacts
Authors: Aigbedion-Atalor Pascal Osa , Hill Martin P , Zalucki Myron P , Obala Francis , Idriss Gamal E , Midingoyi Soul-Kifouly , Chidege Maneno , Ekesi Sunday , Mohamed Samira Abuelgasim 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
Following the arrival of Tuta absoluta Meyrick in the eastern African subregion in 2012, several studies have shown numerous ecological aspects of its invasion. We investigated the impact of T. absoluta on people’s livelihoods across four counties of Kenya. Here, 200 farmers in the country were interviewed in person using semistructured questionnaires. In addition to livelihood surveys, T. absoluta distribution was mapped between 2016 and 2018 to determine its current distribution across four countries (Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda) in the subregion. Albeit a recent invader, T. absoluta is abundant and distributed throughout the subregion and is viewed as the worst invasive alien species of agriculturally sustainable livelihoods by tomato farmers. The arrival of T. absoluta in the subregion has resulted in livelihood losses and increased both the cost of tomato production and frequency of pesticide application. We recommend the implementation of biological control along, with other control measures in an integrated approach, against T. absoluta in the subregion, where its impact on sustainable livelihoods is serious and long-term control strategies are required to curb its detrimental effects.
Struggles for Human Rights in Health in an Age of Neoliberalism: From Civil Disobedience to Epistemic Disobedience
Authors: Yamin Alicia Ely 
Published: July 2019

AbstractLike other contributors to this special issue and beyond, I believe we are at a critical inflection point in human rights and need to re-energize our work broadly to address growing economic inequality as well as inequalities based on different axes of identity. In relation to the constellation of fields involved in ‘health and human rights’ specifically—which link distinct communities with dissonant values, methods and orthodoxies—I argue that we also need to challenge ideas that are taken for granted in the fields that we are trying to transform. After setting out a personal and subjective account of why human rights-based approaches (HRBAs) are unlikely to be meaningful tools for social change as they are now generally being deployed, I suggest we collectively—scholars, practitioners and advocates—need to grapple with how to think about: (1) biomedicine in relation to the social as well as biological nature of health and well-being; and (2) conventional public health in relation to the social construction of health within and across borders and health systems. In each case, I suggest that challenging accepted truths in different disciplines, and in turn in the political economy of global health, have dramatic implications for not just theory but informing different strategies for advancing health (and social) justice through rights in practice.
HARK the SHARK: Realized Volatility Modeling with Measurement Errors and Nonlinear Dependencies
Authors: Buccheri Giuseppe , Corsi Fulvio 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
Despite their effectiveness, linear models for realized variance neglect measurement errors on integrated variance and exhibit several forms of misspecification due to the inherent nonlinear dynamics of volatility. We propose new extensions of the popular approximate long-memory heterogeneous autoregressive (HAR) model apt to disentangle these effects and quantify their separate impact on volatility forecasts. By combining the asymptotic theory of the realized variance estimator with the Kalman filter and by introducing time-varying HAR parameters, we build new models that account for: (i) measurement errors (HARK), (ii) nonlinear dependencies (SHAR) and (iii) both measurement errors and nonlinearities (SHARK). The proposed models are simply estimated through standard maximum likelihood methods and are shown, both on simulated and real data, to provide better out-of-sample forecasts compared to standard HAR specifications and other competing approaches.
Taxonomic revision of the long-tailed shrew, Sorex dispar Batchelder, 1911, from the Appalachian Region of North America, with the description of a new subspecies
Authors: Diersing Victor E 
Published: July 2019

AbstractThe long-tailed shrew, Sorex dispar Batchelder, 1911, and Gaspe shrew, S. gaspensis Anthony and Goodwin, 1924, from the Appalachian Mountains of North America have been characterized as genetically highly similar, and that one is morphologically a clinal variate of the other, i.e., there is a single species. I measured 24 characters of the skull on 196 shrews from throughout the range of the species. Geographic variation in skull shape and size was not gradual or continuous, but abrupt. These abrupt changes in morphology are associated with major water barriers, primarily the Connecticut River, middle Saint John River, and the Strait of Canso, which separates mainland Nova Scotia from Cape Breton Island. The morphological analyses presented here and previous genetic studies indicate that S. dispar and S. gaspensis are likely conspecific. Shrews with the largest skull occur from North Carolina north to Vermont and are referable to S. d. dispar with S. d. blitchi as a synonym. Shrews from New Hampshire northeast to southern New Brunswick and mainland Nova Scotia have a medium-sized skull and are referable to a new subspecies. Those from northern New Brunswick, Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec, and Cape Breton Island have a small skull and are referable to S. d. gaspensis. The skull morphology of S. d. gaspensis and the new subspecies are more similar to each other than to S. d. dispar. Results of this study differ from those of previous morphological studies because measurement error and within-group variation were reduced, which allowed for visibility of otherwise “hidden” between-group differences, or geographic variation.
Sex-Based Disparities Among Cancer Clinical Trial Participants
Authors: Ludmir Ethan B , Fuller C David , Moningi Shalini , Mainwaring Walker , Lin Timothy A , Miller Austin B , Jethanandani Amit , Espinoza Andres F , Verma Vivek , Smith Benjamin D , Smith Grace L , VanderWalde Noam A , Holliday Emma B , Guadagnolo B Ashleigh , Stinchcombe Thomas E , Jagsi Reshma , Gomez Daniel R , Minsky Bruce D , Rödel Claus , Fokas Emmanouil 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
Landmark investigation two decades ago demonstrated sex-based disparities among participants in cancer cooperative group trials. Although federal efforts have aimed to improve representation of female patients in government-sponsored research, less is known about sex disparities in the broader landscape of modern oncologic randomized controlled trials. Using ClinicalTrials.gov, we identified randomized controlled trials related to colorectal or lung cancer (the two most common non-sex-specific disease sites). Among the 147 included trials, the proportion of female patients enrolled on trial was on average 6.8% (95% confidence interval = −8.8% to –4.9%) less than the proportion of female patients in the population by disease site (P &lt; .001). Whereas no statistically significant underrepresentation of women was noted within the 26 cooperative group trials, sex disparities were markedly heightened for the 121 noncooperative-group-sponsored trials. Furthermore, underrepresentation of women did not improve with time. Future efforts should therefore focus on addressing these pervasive sex-based enrollment disparities beyond cooperative group trials alone.
Root production, mortality and turnover in soil profiles as affected by clipping in a temperate grassland on the Loess Plateau
Authors: Wei Lin , Yao Pengwei , Jing Guanghua , Ye Xiefeng , Cheng Jimin 
Published: July 2019

Abstract

Aims
Clipping or mowing for hay, as a prevalent land-use practice, is considered to be an important component of global change. Root production and turnover in response to clipping have great implications for the plant survival strategy and grassland ecosystem carbon processes. However, our knowledge about the clipping effect on root dynamics is mainly based on root living biomass, and limited by the lack of spatial and temporal observations. The study aim was to investigate the effect of clipping on seasonal variations in root length production and mortality and their distribution patterns in different soil layers in semiarid grassland on the Loess Plateau.

Methods
Clipping was performed once a year in June to mimic the local spring livestock grazing beginning from 2014. The minirhizotron technique was used to monitor the root production, mortality and turnover rate at various soil depths (0–10, 10–20, 20–30 and 30–50 cm) in 2014 (from 30 May to 29 October) and 2015 (from 22 April to 25 October). Soil temperature and moisture in different soil layers were also measured during the study period.

Important Findings
Our results showed that: (i) Clipping significantly decreased the cumulative root production (P < 0.05) and increased the cumulative root mortality and turnover rates of the 0–50 cm soil profile for both years. (ii) Clipping induced an immediate and sharp decrease in root length production and an increase in root length mortality in all soil layers. However, with plant regrowth, root production increased and root mortality decreased gradually, with the root production at a depth of 30–50 cm even exceeding the control in September–October 2014 and April–May 2015. (iii) Clipping mainly reduced root length production and increased root length mortality in the upper 0–20 cm soil profile with rapid root turnover. However, roots at deeper soil layers were either little influenced by clipping or exhibited an opposite trend with slower turnover rate compared with the upper soil profile, leading to the downward transport of root production and living root biomass. These findings indicate that roots in deeper soil layers tend to favour higher root biomass and longer fine root life spans to maximize the water absorption efficiency under environmental stress, and also suggest that short-term clipping would reduce the amount of carbon through fine root litter into the soil, especially in the shallow soil profile.
An unusual presentation of sphenoid Candida fungal ball: a case report
Authors: Tuang Geng Ju , Zahedi Farah Dayana , Akashah Izzah , Lee Jennifer Peak Hui , Abidin Zainal Azmi Zainal 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
The clinical presentation of a sphenoid fungal ball (FB) is often non-specific and tends to be overlooked, particularly in hosts with an intact immune status. Rarely, potentially life-threatening complications may arise, owning its anatomical characteristics with contiguous structures. Herein, we present an unusual case of sphenoid FB complicated with orbital apex syndrome in an immunocompetent patient. The diagnosis dilemma and subsequent management are further discussed.
An uncertainty principle for star formation – IV. On the nature and filtering of diffuse emission
Authors: Hygate Alexander P S , Kruijssen J M Diederik , Chevance Mélanie , Schruba Andreas , Haydon Daniel T , Longmore Steven N 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
Diffuse emission is observed in galaxies in many tracers across the electromagnetic spectrum, including tracers of star formation, such as H α and ultraviolet (UV), and tracers of gas mass, such as carbon monoxide (CO) transition lines and the 21-cm line of atomic hydrogen (H i). Its treatment is key to extracting meaningful information from observations such as cloud-scale star formation rates. Finally, studying diffuse emission can reveal information about the physical processes taking place in the interstellar medium, such as chemical transitions and the nature of stellar feedback (through the photon escape fraction). We present a physically motivated method for decomposing astronomical images containing both diffuse emission and compact regions of interest, such as H ii regions or molecular clouds, into diffuse and compact component images through filtering in Fourier space. We have previously presented a statistical method for constraining the evolutionary timeline of star formation and mean separation length between compact star-forming regions with galaxy-scale observations. We demonstrate how these measurements are biased by the presence of diffuse emission in tracer maps and that by using the mean separation length as a critical length-scale to separate diffuse emission from compact emission, we are able to remove its biasing effect. Furthermore, this method provides, without the need for interferometry or ancillary spectral data, a measurement of the diffuse emission fraction in input tracer maps and decomposed diffuse and compact emission maps for further analysis.
Low-eccentricity migration of ultra-short-period planets in multiplanet systems
Authors: Pu Bonan , Lai Dong 
Published: July 2019

ABSTRACT
Recent studies suggest that ultra-short-period planets (USPs), Earth-sized planets with sub-day periods, constitute a statistically distinct sub-sample of Kepler planets: USPs have smaller radii (1–1.4R⊕) and larger mutual inclinations with neighbouring planets than nominal Kepler planets, and their period distribution is steeper than longer period planets. We study a ‘low-eccentricity’ migration scenario for the formation of USPs, in which a low-mass planet with initial period of a few days maintains a small but finite eccentricity due to secular forcings from exterior companion planets, and experiences orbital decay due to tidal dissipation. USP formation in this scenario requires that the initial multiplanet system have modest eccentricities (≳0.1) or angular momentum deficit. During the orbital decay of the innermost planet, the system can encounter several apsidal and nodal precession resonances that significantly enhance eccentricity excitation and increase the mutual inclination between the inner planets. We develop an approximate method based on eccentricity and inclination eigenmodes to efficiently evolve a large number of multiplanet systems over Gyr time-scales in the presence of rapid (as short as ∼100 yr) secular planet–planet interactions and other short-range forces. Through a population synthesis calculation, we demonstrate that the ‘low-e migration’ mechanism can naturally produce USPs from the large population of Kepler multis under a variety of conditions, with little fine-tuning of parameters. This mechanism favours smaller inner planets with more massive and eccentric companion planets, and the resulting USPs have properties that are consistent with observations.
CRTS J035010.7 + 323230, a new eclipsing polar in the cataclysmic variable period gap
Authors: Mason Paul A , Wells Natalie K , Motsoaledi Mokhine , Szkody Paula , Gonzalez Emmanuel 
Published: July 2019

ABSTRACT
We report the discovery of a new eclipsing polar, CRTS J035010.7+323230 (hereafter CRTS J0350+3232). We identified this cataclysmic variable (CV) candidate as a possible polar from its multiyear Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey (CRTS) optical light curve. Photometric monitoring of 22 eclipses in 2015 and 2017 was performed with the 2.1-m Otto Struve Telescope at McDonald Observatory. We derive an unambiguous high-precision ephemeris. Strong evidence that CRTS J0350 + 3232 is a polar comes from optical spectroscopy obtained over a complete orbital cycle using the Apache Point Observatory 3.5-m telescope. High velocity Balmer and He ii λ4686Å emission-line equivalent width ratios, structures, and variations are typical of polars and are modulated at the same period, 2.37 h (142.3 min), as the eclipse to within uncertainties. The spectral energy distribution and luminosity is found to be comparable to that of AM Herculis. Pre-eclipse dips in the light curve show evidence for stream accretion. We derive the following tentative binary and stellar parameters assuming a helium composition white dwarf and a companion mass of 0.2 M⊙: inclination i = 74.68° ± 0.03°, semimajor axis a = 0.942 ± 0.024 R⊙, and masses and radii of the white dwarf and companion, respectively: M1 = 0.948 $^{+0.006}_{-0.012}$ M⊙, R1 = 0.00830 $^{+0.00012}_{-0.00006}$ R⊙, and R2 = 0.249 ± 0.002 R⊙. As a relatively bright (V ∼ 17–19 mag), eclipsing, period-gap polar, CRTS J0350 + 3232 will remain an important laboratory for the study of accretion and angular momentum evolution in polars.
Stellar activity analysis of Barnard’s Star: Very slow rotation and evidence for long-term activity cycle
Authors: Toledo-Padrón B , Hernández J I González , Rodríguez-López C , Mascareño A Suárez , Rebolo R , Butler R P , Ribas I , Anglada-Escudé G , Johnson E N , Reiners A , Caballero J A , Quirrenbach A , Amado P J , Béjar V J S , Morales J C , Perger M , Jeffers S V , Vogt S , Teske J , Shectman S , Crane J , Díaz M , Arriagada P , Holden B , Burt J , Rodríguez E , Herrero E , Murgas F , Pallé E , Morales N , López-González M J , Alonso E Díez , Tuomi M , Kiraga M , Engle S G , Guinan E F , Strachan J B P , Aceituno F J , Aceituno J , Casanova V M , Martín-Ruiz S , Montes D , Ortiz J L , Sota A , Briol J , Barbieri L , Cervini I , Deldem M , Dubois F , Hambsch F-J , Harris B , Kotnik C , Logie L , Lopez J , McNeely M , Ogmen Y , Pérez L , Rau S , Rodríguez D , Urquijo F S , Vanaverbeke S 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
The search for Earth-like planets around late-type stars using ultra-stable spectrographs requires a very precise characterization of the stellar activity and the magnetic cycle of the star, since these phenomena induce radial velocity (RV) signals that can be misinterpreted as planetary signals. Among the nearby stars, we have selected Barnard’s Star (Gl 699) to carry out a characterization of these phenomena using a set of spectroscopic data that covers about 14.5 years and comes from seven different spectrographs: HARPS, HARPS-N, CARMENES, HIRES, UVES, APF, and PFS; and a set of photometric data that covers about 15.1 years and comes from four different photometric sources: ASAS, FCAPT-RCT, AAVSO, and SNO. We have measured different chromospheric activity indicators (Hα, Ca II HK and Na I D), as well as the FWHM of the cross-correlation function computed for a sub-set of the spectroscopic data. The analysis of Generalized Lomb-Scargle periodograms of the time series of different activity indicators reveals that the rotation period of the star is 145 ± 15 days, consistent with the expected rotation period according to the low activity level of the star and previous claims. The upper limit of the predicted activity-induced RV signal corresponding to this rotation period is about 1 m/s. We also find evidence of a long-term cycle of 10 ± 2 years that is consistent with previous estimates of magnetic cycles from photometric time series in other M stars of similar activity levels. The available photometric data of the star also support the detection of both the long-term and the rotation signals.