bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
TAM and stages of adoption of blended learning in higher education by application of data mining techniques
Authors: Martín‐García Antonio Víctor , Martínez‐Abad Fernando , Reyes‐González David 
Published: June 2019

AbstractThe purpose of the study is to analyse and identify the stages of adoption of the blended learning (BL or b‐learning) methodology in higher education contexts, and to assess the relationship of these stages with a set of variables related to personal and professional characteristics, attributes perceived on BL and contextual variables. About 980 active academic staff from 43 Spanish public universities participated. The technology acceptance model (TAM) was used as a theoretical framework for the operational definition of the variables. Through the use of data mining techniques (clustering and decision trees), groupings were made based on the b‐learning adoption stage and a subsequent predictive model of these stages. The results show that the intention to use BL is the most important predictor variable in all models applied. In addition, the relationship between higher frequency of use and experience in digital educational environments with higher stages of implementation of the BL methodology was verified. Regarding the socio‐demographic variables included in the study, it was observed that they exert effects that are marginal in all cases.
Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic

Many universities and higher education institutions are designing strategic plans and diverse actions to implement and spread the use of BL methodologies.
TAM has been widely used to study the behaviour and the intention of using a wide variety of specific technologies in the classroom.
The study of BL from the perspective of TAM has generally been carried out using inferential analysis techniques.
What this paper adds

Analysis of complex systems such as the BL methodology from the TAM approach.
Groups of adopting teachers can be analysed using the TAM approach according to the stage of use of this innovation.
In contrast to traditional inferential techniques, this paper proposes a methodological procedure based on decision trees, which facilitates a more refined analysis of the relationship and interactions between the set of TAM predictor variables (PU, PEOU, BI, etc.) and the criterion variable (stages of adoption).
The obtaining of more complete and adjusted trees leads to better prediction and identification of the concrete actions that could be implemented by higher education institutions as protective or motivating factors for the diffusion of the BL methodology.
Implications for practice and/or policy

Interest in focusing attention on a complex system such as the one represented by the BL methodology from the perspective of models of technological acceptance reinforces an interesting line of research that can enrich the approach and scope of the TAM theory and generates knowledge that helps promote strategic actions to optimise the institutional diffusion of the BL training modality in higher education contexts.
Altered cytochrome 2E1 and 3A P450‐dependent drug metabolism in advanced ovarian cancer correlates to tumour‐associated inflammation
Authors: Trousil Sebastian , Lee Patrizia , Edwards Robert J. , Maslen Lynn , Lozan‐Kuehne Jingky P. , Ramaswami Ramya , Aboagye Eric O. , Clarke Stephen , Liddle Christopher , Sharma Rohini 
Published: June 2019

Background and PurposePrevious work has focussed on changes in drug metabolism caused by altered activity of CYP3A in the presence of inflammation and, in particular, inflammation associated with malignancy. However, drug metabolism involves a number of other P450s, and therefore, we assessed the effect of cancer‐related inflammation on multiple CYP enzymes using a validated drug cocktail.Experimental ApproachPatients with advanced stage ovarian cancer and healthy volunteers were recruited. Participants received caffeine, chlorzoxazone, dextromethorphan, and omeprazole as in vivo probes for CYP1A2, CYP2E1, CYP2D6, CYP3A, and CYP2C19. Blood was collected for serum C‐reactive protein and cytokine analysis.Key ResultsCYP2E1 activity was markedly up‐regulated in cancer (6‐hydroxychlorzoxazone/chlorzoxazone ratio of 1.30 vs. 2.75), while CYP3A phenotypic activity was repressed in cancer (omeprazole sulfone/omeprazole ratio of 0.23 vs. 0.49). Increased activity of CYP2E1 was associated with raised serum levels of IL‐6, IL‐8, and TNF‐α. Repression of CYP3A correlated with raised levels of serum C‐reactive protein, IL‐6, IL‐8, and TNF‐α.Conclusions and ImplicationsCYP enzyme activity is differentially affected by the presence of tumour‐associated inflammation, affecting particularly CYP2E1‐ and CYP3A‐mediated drug metabolism, and may have profound implications for drug development and prescribing in oncological settings.
A Test of the Bistrategic Control Hypothesis of Adolescent Popularity
Authors: Hartl Amy C. , Laursen Brett , Cantin Stéphane , Vitaro Frank 
Published: June 2019

Resource Control Theory (Hawley, 1999) posits a group of bistrategic popular youth who attain status through coercive strategies while mitigating fallout via prosociality. This study identifies and distinguishes this bistrategic popular group from other popularity types, tracing the adjustment correlates of each. Adolescent participants (288 girls, 280 boys; Mage = 12.50 years) completed peer nominations in the Fall and Spring of the seventh and eighth grades. Longitudinal latent profile analyses classified adolescents into groups based on physical and relational aggression, prosocial behavior, and popularity. Distinct bistrategic, aggressive, and prosocial popularity types emerged. Bistrategic popular adolescents had the highest popularity and above average aggression and prosocial behavior; they were viewed by peers as disruptive and angry but were otherwise well‐adjusted.
Moral residue and health justice for the global south: Addressing past issues through current interventions and research
Authors: Ujewe Samuel J. 
Published: June 2019

AbstractThis paper introduces the concept of moral residue to global health, and shows how its presence undermines crucial interventions and research, especially in the global south. Lingering feelings of anxiety, anger, blame or frustration often exist among local populations, where previous interventions or research have left traces of harm and/or exploitation. The existence of such feelings reflects the presence of moral residue, recognizing the moral experiences of epistemic injustices, which in turn undermines critical interventions and research through outright rejection or passive non‐compliance among affected populations. While such situations have been variously interpreted and relevant strategies developed to address the issues, little to no consideration is made on the implications of moral residue experiences in global health contexts and how to address them. This paper demonstrates the presence of moral residue in global health and proffers an African ethical approach, a harmony framework, for addressing moral residue issues, as part of a holistic approach towards tackling population health crises without compromising health gains for affected populations in the global south.
Severe neurological impairment: a review of the definition
Authors: Allen John , Molloy Eleanor , McDonald Denise 
Published: June 2019

Severe neurological impairment (SNI) is a term commonly used in the medical literature, though there is no agreed definition. This limits opportunities for research into healthcare needs, treatment opportunities, resource planning, and outcome. We reviewed the literature to establish consistency of use of the term and to place it in the context of other commonly employed terms used to describe children with severe, complex medical needs. Forty‐two articles were included for full‐text analysis, with 23 including a definition of SNI. Motor impairment, intellectual disability, communication difficulties, and increased care needs were included in the definition in 80%, 70%, 30%, and 13% of papers respectively. Dependence on others for decision‐making, chronicity, and distinction between disorders of the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system were less frequently included. There is wide variation in the use of the term SNI. A consensus‐based definition of this term would be useful to facilitate future research.What this paper adds

There is inconsistency in use of the term severe neurological impairment (SNI), limiting research efforts.

In defining SNI, considerations are mobility, intellectual disability, communication difficulties, and increased care needs.

Distinction between acute and chronic, central and peripheral nervous system disorders, and dependence on others for decision‐making were less significant.
Rare dental developmental disturbance in primary and permanent teeth following trauma prior to tooth eruption: Case report
Authors: Amaral‐Freitas Gabrielle , Brasileiro Cláudia B. , Zarzar Patrícia M. , Ferreira Fernanda M. 
Published: June 2019

AbstractTraumatic dental injuries are highly prevalent among preschool children. When occurring at a very young age (prior to the eruption of the primary teeth), such trauma can disturb the normal development of the permanent dentition and, more rarely, affect the primary dentition. This report describes a case of a patient who suffered dentoalveolar trauma at six months of age that caused rare developmental problems in the primary dentition, such as impaction, dilacerations, hypoplasia, and odontoma. Imaging revealed that alterations also occurred in the permanent dentition. This report demonstrates that dentoalveolar trauma prior to complete development of the dentition and even before the eruption of the primary teeth can lead to highly uncommon abnormalities in the primary dentition. Moreover, there may be repercussions in the permanent dentition when the germs of these teeth are injured by the intraosseous displacement of primary teeth.
The unique interaction between the summer annual desert plant Salsola inermis Forssk and weevils residing on its roots: mutualism or parasitism?
Authors: Meng Fengqun , Rundel Philip W. , Sharifi M. Rasoul , Bar‐Shmuel Nitsan , Segoli Michal 
Published: June 2019

1. Herbivores and parasites are likely to impose less damage on their host when their growth rate is slow and their dependency on the host is high. Accordingly, it was hypothesised that evolution would favour neutral or even beneficial interactions between a below‐ground herbivore and a plant during the harsh season in a desert ecosystem.2. This study characterised the relationship between the summer annual plant Salsola inermis Forssk (Chenopodiaceae) and weevils developing in a mud chamber attached to its roots in the Negev Desert of Israel. Plant seedlings were exposed to adult weevils (Conorhynchus palumbus Olivier or Menecleonus virgatus Schoenherr; Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in a controlled outside setting, to induce oviposition and larval establishment. The following were quantified: plant growth, above‐ground biomass, fruit biomass, and fruit size, as well as relative C and N contents, and isotopic signatures (δ13C and δ15N) in plant tissues.3. Exposure to weevils did not reduce plant survival but significantly and negatively affected plant growth and seed production. However, these effects were mainly due to above‐ground herbivory by adults rather than root herbivory by larvae, and might have been overestimated. Interestingly, %N and δ15N were significantly higher, and the C:N ratio was significantly lower, in plants with larval establishment, suggesting that weevils affect the plant nitrogen budget.4. The overall results do not support the notion of mutualistic interactions; yet, slow consumption, a low infestation level, and, possibly, N supplementation to the plant may enable the plant to tolerate herbivory under natural conditions.
Pairing dual‐frequency GPR in summer and winter enhances the detection and mapping of coarse roots in the semi‐arid shrubland in China
Authors: Cui X. , Liu X. , Cao X. , Fan B. , Zhang Z. , Chen J. , Chen X. , Lin H. , Guo L. 
Published: June 2019

AbstractTo complement traditional methods of studying coarse roots (>2 mm in diameter) that are often destructive, laborious and point‐based, we tested a dual‐frequency ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) to non‐invasively map lateral coarse roots of shrubs (Caragana microphylla Lam.) in the sandy soil of a temperate semi‐arid shrubland. The dual‐frequency GPR system used in this study simultaneously collects data with two antenna frequencies (400 and 900 MHz). The GPR surveys were repeated in a grid (11 × 4.8 m2 with a total of 46 survey lines) in summer and winter. Both antenna frequencies and seasonal GPR surveys generated a consistent pattern of the distribution of lateral coarse roots, indicating reliable interpretation of GPR data for coarse roots mapping. The 400 MHz GPR and the winter survey detected more roots in the deeper soil (>0.6 m depth), whereas the 900 MHz GPR and the summer survey detected more in the shallower soil (<0.6 m depth). The higher wave velocity and lower degree of GPR energy attenuation in the frozen soil enhanced the detection of deep coarse roots. Combining root detection results obtained under all conditions revealed a higher distribution density of lateral coarse roots beneath a depression and at the depth of 0.4–0.6 m, but a lower abundance under the intershrub area (i.e. showing the avoidance of intershrub root overlap). These patterns were not evident in GPR images collected using a single frequency antenna in one season. Ground truthing confirmed that pairing GPR data collected at two frequencies improved the detection frequency of the number of lateral coarse roots. More field tests are required to validate the application of repeated dual‐frequency GPR surveys to detect and quantify coarse roots in other ecosystems.Highlights
The detection of lateral coarse roots by GPR needs to be further improved in field soils.
Dual‐frequency GPR surveys were repeated in summer and winter to enhance coarse roots mapping.
Combining seasonal dual‐frequency GPR data improved detection frequency of the number of roots.
Topography and intershrub root competition influence the distribution of lateral coarse roots.
Blood pressure and risk of dementia and its subtypes: a historical cohort study with long‐term follow‐up in 2.6 million people
Authors: Gregson J. , Qizilbash N. , Iwagami M. , Douglas I. , Johnson M. , Pearce N. , Pocock S. 
Published: June 2019

Background and purposeElevated blood pressure (BP) is prevalent and modifiable and has been hypothesized to lead to increased risk of dementia.DataData on 2 593 629 people from the UK Clinical Practice Research Database aged ≥40 years with a BP measurement between 1992 and 2011 and no prior record of dementia were collected.MethodsPoisson regression models were used to study the association between BP and physician‐diagnosed dementia. BP is believed to fall during the prodromal phase of dementia development, so associations were investigated by categories of time since BP measurement (<5, 5–10, >10 years) and by subtypes of dementia.ResultsDuring a median follow‐up of 8.2 years, 65 618 cases of dementia were observed: 49 161 Alzheimer's, 13 816 vascular dementia and 2541 other subtypes. For each 10 mmHg higher systolic BP, the future dementia risk was 9.2% (95% confidence interval 8.4%–10.0%) lower, but this association varied markedly by time since BP measurement. Short‐term associations with dementia were inverse with a 15.8% (15.5%–17.0%) lower risk 0–5 years after BP measurement and a 5.8% (7.7%–4.4%) lower risk 5–10 years after BP measurement. During the period >10 years after BP measurement, dementia risk was only 1.6% (0.1%–3.0%) lower, with a 4.3% (2.5%–6.0%) lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and a 7.0% (3.8%–10.2%) higher risk of vascular dementia.ConclusionsElevated BP is associated with decreased risk of dementia in the short term, possibly due to reverse causation. Long‐term associations of BP with dementia are less marked and differ by dementia subtype.
Syntax manipulation changes perception of mobbing call sequences across passerine species
Authors: Dutour Mylène , Lengagne Thierry , Léna Jean‐Paul 
Published: June 2019

AbstractMany species approach predators to harass them and drive them away. Both the intensity of this antipredator strategy and its success are positively related to the size of the group that carries out this mobbing. To recruit individuals to the mob, members of prey species produce mobbing calls. In some songbirds—the Japanese tit, Parus minor, and the southern pied babbler, Turdoides bicolor—mobbing calls are structurally complex and it has been suggested that they convey information by means of compositional syntax, when meaningful items are combined into larger units. These two species combine alert and recruitment calls into an alert and recruitment sequence when attracting conspecifics to cooperate in mobbing a predator. Whether this rudimentary, two‐call, compositional structure is used by other bird species in mobbing calls and how it can alter the ability of heterospecifics to adequately recognize mobbing calls is not well understood. Heterospecifics’ responses to mobs are critical to the success of the mobbing strategy, so it is of great importance to understand whether and how syntax influences these responses. To address these questions, we conducted two playback experiments. Firstly, we investigated whether the great tit, Parus major, extracts different meanings from different individual motifs (i.e., component calls), and from combined motifs in both natural and artificially reversed order. We found that great tits extract different meanings from the two motifs involved in mobbing calls and that they also discriminate for motif order reversal in the mobbing call sequence. Secondly, we investigated whether heterospecifics (the coal tit, Periparus ater, and the common chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs) are sensitive to syntax alteration of great tit mobbing calls. While chaffinches did not respond to great tit mobbing calls, coal tits were sensitive to mobbing call sequence reversal although they did not react in the same way as conspecific subjects. Overall, whereas our results indicate that tits are sensitive to call reversal, this is not to say that tits actually use compositional syntax to increase the information content.
When fund management skill is more valuable?
Authors: Dong Feng , Doukas John A. 
Published: June 2019

AbstractDoes fund management skill allow managers to identify mispriced securities more accurately and thereby make better portfolio choices resulting in superior fund performance when noise trading – a natural setting to detect skill – is more prevalent? We find skilled fund managers with superior past performance to generate persistent excess risk‐adjusted returns and experience significant capital inflows, especially in high sentiment times, high stock dispersion, and economic expansion states when price signals are noisier. This pattern persists after we control for lucky bias, using the ‘false discovery rate’ approach, which permits disentangling manager ‘skill’ from ‘luck.’
A secure mHealth application for attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder
Authors: Rodríguez‐Pérez Nayra , Caballero‐Gil Pino , Rivero‐García Alexandra , Toledo‐Castro Josué 
Published: June 2019

AbstractNowadays, many people have smartphones, the fact that encourages the development of new tools to address different problems. One of its consequences is the recent growth of mHealth, a term that refers to the practice of medicine based on the use of mobile devices for medical and health purposes. This work describes a new mHealth tool to improve memory and cognitive abilities through gamification and serious games. In particular, a mobile application here is proposed to help children that suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This application integrates the four profiles involved in this disorder: children, parents, teachers, and medical staff. With it, parents can discover if their children suffer the disorder, and children can improve their cognitive abilities through games of different types. Besides, the security aspect of the proposal is emphasized to highlight its importance in mHealth. Thus, the developed tool includes various cryptographic mechanisms to protect the confidentiality of communications and the authenticity of users and data.
Weakened growth of cropland‐N2O emissions in China associated with nationwide policy interventions
Authors: Shang Ziyin , Zhou Feng , Smith Pete , Saikawa Eri , Ciais Philippe , Chang Jinfeng , Tian Hanqin , Del Grosso Stephen J. , Ito Akihiko , Chen Minpeng , Wang Qihui , Bo Yan , Cui Xiaoqing , Castaldi Simona , Juszczak Radoslaw , Kasimir Åsa , Magliulo Vincenzo , Medinets Sergiy , Medinets Volodymyr , Rees Robert M. , Wohlfahrt Georg , Sabbatini Simone 
Published: June 2019

AbstractChina has experienced rapid agricultural development over recent decades, accompanied by increased fertilizer consumption in croplands; yet, the trend and drivers of the associated nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions remain uncertain. The primary sources of this uncertainty are the coarse spatial variation of activity data and the incomplete model representation of N2O emissions in response to agricultural management. Here, we provide new data‐driven estimates of cropland‐N2O emissions across China in 1990–2014, compiled using a global cropland‐N2O flux observation dataset, nationwide survey‐based reconstruction of N‐fertilization and irrigation, and an updated nonlinear model. In addition, we have evaluated the drivers behind changing cropland‐N2O patterns using an index decomposition analysis approach. We find that China's annual cropland‐N2O emissions increased on average by 11.2 Gg N/year2 (p < .001) from 1990 to 2003, after which emissions plateaued until 2014 (2.8 Gg N/year2, p = .02), consistent with the output from an ensemble of process‐based terrestrial biosphere models. The slowdown of the increase in cropland‐N2O emissions after 2003 was pervasive across two thirds of China's sowing areas. This change was mainly driven by the nationwide reduction in N‐fertilizer applied per area, partially due to the prevalence of nationwide technological adoptions. This reduction has almost offset the N2O emissions induced by policy‐driven expansion of sowing areas, particularly in the Northeast Plain and the lower Yangtze River Basin. Our results underline the importance of high‐resolution activity data and adoption of nonlinear model of N2O emission for capturing cropland‐N2O emission changes. Improving the representation of policy interventions is also recommended for future projections.