bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Climate change and society in the 15th to 18th centuries
Authors: Degroot Dagomar 
Published: March 2018

Scholars in many disciplines have used diverse methods and sources to establish that, between the 15th and 18th centuries, a “Little Ice Age” considerably cooled Earth's climate. In four particularly chilly periods—the Spörer Minimum, Grindelwald Fluctuation, Maunder Minimum, and Dalton Minimum—falling temperatures both caused and reflected changes in atmospheric circulation that altered regional patterns of precipitation. Many scholars have argued that weather in these cold periods provoked or worsened regional food shortages, famines, rebellions, wars, and outbreaks of epidemic disease, in ways that may have contributed to mass mortality across the early modern world. More recently, some scholars have contrasted the fates of societies or communities that were “vulnerable” to climate change with those that were “resilient” or even consciously or unconsciously adaptive in the face of the Little Ice Age. Overall, research that connects climatic and social histories has suggested that human decisions, political structures, economic arrangements, institutions, and cultures either magnified or mitigated the impact of climate change on the societies of the early modern world.This article is categorized under:Climate, History, Society, Culture > Major Historical Eras
An optimized FAIRE procedure for low cell numbers in yeast
Authors: Segorbe David , Wilkinson Derek , Mizeranschi Alexandru , Hughes Timothy , Aaløkken Ragnhild , Váchová Libuše , Palková Zdena , Gilfillan Gregor D. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractWe report an optimized low‐input FAIRE‐seq (Formaldehyde‐Assisted Isolation of Regulatory Elements‐sequencing) procedure to assay chromatin accessibility from limited amounts of yeast cells. We demonstrate that the method performs well on as little as 4 mg of cells scraped directly from a few colonies. Sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility of the scaled‐down method are comparable with those of regular, higher input amounts, and allow the use of 100‐fold fewer cells than existing procedures. The method enables epigenetic analysis of chromatin structure without the need for cell multiplication of exponentially growing cells in liquid culture, thus opening the possibility of studying colony cell subpopulations, or those that can be isolated directly from environmental samples.
Finite-Horizon Ruin Probabilities in a Risk-Switching Sparre Andersen Model
Authors: Gajek Lesław , Rudź Marcin 
Published: March 2018

AbstractAfter implementation of Solvency II, insurance companies can use internal risk models. In this paper, we show how to calculate finite-horizon ruin probabilities and prove for them new upper and lower bounds in a risk-switching Sparre Andersen model. Due to its flexibility, the model can be helpful for calculating some regulatory capital requirements. The model generalizes several discrete time- as well as continuous time risk models. A Markov chain is used as a ‘switch’ changing the amount and/or respective wait time distributions of claims while the insurer can adapt the premiums in response. The envelopes of generalized moment generating functions are applied to bound insurer’s ruin probabilities.
A XANES Study of Sulfur Speciation and Reactivity in Cokes for Anodes Used in Aluminum Production
Authors: Jahrsengene Gøril , Wells Hannah C. , Rørvik Stein , Ratvik Arne Petter , Haverkamp Richard G. , Svensson Ann Mari 
Published: March 2018

Abstract
Availability of anode raw materials in the growing aluminum industry results in a wider range of petroleum cokes being used to produce carbon anodes. The boundary between anode grade cokes and what previously was considered non-anode grades are no longer as distinct as before, leading to introduction of cokes with higher sulfur and higher trace metal impurity content in anode manufacturing. In this work, the chemical nature of sulfur in five industrial cokes, ranging from 1.42 to 5.54 wt pct S, was investigated with K-edge XANES, while the reactivity of the cokes towards CO2 was measured by a standard mass loss test. XANES identified most of the sulfur as organic sulfur compounds. In addition, a significant amount is identified (16 to 53 pct) as S-S bound sulfur. A strong inverse correlation is observed between CO2-reactivity and S-S bound sulfur in the cokes, indicating that the reduction in reactivity is more dependent on the amount of this type of sulfur compound rather than the total amount of sulfur or the amount of organic sulfur.
Recruitment and retention strategies for an urban adolescent study: Lessons learned from a multi‐center study of community‐based asthma self‐management intervention for adolescents
Authors: Grape Annette , Rhee Hyekyun , Wicks Mona , Tumiel‐Berhalter Laurene , Sloand Elizabeth 
Published: March 2018

ABSTRACTIntervention studies with urban adolescents and families affected by asthma are critical to improving the disproportionate morbidity in this population. Community‐based recruitment and retention strategies in a multi‐site longitudinal project evaluating an asthma self‐management intervention for adolescents are presented. Successful recruitment strategies depended on the geographic and cultural characteristics of each study site. Partnering with providers and groups known to the target population and in‐person contact with target population were found effective. Flexibility accommodating modified and new approaches, securing multiple contacts and repeating mailings as well as capitalizing on the benefits of subject payment was critical to achieving long‐term subject engagement of 85% in the study. Ongoing monitoring and adjustment of recruitment and retention strategies is recommended.
Denominator Matters in Estimating Antimicrobial Use: A Comparison of Days Present and Patient Days
Authors: Moehring Rebekah W. , Dodds Ashley Elizabeth S. , Ren Xinru , Lokhnygina Yuliya , Baker Arthur W. , Jones Travis M. , Lewis Sarah S. , Sexton Daniel J. , Anderson Deverick J. ,   the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epicenters Program
Published: March 2018

Patient days and days present were compared to directly measured person time to quantify how choice of different denominator metrics may affect antimicrobial use rates. Overall, days present were approximately one-third higher than patient days. This difference varied among hospitals and units and was influenced by short length of stay.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:612–615
Accurate surface exposure dating with lichens
Authors: Bull William B. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractLichenometry accurately dates exposure times of glacial moraines and landslides when measuring the longest axis of the largest crustose lichen on many blocks, as demonstrated by numerous examples. In Sweden, the sizes ofRhizocarponsubgenusRhizocarpondescribe five pulses of glacial moraine creation in 120 yr. Six historic California earthquakes, between AD 1800 and 1906, caused many landslides that constrain lichen growth as linear with a dating accuracy of±0.5 yr. Crustose lichen sizes date earthquake-created additions to Sierra Nevada talus with an accuracy of±5 yr. The oldest lichen ages are 400 yr forLecanora sierrae, 800 yr forLecidea atrobrunnea, and 1100 yr forAcarospora chlorophanaandRhizocarponsubgenusRhizocarpon. Lichen sizes also record differing spatial attenuation of ground shaking from the magnitude (Mw) ~7.9 San Andreas earthquake of AD 1857 and the more distant, smaller San Jacinto AD 1800 earthquake, which both caused Sierra Nevada rockfalls. AD 1800 seismic shaking was relatively stronger than that of AD 1857 farther north, perhaps expressing stronger Love and Rayleigh styles of surface waves from the north-trending AD 1800 surface rupture that were particularly efficient in causing rockfalls at greater distances.
A High-Resolution 14C Chronology Tracks Pulses of Aggradation of Glaciofluvial Sediment on the Cormor Megafan between 45 and 20 ka BP
Authors: Hippe Kristina , Fontana Alessandro , Hajdas Irka , Ivy-Ochs Susan 
Published: March 2018

AbstractDuring the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) the Tagliamento glacier delivered large amounts of sediment to the Cormor alluvial megafan on the southern Alpine foreland basin. To build a chronology of Late Pleistocene glacier fluctuations and assess the timing of the transition from interstadial to glacial conditions, we have performed radiocarbon (14C) dating on peat and macrofossil samples obtained from a drilling core from the distal Cormor megafan. Our chronology records fluvial and glaciofluvial aggradation from the end of MIS 3 until the end of the LGM. It shows a rapid transmission of signals of environmental change along the Cormor megafan, so that changes in the activity of the Tagliamento glacier directly affect glaciofluvial sedimentation. Our data demonstrate that the intrinsic heterogeneity of peat is most critical for the reliability and reproducibility of the obtained 14C ages. Macrofossil subsamples give evidence for significant mixing of organic components of different ages within single peat samples. Sample heterogeneity is also underlined by the results obtained from testing of different laboratory precleaning methods. Our results suggest that a rigorous ABA pretreatment is sufficient for peat cleaning. In contrast, the chemically stronger ABOX methods appear to rapidly degrade the peat, particularly destroying older organic components.
Deals with the Devil? Conflict Amnesties, Civil War, and Sustainable Peace
Authors: Dancy Geoff 
Published: March 2018

AbstractDo legal amnesties for combatants help end civil wars? International policy experts often take it for granted that amnesties promote negotiated settlements with rebels. However, a large number of amnesties are followed by continued fighting or a return to the battlefield. What, then, are the factors that make amnesties effective or ineffective? In this article I use a disaggregated data set of all amnesties enacted in the context of internal war since 1946 to evaluate a bargaining theory of amnesties and peace. Testing hypotheses about conflict patterns using models that account for selection, I find that (1) only amnesties passed following conflict termination help resolve civil wars, (2) amnesties are more effective when they are embedded in peace agreements, and (3) amnesties that grant immunity for serious rights violations have no observable pacifying effects. These policy-relevant findings represent a new breakthrough in an ossified “peace versus justice” debate pitting security specialists against global human rights advocates.
EFFICIENCY AND FUTURE GENERATIONS
Authors: Broome John 
Published: March 2018

Abstract:Standard lessons from economics tell us that an externality creates inefficiency, and that this inefficiency can be removed by internalizing the externality. This papers considers how successfully these lessons can be extended to intergenerational externalities such as emissions of greenhouse gas. For intergenerational externalities, the standard lessons involve comparisons between states whose populations of people differ, either in their identities or their numbers. Common notions of efficiency break down in these comparisons. This paper supplies a new notion of efficiency that allows the lessons to survive, but at the cost of reducing their practical significance.
Revising China's Strategic Culture: Contemporary Cherry-Picking of Ancient Strategic Thought
Authors: Ghiselli Andrea 
Published: March 2018

AbstractThis article looks at the influence of ancient military thinkers, especially Sunzi, in Chinese strategic culture today to shed light on a critical aspect of Alastair Iain Johnston's work on strategic culture: the relationship between the foreign policy elites and the cultural artefacts and symbols at the origin of strategic culture. The empirical analysis revolves around a large number of articles published by Chinese military scholars and officers between 1992 and early 2016 in the PLA Academy of Military Science's journal,China Military Science. The conclusion is that some elements of Chinese ancient military thought are readily apparent in China's military doctrine and operations today. These elements clearly call for a realist vision of the world, especially within the PLA. Yet, the analysis also prompts reflection on how to positively engage China on non-traditional security issues.
Why Did Women Vote for Donald Trump?
Authors: Setzler Mark , Yanus Alixandra B. 
Published: March 2018

ABSTRACTPopular accounts of the 2016 presidential election attribute Donald Trump’s victory to the mobilization of angry white men seeking to restore traditional values and social roles. Whereas a majority of Trump voters were male, more than 40% of women who went to the polls on Election Day also supported him. This analysis explores the motivations of these women, asking how partisanship, demographics, and beliefs motivated their vote choice. We found that, although party affiliation was an important predictor of both women’s and men’s vote choice, sexism and racial resentment had a greater influence on voters of both genders. Moreover, the influence of these biases was similar for women and men.
Do Introductory Political Science Courses Contribute to a Racial “Political Efficacy Gap”? Findings from a Panel Survey of a Flagship University
Authors: Centellas Miguel , Rosenblatt Cy 
Published: March 2018

ABSTRACTThis article examines findings of a panel study of more than 1,000 students enrolled in introductory political science courses at a flagship public university. The survey assessed whether completing an introductory course had a positive effect on political efficacy, focusing on gender and race. We found that, at the aggregate level, completing an introductory political science course had little or no impact on self-reported measures of political efficacy. However, we found evidence of significant differences in external political efficacy between black and white students, even when controlling for factors such as background characteristics and course performance (i.e., grades). Our findings raise important questions about the “civic” function of the undergraduate political science curriculum, particularly regarding racial political inequalities.
GLIMMERINGS OF THE POSTMODERN IN THOMAS HARDY'SJUDE THE OBSCURE
Authors: Elbarbary Samir 
Published: March 2018

In their evaluation ofJude the Obscure(1895), some earlier literary critics have justifiably (given the historical context) judged the text by the standards of the then dominant and sustained New Criticism trend, taking into account its symbiotic relationship with modernist aesthetics. The basic premise behind this conception was the aesthetic notion of structural and thematic unity as well as coherence and integrity of character. These notions were high on the agenda of the New Criticism of the 1940s and onwards. The narrative was found most lacking in this respect. An article entitled, “Hardy and the Fragmentation of Consciousness” (1975) by Harold L. Weatherby, a foremost Hardy critic, serves as an outstanding example of such a critical view. It makes the case that what ailsJudeis its unruliness and disjunctiveness: “the brilliance of the novel's peripheries can scarcely compensate for a profound weakness at its center. Indeed the centre cannot hold: the book falls into fragments” (“Hardy” 469). Weatherby continues, arguing that “There is no unified authorial consciousness” (470), that “Hardy as narrator contradicts himself repeatedly in his estimation of what is right or wrong, good or bad, for his characters” (470), and that it is “an artistic failure . . . failing to achieve unity and coherence” (479). Hardy, in addition, is undeservedly dismissed as “the old-fashioned man from Wessex” (483) – which reminds us of the well-known “good little Thomas Hardy” epithets of Henry James's adverse judgment (Cox xxxi). The article also associates incoherence and contradictions in the narrative with attitudinal ambivalences in Hardy's own mind (473, 476). Undeniably,Judeis permeated with incoherence. Who can disagree? It is deeply involved in sustained and unsettled opposition and what may be termed the play of Derrideandifférance(Positions14). And, indeed, Hardy himself acknowledges the tangle of disconnections and self-contradictions disrupting the stability of character in a notebook admission (which shows it to be his design):Of course the book is all contrasts . . . Sue and her heathen gods set against Jude's reading the Greek testament; Christminster academical, Christminster in the slums; Jude the saint, Jude the sinner; Sue the Pagan, Sue the saint, marriage, no marriage; &c., &c. (Life272–73)
“THREE LEAGUES AWAY FROM A HUMAN COLOUR”: NATSUME SOSEKI IN LATE-VICTORIAN LONDON
Authors: Dunbar Ann-Marie 
Published: March 2018

Natsume Soseki arrived in Londonin October 1900, with great expectations, both his own and those of the Japanese government officials who sponsored his scholarship to study abroad for two years. Soseki would eventually become one of the most important figures in modern Japanese literature, featured on Japan's 1000-yen note from 1984 to 2004; before he wrote the novels that earned him such fame – includingI Am a Cat(1906),And Then(1910), andKokoro(1914) – Soseki, who was then a young English teacher in the Japanese provinces, was sent to study English language and literature as part of Japan's large-scale modernization and westernization efforts, following the “opening” of Japan to the West by Commodore Matthew Perry in 1854 and the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Soseki's London sojourn coincided with the peak of British imperial might and also Japan's emergence as a world power. Soseki witnessed numerous important historical events as the Victorian era drew to a close, including the return of troops from the second Boer War and Queen Victoria's funeral procession. Following the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95, Japan won major financial and territorial concessions from China, a sign of Japan's new military power and ambition. Indeed, much of the funding for the “rapid expansion of the Japanese higher education system” came from these war reparations that “essentially bankrupted the Chinese government, hastening the downfall of the Qing Dynasty and the Sino-centric order in Asian culture. . . . Soseki's journey to London – metropole of the British Empire – was part and parcel of the geopolitical rise of one empire and the fall of another” (Bourdaghs, Ueda, and Murphy 4). Questions of empire and the relative strength of nations were very much on Soseki's mind during his time in London. During what was then a fifty-day journey by sea from Japan to England, “all ports between Yokohama and Marseilles were under British, French, or Dutch rule” (Hirakawa 171).
Source of bias in sugar-sweetened beverage research: a systematic review
Authors: Litman Ethan A , Gortmaker Steven L , Ebbeling Cara B , Ludwig David S 
Published: March 2018

AbstractObjectiveFinancial conflicts of interest involving the food industry have been reported to bias nutrition studies. However, some have hypothesized that independently funded studies may be biased if the authors have stronga prioribeliefs about the healthfulness of a food product (‘white hat bias’). The extent to which each source of bias may affect the scientific literature has not been examined. We aimed to explore this question with research involving sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) as a test case, focusing on a period during which scientific consensus about the adverse health effects of SSB emerged from uncertainty.DesignPubMed search of worldwide literature was used to identify articles related to SSB and health risks published between 2001 and 2013. Financial relationships and article conclusions were classified by independent groups of co-investigators. Associations were explored by Fischer’s exact tests and regression analyses, controlling for covariates.ResultsA total of 133 articles published in English met inclusion criteria. The proportion of industry-related scientific studies decreased significantly with time, from approximately 30 % at the beginning of the study period to <5 % towards the end (P=0·003). A ‘strong’ or ‘qualified’ scientific conclusion was reached in 82 % of independentv. 7 % of industry-related SSB studies (P<0·001). Industry-related studies were overwhelmingly more likely to reach ‘weak/null’ conclusions compared with independent studies regarding the adverse effects of SSB consumption on health (OR=57·30, 95 % CI 7·12, 461·56).ConclusionIndustry-related research during a critical period appears biased to underestimate the adverse health effects of SSB, potentially delaying corrective public health action.
Meanings of encounters for close relatives of people with a long-term illness within a primary healthcare setting
Authors: Zotterman Anna Nygren , Skär Lisa , Söderberg Siv 
Published: March 2018

AbstractBackgroundEncounters play an important role in the relationship between healthcare personnel and the close relatives of people with a long-term illness.AimThe aim of this study was to elucidate the meanings of encounters for close relatives of people with a long-term illness within a primary healthcare setting.MethodsInterviews using a narrative approach were conducted with seven women and three men, and the phenomenological hermeneutic method was used to interpret the interview texts.ResultsThe structural analysis revealed three major themes: being confirmed as a family, being informed of the care, and being respected as a valuable person. Close relatives stated that they wanted to be confirmed as a family and have a familiar and trusting relationship with healthcare personnel. They valued being informed concerning the care of the ill person so that they could give support at home. It was also important to be compassionately viewed as an important person in a welcoming atmosphere based on respect and dignity.
Wholesale produce auctions and regional food systems: The case of Seneca produce auction
Authors: Reid Judson , Simmonds Derek , Newbold Elizabeth 
Published: March 2018

AbstractProduce auctions are local aggregation points that facilitate access for small-scale fruit, flower and vegetable farmers to wholesale buyers from a broader geography. Buyers purchase lots from multiple farmers to fulfill wholesale demand and then retail the product to the consumers. Sales are held multiple times per week to create a consistent supply for buyers and a regular market for the farmers. With over 70 produce auctions located in eastern North America, this is a growing trend of intermediated markets. Currently, there are six active produce auctions in New York State, with two more in planning stages. Produce auctions have a positive economic impact on the communities in which they are located, as well as on those who sell and/or buy at the auction. Community values inherent to these populations contribute to the success of produce auctions as an intermediated market. As the auction market channel continues to grow, buyer and consumer education on the benefits of local auctions is important. As these auctions are based in horse-and-buggy communities, extension education needs to be tailored to Amish and Mennonite populations. Auction houses, as well as farmers, will need to stay current with federal food safety regulations and market-based requirements to remain competitive.