bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Trade liberalization, absorptive capacity and the protection of intellectual property rights
Authors: Ghosh Arghya , Ishikawa Jota 
Published: September 2018

AbstractWe examine how trade liberalization affects South's incentive to protect intellectual property rights (IPR) in a North–South duopoly model where a low‐cost North firm competes with a high‐cost South firm in the South market. The North firm serves the South market through either exports or foreign direct investment (FDI). The extent of effective cost difference between North and South depends on South's imitation, which in turn depends on South's IPR protection and absorptive capacity and North firm's location choice, all of which are endogenously determined in our model. For a given level of IPR protection, South's absorptive capacity under exports may be greater than under FDI. Even though innovation is exogenous to the model (and hence unaffected by South's IPR policy), strengthening IPR protection in South can improve its welfare. The relationship between trade costs and the degree of IPR protection that maximizes South welfare is non‐monotone. In particular, South has an incentive to protect IPR only when trade costs are moderate. When masking technology or licensing is incorporated into the model, however, some protection of IPR may be optimal for South even if the trade costs are not moderate.
From Start to Finish: A Framework for the Production of Small Area Official Statistics
Authors: Tzavidis Nikos , Zhang Li-Chun , Luna Angela , Schmid Timo , Rojas-Perilla Natalia 
Published: September 2018

SummarySmall area estimation is a research area in official and survey statistics of great practical relevance for national statistical institutes and related organizations. Despite rapid developments in methodology and software, researchers and users would benefit from having practical guidelines for the process of small area estimation. We propose a general framework for the production of small area statistics that is governed by the principle of parsimony and is based on three broadly defined stages, namely specification, analysis and adaptation, and evaluation. Emphasis is given to the interaction between a user of small area statistics and the statistician in specifying the target geography and parameters in the light of the available data. Model-free and model-dependent methods are described with a focus on model selection and testing, model diagnostics and adaptations such as use of data transformations. Uncertainty measures and the use of model and design-based simulations for method evaluation are also at the centre of the paper. We illustrate the application of the proposed framework by using real data for the estimation of non-linear deprivation indicators. Linear statistics, e.g. averages, are included as special cases of the general framework.
Bayesian Regression Tree Ensembles that Adapt to Smoothness and Sparsity
Authors: Linero Antonio R. , Yang Yun 
Published: September 2018

SummaryEnsembles of decision trees are a useful tool for obtaining flexible estimates of regression functions. Examples of these methods include gradient-boosted decision trees, random forests and Bayesian classification and regression trees. Two potential shortcomings of tree ensembles are their lack of smoothness and their vulnerability to the curse of dimensionality. We show that these issues can be overcome by instead considering sparsity inducing soft decision trees in which the decisions are treated as probabilistic. We implement this in the context of the Bayesian additive regression trees framework and illustrate its promising performance through testing on benchmark data sets. We provide strong theoretical support for our methodology by showing that the posterior distribution concentrates at the minimax rate (up to a logarithmic factor) for sparse functions and functions with additive structures in the high dimensional regime where the dimensionality of the covariate space is allowed to grow nearly exponentially in the sample size. Our method also adapts to the unknown smoothness and sparsity levels, and can be implemented by making minimal modifications to existing Bayesian additive regression tree algorithms.
Did Growing Rural Poverty and a Disruptive Climate Spur an Expansion in Rural Sociology? A Comparative Historical Analysis
Authors: Rudel Thomas K. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractRural sociology first gained wide recognition during the 1930s when the intersection of economic depression and environmental crisis underlined the suffering of rural peoples. The historical conjuncture of growing rural poverty and environmental crisis has reappeared in the twenty‐first century. What does this recurring combination of circumstances portend for rural sociology? Does it imply a revival of the policy‐oriented sociological analyses of the 1930s? A comparative historical analysis of rural sociology during the New Deal, the post−World War II period, and the contemporary era suggests a qualified answer to this question. The contemporary era resembles the 1930s in providing compelling rationales for engaged scholarship, but the cross‐class coalitions between government social scientists and the rural poor that characterized the 1930s have not materialized in the twenty‐first century. Despite this difference, some common themes, such as a growing emphasis on interdisciplinary research, a primary concern with rural poverty, and an increased interest in the distinguishing features of resilient communities, have characterized scholarship during both periods. These similarities suggest that the practice of applied and engaged scholarship, so prevalent in the rural sociology of the 1930s, has found new traction in dealing with the social and ecological problems of twenty‐first‐century rural communities.
Conventional dialysis in the elderly: How lenient should our guidelines be?
Authors: Corbett Richard W. , Brown Edwina A. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThere has been a dramatic, worldwide expansion in life expectancy across the last century. This has resulted in a progressively more elderly and comorbid population. It is increasingly recognized that healthcare in this group needs to move to the concept of “adding life to years”. Recognition and assessment of frailty is vital in changing our approach in elderly patients. Current guidelines in dialysis have a limited evidence base across all age groups, but particularly the elderly and serve them poorly. Moreover, the burden of guidelines for each comorbidity of the multimorbid patient is increasing and can be conflicting. Finally, there is increasing evidence relating to the harm associated with the delivery of conventional dialysis. In dialysis patients, frailty is the overwhelming determinant in relation to patient‐specific outcomes rather than modality of treatment; therefore, the focus should be on promoting quality of life. We need to focus on new priorities of care when we design guidelines “for people not diseases”. Patient‐centered goal‐directed therapy, arising from shared decision making between physician and patient, should allow adaption of the dialysis regime to maximize opportunities while minimizing treatment‐related morbidity and concentrating on alleviating symptoms.
IFN‐λ4 inhibits HIV infection of macrophages through signalling of IFN‐λR1/IL‐10R2 receptor complex
Authors: Su Qi‐Jian , Wang Xu , Zhou Run‐Hong , Guo Le , Liu Hang , Li Jie‐Liang , Ho Wen‐Zhe 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThe recently discovered IFN‐λ4 has been found to have antiviral activity against several viruses. However, it's unknown whether IFN‐λ4 can inhibit HIV infection. Here, we show that IFN‐λ4 could suppress HIV infection of macrophages. This IFN‐λ4‐mediated HIV inhibition was compromised by the antibodies against IFN‐λ receptor complex, IFN‐λR1/IL‐10R2. IFN‐λ4 enhanced the phosphorylation of STAT1, and induced antiviral interferon‐stimulated genes. These findings indicated that IFN‐λ4 can inhibit HIV via JAK/STAT signalling pathway.
Comparison of lower limb stiffness between male and female dancers and athletes during drop jump landings
Authors: Ward Rachel E. , Fong Yan Alycia , Orishimo Karl F. , Kremenic Ian J. , Hagins Marshall , Liederbach Marijeanne , Hiller Claire E. , Pappas Evangelos 
Published: September 2018

Repetition of jumps in dance and sport training poses a potential injury risk; however, non‐contact landing injuries are more common in athletes than dancers. This study aimed to compare the lower limb stiffness characteristics of dancers and athletes during drop landings to investigate possible mechanisms of impact‐related injuries. Kinematics and kinetics were recorded as 39 elite modern and ballet dancers (19 men and 20 women) and 40 college‐level team sport athletes (20 men and 20 women) performed single‐legged drop landings from a 30‐cm platform. Vertical leg stiffness and joint stiffness of the hip, knee, and ankle were calculated using a spring‐mass model. Stiffness data, joint kinematics, and moments were compared with a group‐by‐sex 2‐way analysis of variance. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the relative contribution of hip and knee and ankle joint stiffness to variance in overall vertical leg stiffness for dancers and athletes. Dancers had lower leg (P < 0.001), knee joint (P = 0.034), and ankle joint stiffness (P = 0.043) than athletes. This was facilitated by lower knee joint moments (P = 0.012) and greater knee (P = 0.029) and ankle joint (P = 0.048) range of motion in dancers. Males had higher leg (P < 0.001) and ankle joint stiffness (P < 0.001) than females. This occurred through lower ankle range of motion (P < 0.001) and greater ankle moment (P = 0.022) compared to females. Male and female dancers demonstrated reduced lower limb stiffness compared to athletes, indicating a more pliable landing technique. Dance training techniques could potentially inform approaches to injury prevention in athletes.
Majority Rule, Compromise and the Democratic Legitimacy of Referendums
Authors: Bellamy Richard 
Published: September 2018

AbstractCheneval and el‐Wakil () defend referendums as a mechanism that allows a popular majority to express itself in situations where the standard channels of representative democracy fail to include the concerns of certain citizens and end up reflecting the views of a minority. By contrast, this comment argues that the likelihood of exclusion and settlement on a minority preference is much greater when policy choices are made by referendum. The reason lies in the plurality of policy options on many issues, and the fact that the most favoured policy may be a shared second or third best. The tendency for most forms of representative democracy to encourage politicians to build majorities through compromises among different coalitions of minorities is more likely to settle on the majority preference of diverse actors holding a plurality views than a referendum based on a binary choice.
Referendums: Tyranny of the Majority?
Authors: Moeckli Daniel 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThis response piece argues that one should be wary of generalised statements that referendums – or particular types of referendums – are good or bad. Whether a popular vote process has beneficial or damaging effects depends on a myriad of factors, in particular its formal design and the constitutional structure of the state concerned. Similarly, sweeping claims that referendums result in the oppression of minorities should be approached with a good dose of scepticism. A look at actual direct‐democratic practice shows that the danger of a tyranny of the majority is limited to very specific circumstances. Insofar as this danger does exist, damaging effects of referendums for minorities can be prevented through judicial review after the vote and exclusion of certain issues from referendums from the start.
Making Referendums Safe for Democracy: A Call for More and Better Deliberation
Authors: Chambers Simone 
Published: September 2018

AbstractIn this essay I argue that when thinking about the design of referendums we should pay particular attention to the quality, substance, and inclusiveness of the debate and deliberation that precedes the vote. This is especially true for constitutional referendums that affect fundamental laws. I suggest that drawing out the procedure over time and including citizens’ mini‐publics might be helpful additions to our design tools box.
Emerging Research Communities of Practice Versus the Popular Vision of Interdisciplinarity? Insights from Digital Research in the United Kingdom*
Authors: Zhao Yupei , Tsatsou Panayiota 
Published: September 2018

ObjectiveThis article shows how social science and humanities researchers in the United Kingdom who make use of digital tools, resources, and services understand and perceive interdisciplinarity and their related experiences and needs.MethodsThe study examined 10 cases of U.K.‐based research, two from each of the following social science and humanities disciplines: business/management, education, history, literature, and politics. Data collection employed a qualitative methodology that consisted of nonparticipant observation and semi‐structured interviews.ResultsThe article finds that researchers problematize the meaning and top‐down character of interdisciplinarity and envisage the development of research communities of experience exchange and knowledge sharing that go beyond the imperative of interdisciplinarity.ConclusionThe article challenges prevalent assumptions that digital research and interdisciplinarity go hand in hand and that one is a prerequisite for and in need of the other, while it invites institutional and funding bodies to consider working jointly with researchers toward developing the alternative of research communities of practice.
Predicting aggregate stability index in ferralsols
Authors: de Melo T. R. , Machado W. , de Oliveira J. F. , Tavares Filho J. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractPedotransfer functions are advantageous for predicting attributes in which the analysis or transport is laborious or expensive, such as the aggregate stability index (ASI), which is directly associated with soil use and ecosystem services. The aims of this study were (i) to predict the ASI in Ferralsols based on four soil attributes: clay concentration (Clay), bulk density (Bd), organic matter (OM) and soil pH; and (ii) to evaluate the contribution of these attributes to the ASI in soils with Clay < 350 g/kg, 350 ≤ Clay ≤ 600 g/kg and Clay > 600 g/kg. Samples (n = 405) were collected at the 0.0–0.2 m layer in Ferralsols with different clay concentration and agricultural uses in Paraná, Brazil and used for predicting ASI through multiple linear regression using the least squares method with stepwise to test the persistence of the explanatory attributes in the models. The models were trained using 2/3 of the samples (n = 270), and the remaining samples (n = 135) were used to test the model. The ASI could be predicted with good accuracy ( > 0.77, P < 7.91% and RMSE < 6.74%) using attributes routinely determined in the laboratory (Clay, Bd, OM, and pH), as explanatory attributes in Ferralsols of different clay concentration and under different agricultural uses. The contribution of the explanatory attributes to the ASI is not dependent on the clay concentration group of Ferralsols, and their importance follows the order: Clay > OM = pH = Bd.
PlantFAdb: a resource for exploring hundreds of plant fatty acid structures synthesized by thousands of plants and their phylogenetic relationships
Authors: Ohlrogge John , Thrower Nick , Mhaske Vandana , Stymne Sten , Baxter Melissa , Yang Weili , Liu Jinjie , Shaw Kathleen , Shorrosh Basil , Zhang Meng , Wilkerson Curtis , Matthäus Bertrand 
Published: September 2018

SummaryOver 450 structurally distinct fatty acids are synthesized by plants. We have developed PlantFAdb.org, an internet‐based database that allows users to search and display fatty acid composition data for over 9000 plants. PlantFAdb includes more than 17 000 data tables from >3000 publications and hundreds of unpublished analyses. This unique feature allows users to easily explore chemotaxonomic relationships between fatty acid structures and plant species by displaying these relationships on dynamic phylogenetic trees. Users can navigate between order, family, genus and species by clicking on nodes in the tree. The weight percentage of a selected fatty acid is indicated on phylogenetic trees and clicking in the graph leads to underlying data tables and publications. The display of chemotaxonomy allows users to quickly explore the diversity of plant species that produce each fatty acid and that can provide insights into the evolution of biosynthetic pathways. Fatty acid compositions and other parameters from each plant species have also been compiled from multiple publications on a single page in graphical form. Links provide simple and intuitive navigation between fatty acid structures, plant species, data tables and the publications that underlie the datasets. In addition to providing an introduction to this resource, this report illustrates examples of insights that can be derived from PlantFAdb. Based on the number of plant families and orders that have not yet been surveyed we estimate that a large number of novel fatty acid structures are still to be discovered in plants.
Canine and feline abdominal arterioportal communications can be classified based on branching patterns in computed tomographic angiography
Authors: Specchi Swan , Rossi Federica , Weisse Chick , Morabito Simona , Petrovitch Nicholas P. , Drees Randi , Thierry Florence , Ricciardi Mario , Penchome Rampaipat , Armenise Andrea , Pey Pascaline , Paek Matthew , Panopoulos Ioannis , Nicoli Stefano , Schwarz Tobias 
Published: September 2018

AbstractArterioportal vascular anomalies are communications between the splanchnic arteries and the portal system that represent a rare cause of presinusoidal portal hypertension in small animals. There is little information concerning the imaging findings of arterioportal communications in small animals and no classification could be found for radiologists and surgeons. The aims of this retrospective descriptive multicentric study were to describe the computed tomographic characteristics of arterioportal communications in a group of cats and dogs, and to propose a classification based on computed tomography (CT) angiographic anatomy. Computed tomography databases from multiple veterinary hospitals were searched for cats and dogs with a diagnosis of arterioportal communication. A total of 36 animals (33 dogs, three cats) met the inclusion criteria. There were 32 intrahepatic arterioportal malformations and four extrahepatic fistulae. The intrahepatic arterioportal malformations were classified as right divisional (11/32) and left divisional (21/32), and the left divisional were subclassified as left medial (16/21) and left lateral (4/21). One patient showed multiple intrahepatic arterioportal communications with concomitant left medial and left lateral conformations. Two patients with intrahepatic arteriovenous malformation showed concomitant congenital intrahepatic shunts. The proposed anatomical classification based on CT angiography could allow veterinary radiologists to have a more systematic approach and help improve the radiologist–surgeon communication.
Predominance of hypoechoic tissue changes in nine dogs with malignant prostatic lymphoma
Authors: Di Donato Pamela , Zweifel Raffaela , Koehler Kernt , Golini Lorenzo , Ressel Lorenzo , Kramer Martin , Kiefer Ingmar , Lim Chee Kin , Ondreka Nele 
Published: September 2018

AbstractNeoplasia of the prostate is relatively uncommon in dogs with adenocarcinoma being the most common type. Non‐epithelial tumors are rare and only individual cases of malignant lymphoma affecting the prostate have been reported. The purpose of this multi‐institutional, retrospective, descriptive study was to characterize the ultrasonographic features of canine prostatic lymphoma. Inclusion criteria were an abdominal ultrasound and cytological/histological diagnosis of malignant prostatic lymphoma. Ultrasonographic features were recorded based on the original ultrasonographic reports and consensus opinion of two readers on the available image sets retrospectively. Nine dogs met the inclusion criteria with a mean age of 6.5 years. Seven dogs were intact and two neutered. Subjective prostatomegaly was noted in all patients however not reproducible by objective measurements. Altered shape with rounded/irregular margins was detected in 78% of the cases. All prostates presented either diffuse (three dogs) or focal/periurethral (four dogs) and/or multifocal areas of hypoechogenicity (three dogs). In one dog, focal and multifocal hypoechoic changes co‐occurred. Prostatic mineralization was not present in any of the cases. Ultrasonographic features of infiltrative disease of multiple organs and/or lymphadenopathy was found in all cases. Even though malignant lymphoma is rare in the prostate, it should be included in the list of differentials in patients with hypoechoic lesions/areas, altered shape, lack of mineralization of the prostatic parenchyma and evidence of multiorgan involvement.
Mechanical analysis of suture attachment methods in toggle suture constructs
Authors: Kraska Kathleen A. , Jackson Joshua 
Published: September 2018

AbstractObjectiveTo determine the effect of the method used to attach OrthoFiber #5 to a 1/8‐in Securos toggle rod on the mechanical properties of the resulting construct.Study designProspective bench top mechanical analysis.Sample populationOne hundred twenty‐eight OrthoFiber #5‐toggle rod suture constructs.MethodsToggle–suture constructs (groups A‐H) were prepared by using 8 methods to attach OrthoFiber #5 to a 1/8‐in toggle rod (n = 16 constructs/group). A servohydraulic materials‐testing machine was used to test each toggle–suture construct in tension. Mean load to failure, cycles to failure, construct stiffness, and suture elongation under static and cyclic loading were compared among types of constructs.ResultsMean load to failure was greatest (>500 N) for constructs D (P ≤ .048) and G (P ≤ .048). Mean construct stiffness of D (53.52 N/mm) and E (53.6 N/mm) was greater than that of the 6 other constructs (P ≤ .040). Construct A sustained the most elongation in acute (23.47 mm;P < .001) and cyclic (18.53 mm;P < .003) loading. Cycles to failure was greater for construct C (622 cycles) compared with constructs A, B, and H (P = .008,P = .009, andP = .010, respectively).ConclusionThe method used to attach OrthoFiber #5 to a 1/8‐in toggle rod influenced the mechanical properties of the construct. No one construct outperformed other groups in all areas of testing, but construct D was superior when mean load to failure and construct stiffness were considered.Clinical impactConstruct D, with OrthoFiber #5, passed straight through the toggle rod eyelet, may provide superior stability and resistance to fatigue failure to toggle‐in repairs of coxofemoral luxations.