bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Holocene stratigraphic evolution of saline lakes in Nhecolândia, southern Pantanal wetlands (Brazil)
Authors: McGlue Michael M. , Guerreiro Renato Lada , Bergier Ivan , Silva Aguinaldo , Pupim Fabiano N. , Oberc Victoria , Assine Mario L. 
Published: August 2017

AbstractNhecolândia is a fossil lobe of the Taquari River megafan and a prominent geomorphic subunit of the Pantanal wetlands because of the presence of >10,000 small lakes. We investigated the stratigraphic records of three saline lakes from Nhecolândia to explore their potential as Quaternary hydroclimate archives. Radiocarbon data indicate that accumulation at two lakes was approximately continuous in the late Holocene, and chemostratigraphic variability suggests sensitivity to environmental change with multicentennial resolution. A basal sandy unit and an upper muddy unit comprise the shallow stratigraphy of each lake. A pronounced change in depositional environment from freshwater wetlands to saline lakes at ~3300–3200 cal yr BP best explains the lithofacies transition. Ephemeral freshwater wetlands formed on the abandoned megafan lobe, which was molded by deflation in the arid early Holocene. Wind-scouring of the megafan lobe generated topographically closed depressions with complex marginal sand ridges, which allowed permanent lakes to evolve when rainfall increased in the late Holocene. The lakes became highly saline and alkaline after ~910 cal yr BP, which influences biogeochemistry and aquatic ecology. The results hold implications for understanding the response of the southern Pantanal to climate change, as well as the development of pans in tropical megafan settings.
Embracing polygenicity: a review of methods and tools for psychiatric genetics research
Authors: Maier R. M. , Visscher P. M. , Robinson M. R. , Wray N. R. 
Published: August 2017

AbstractThe availability of genome-wide genetic data on hundreds of thousands of people has led to an equally rapid growth in methodologies available to analyse these data. While the motivation for undertaking genome-wide association studies (GWAS) is identification of genetic markers associated with complex traits, once generated these data can be used for many other analyses. GWAS have demonstrated that complex traits exhibit a highly polygenic genetic architecture, often with shared genetic risk factors across traits. New methods to analyse data from GWAS are increasingly being used to address a diverse set of questions about the aetiology of complex traits and diseases, including psychiatric disorders. Here, we give an overview of some of these methods and present examples of how they have contributed to our understanding of psychiatric disorders. We consider: (i) estimation of the extent of genetic influence on traits, (ii) uncovering of shared genetic control between traits, (iii) predictions of genetic risk for individuals, (iv) uncovering of causal relationships between traits, (v) identifying causal single-nucleotide polymorphisms and genes or (vi) the detection of genetic heterogeneity. This classification helps organise the large number of recently developed methods, although some could be placed in more than one category. While some methods require GWAS data on individual people, others simply use GWAS summary statistics data, allowing novel well-powered analyses to be conducted at a low computational burden.
Impaired cortisol awakening response in eating disorder women with childhood trauma exposure: evidence for a dose-dependent effect of the traumatic load
Authors: Monteleone A. M. , Monteleone P. , Volpe U. , De Riso F. , Fico G. , Giugliano R. , Nigro M. , Maj M. 
Published: August 2017

BackgroundChildhood trauma is a non specific risk factor for adult eating disorders (ED), and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis seems to mediate such a risk. Here we explored the impact of different types of childhood trauma and of traumatic load on the cortisol awakening response (CAR) of women with anorexia nervosa (AN) or bulimia nervosa (BN).MethodsSaliva samples were collected at awakening and after 15, 30, 60 min to measure cortisol levels by 121 women (44 AN patients, 36 BN patients and 41 healthy women). Participants filled in the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.ResultsAN and BN patients with childhood maltreatment exhibited an attenuated CAR compared with non-maltreated ones. In the whole ED patient group, the CAR showed a progressive impairment with the increasing number of reported trauma types. Although significant negative correlations emerged between the type or the number of traumas and the CAR, only the number of traumas remained significantly associated with the CAR in a stepwise multiple regression analysis.ConclusionsPresent findings confirm that childhood trauma is associated with an impaired CAR in adult AN and BN patients and demonstrate for the first time a negative dose-dependent effect of the traumatic load on HPA axis activity.
The Stability of Social Security in the United States: The Need for a Durable Institutional Design
Authors: YOSHIDA KENZO 
Published: August 2017

AbstractStability is one of the most crucial elements of social security systems. Although the United States is famous – some might say notorious – for drastic changes to its socio-economic structure (including its welfare programmes), its Social Security is the most secure and unchanged public pension programme among major Western countries. In the restructuring age of welfare states, public pensions have been reformed several times in Japan and various European countries, with an overhaul of benefits and taxes. However, Social Security in the US has not undergone such reforms in the three decades since the Social Security Act was amended in 1983, but has experienced relatively better financial conditions. This paper investigates the extent to which Social Security has remained stable during a time when welfare states are going through a crisis. The comparative analysis for stability consists of three steps: (1) a simple evaluation of the frequency of reforms among six countries; (2) a comparison of the scales of parametric adjustment and components of structural reform; and (3) confirming current financial sustainability to check for ‘false stability’ using individual government reports. This paper also studies stability factors, including an institutional design that is durable in this changing environment.
Income inequality and the growth of redistributive spending in the United States (US) states: is there a link?
Authors: Moldogaziev Tima T. , Monogan James E. , Witko Christopher 
Published: August 2017

AbstractProminent public policy models have hypothesised that rising income inequality will lead to more redistributive spending. Subsequent theoretical advancements and empirical research often failed to find a positive relationship between inequality and redistributive spending, however. Over the last few decades both income inequality and redistributive spending have been growing in the United States states. In this work, we consider whether temporal variation in inequality can explain variation in redistributive spending, while controlling for a number of factors that covary with redistributive spending in the states. In an analysis of data for 1976–2008, we find that higher levels of inequality are associated with greater redistributive spending, offering empirical evidence that fiscal policy at the state level responds to growing levels of income inequality. Considering the growing role of state governments in welfare provision during the past several decades, this finding is relevant for policy researchers and practitioners at all levels of government.
TEAM REASONING AND A MEASURE OF MUTUAL ADVANTAGE IN GAMES
Authors: Karpus Jurgis , Radzvilas Mantas 
Published: August 2017

Abstract:The game theoretic notion of best-response reasoning is sometimes criticized when its application produces multiple solutions of games, some of which seem less compelling than others. The recent development of the theory of team reasoning addresses this by suggesting that interacting players in games may sometimes reason as members of a team – a group of individuals who act together in the attainment of some common goal. A number of properties have been suggested for team-reasoning decision-makers’ goals to satisfy, but a few formal representations have been discussed. In this paper we suggest a possible representation of these goals based on the notion of mutual advantage. We propose a method for measuring extents of individual and mutual advantage to the interacting decision-makers, and define team interests as the attainment of outcomes associated with maximum mutual advantage in the games they play.
WHAT ARE USER PERSPECTIVES OF EXOSKELETON TECHNOLOGY? A LITERATURE REVIEW
Authors: Hill Deborah , Holloway Catherine Sarah , Morgado Ramirez Dafne Zuleima , Smitham Peter , Pappas Yannis 
Published: August 2017

Objectives: Exoskeletons are electromechanical devices that are worn by a human operator to increase their physical performance. Several exoskeletons have been developed to restore functional movements, such as walking, for those with paralysis due to neurological impairment. However, existing exoskeletons have limitations with respect to affordability, size, weight, speed, and efficiency, which may reduce their functional application. Therefore, the aim of this scoping review is to collect and narratively synthesize the perspectives of users of exoskeleton technology.Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted across several healthcare related online databases.Results: A total of 4,619 articles were identified, of which 51 were selected for full review. Only three studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria. Of these, one showed an incongruence between users’ expectations and experiences of device use; another reported perspectives on potential rather than actual device use, ranking design features in order of perceived importance; and the other reported ratings of ease of device use in training.Conclusions: The heterogeneity of studies included within this review, leave the authors unable to suggest consensus as to user perspectives of exoskeleton technology. However, it is apparent that users are able to suggest priorities for exoskeleton design and that users’ perspectives of exoskeleton technology might change in response to experience of use. The authors, therefore, suggest that exoskeleton design should be an iterative process, whereby user perspectives are sought, incorporated and refined by tangible experience, to ensure that devices developed are acceptable to and usable by the populations they seek to re-enable.
Environmental effects on simulated emotional and moody agents
Authors: Collenette Joe , Atkinson Katie , Bloembergen Daan , Tuyls Karl 
Published: August 2017

AbstractPsychological models have been used to simulate emotions within agents as part of the decision-making process. The body of this work has focussed on applying the process of decision making using emotions to social dilemmas, notably the Prisoner’s Dilemma. Previous work has focussed on agents which do not move around, with an initial analysis on how mobility and the environment can affect the decisions chosen. Additionally simulated mood has been introduced to the decision-making process. Exploring simulated emotions and mood to inform the decision-making process in multi-agent systems allows us to explore in further detail how outside influences can have an effect on different strategies. We expand and clarify aspects of how agents are affected by environmental differences. We show how emotional characters settle on an outcome without deviation by providing a formal proof. We validate how the addition of mood increases cooperation, while also showing how small groups achieve this quicker than large groups. Once pure defectors are added, to test the resilience of the cooperation achieved, we see that while agents with a low starting mood achieve a payoff closest to the pure defectors, they are reduced in numbers the most by the pure defectors.
‘The dissolution of cities’: the Horseshoe settlement in Weimar Berlin
Authors: BARYKINA NATALLIA 
Published: August 2017

ABSTRACT:By considering the material processes by which the Horseshoe housing estate in Berlin came into being as aesthetic vision, constructed environment and inhabited living space, this article focuses on the complex manner by which the ideas of planners and architects ‘migrate’ into actual built forms. I evaluate the roles played by emergent technologies and new building methods as well as the managerial directives of state and civic bureaucracies, assessing how co-operative and competing aesthetic visions and the life practices of inhabitants are involved in the coproduction of Weimar public housing.
Developing multidimensional measures of healthy food access among low-income adults in Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Authors: Flocke Susan A , Ohri-Vachispati Punam , Shon En-Jung , Trapl Erika S , Borawski Elaine , Matlack Kristen , Freedman Darcy A 
Published: August 2017

AbstractObjectiveAccess to nutritious foods is key to achieving health promotion goals. While there is evidence that nutritious food access is complex, measures assessing multiple domains of access, including spatial-temporal, economic, social, service delivery and personal, are lacking. The current study evaluates psychometric properties of scales designed to measure perceptions of multiple domains of nutritious food access among low-income populations.DesignA cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2015. Eighty-one items were selected or developed to represent five domains of nutritious food access for food shopping overall and specific to shopping at farmers’ markets. Evaluation of the items included exploratory factor analysis within each domain and internal consistency reliability for each of the sub-scales.SettingData were collected in seventeen urban neighbourhoods in Greater Cleveland, Ohio, USA that have high levels of poverty. All participants had access to at least one farmers’ market within 1·6 km (1 mile) of their home to standardize spatial access to nutritious foods.SubjectsAdults (n 304) receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.ResultsEach domain included multiple sub-domains: spatial-temporal (four), service delivery (two), economic (two), social (three) and personal (three), for a total of fourteen subdomains. The internal consistency reliability for one of the sub-domains was outstanding (>0·90), seven were excellent (0·80–0·89), five were very good (0·70–0·79) and one scale had poor reliability (0·58).ConclusionsMultiple sub-domains of nutritious food access can be assessed using short measures that have been tested for internal consistency. These measures are suitable for assessing the complex phenomena of nutritious food access among low-income populations.
Population-attributable risk estimates for factors associated with inappropriate complementary feeding practices in The Gambia
Authors: Issaka Abukari I , Agho Kingsley E , Ezeh Osita K , Renzaho Andre MN 
Published: August 2017

AbstractObjectiveThe present cross-sectional study aimed to determine population-attributable risk (PAR) estimates for factors associated with inappropriate complementary feeding practices in The Gambia.DesignThe study examined the first and most recent Demographic and Health Survey of The Gambia (GDHS 2013). The four complementary feeding indicators recommended by the WHO were examined against a set of individual-, household- and community-level factors, using multilevel logistic analysis. PAR estimates were obtained for each factor associated with inappropriate complementary feeding practices in the final multivariate logistic regression model.SettingThe Gambia.SubjectsLast-born children (n2362) aged 6–23 months.ResultsInadequate meal frequency was attributed to 20 % (95 % CI 15·5 %, 24·2 %) of children belonging to the youngest age group (6–11 months) and 9 % (95 % CI 3·2 %, 12·5 %) of children whose mothers were aged less than 20 years at the time of their birth. Inadequate dietary diversity was attributed to 26 % (95 % CI 1·9 %, 37·8 %) of children who were born at home and 20 % (95 % CI 8·3, 29·5 %) of children whose mothers had no access to the radio. Inadequate introduction of solid, semi-solid or soft foods was attributed to 30 % (95 % CI 7·2 %, 38·9 %) of children from poor households.ConclusionsFindings of the study suggest the need for community-based public health nutrition interventions to improve the nutritional status of Gambian children, which should focus on sociocultural and economic factors that negatively impact on complementary feeding practices early in infancy (6–11 months).
Association of eating out with bone density in Taiwan
Authors: Huang Yu-Hung , Lin Chao-Cheng , Lin Ching-I , Lin Shyh-Hsiang 
Published: August 2017

AbstractObjectiveThe present study analysed data derived from the 2004–2008 Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan, conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, to understand the relationship among eating-out behaviour, related non-nutritional factors and osteopenia in the Taiwanese population.Design/Setting/SubjectsData of 1140 adults who had been evaluated with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in June 2007 were included. The data were analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics to determine the association of osteopenia with the frequency of eating out, demographic variables (i.e. age, sex, level of education, marital status and place of birth), BMI, waist circumference and food consumption.ResultsGender, age, education level, personal income and waist circumference were all factors found to be significantly associated with eating-out frequency and the incidence of osteopenia. Eating-out frequency was negatively associated with the incidence of osteopenia. Individuals with BMI>27 kg/m2had a lower frequency of eating out and a lower incidence of osteopenia. Individuals with a lower monthly income had a significantly greater chance of developing osteopenia. Men living without spouses had significantly higher chances of osteopenia. Ca intake was negatively associated with breakfast eating-out frequency.ConclusionsEating-out frequency was not associated with an increasing incidence of osteopenia, but affected the Ca intake in the Taiwanese population. Having a balanced selection of food is crucial to reduce the incidence of osteopenia. Improving nutritional knowledge for those under higher risk of osteopenia is necessary to prevent osteopenia and Ca deficiency.
Microstructural Characterization of Solid State Reaction Phase Formed During Sintering of Hexagonal Boron Nitride with Iron
Authors: Furlan Kaline P. , Consoni Deise R. , Leite Breno , Dias Matheus V. G. , Klein Aloisio N. 
Published: August 2017

AbstractIn the development of dry self-lubricating composites, not only solid lubricant particle size and distribution are important, but also the correct selection of the solid lubricant characteristics, which should be stable, i.e. not reactive, during the whole processing. In this work, Fe+9 vol% h-BN composites were produced by uniaxial cold compaction and sintering, for which a reaction between h-BN and iron was detected after sintering at 1,150°C. The reaction phase was characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy and identified by X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The newly formed phase had high hardness when compared with the iron matrix. The resulting composites presented a high friction coefficient and high wear.
Should Chimpanzees Have Standing? The Case for Pursuing Legal Personhood for Non-Human Animals
Authors: Staker Alexia 
Published: August 2017

AbstractExamples abound of national and international legal developments that indicate growing concern and respect for animals. However, a key barrier remains: animals are not recognized as legal persons and therefore do not have standing to pursue independent legal action. This significantly limits the scope for legal redress when animals’ interests are harmed. This article examines recent attempts in the United States and Europe to establish standing for animals via strategic litigation and the barriers that have so far undermined this project. The article argues that, despite their lack of success to date, cases that seek to establish standing for animals should continue to be pursued. Societal views about the value of animals’ lives are continually evolving such that these cases may soon be successful. Furthermore, even if unsuccessful, these cases help in creating the socio-cultural space required to redefine the human–animal divide and potentially transform animals into rights bearers.
Dynamic plasticity in phototransduction regulates seasonal changes in color perception
Authors: Shimmura Tsuyoshi , Nakayama Tomoya , Shinomiya Ai , Fukamachi Shoji , Yasugi Masaki , Watanabe Eiji , Shimo Takayuki , Senga Takumi , Nishimura Toshiya , Tanaka Minoru , Kamei Yasuhiro , Naruse Kiyoshi , Yoshimura Takashi 
Published: August 2017

AbstractTo cope with seasonal changes in the environment, organisms adapt their physiology and behavior. Although color perception varies among seasons, the underlying molecular basis and its physiological significance remain unclear. Here we show that dynamic plasticity in phototransduction regulates seasonal changes in color perception in medaka fish. Medaka are active and exhibit clear phototaxis in conditions simulating summer, but remain at the bottom of the tank and fail to exhibit phototaxis in conditions simulating winter. Mate preference tests using virtual fish created with computer graphics demonstrate that medaka are more attracted to orange-red-colored model fish in summer than in winter. Transcriptome analysis of the eye reveals dynamic seasonal changes in the expression of genes encoding photopigments and their downstream pathways. Behavioral analysis of photopigment-null fish shows significant differences from wild type, suggesting that plasticity in color perception is crucial for the emergence of seasonally regulated behaviors.
Evidence of spontaneous vortex ground state in an iron-based ferromagnetic superconductor
Authors: Jiao Wen-He , Tao Qian , Ren Zhi , Liu Yi , Cao Guang-Han 
Published: August 2017

AbstractSpontaneous vortex phase (SVP) is an exotic quantum matter in which quantized superconducting vortices form in the absence of external magnetic field. Although being predicted theoretically nearly 40 years ago, its rigorous experimental verification still appears to be lacking. Here we present low-field magnetic measurements on single crystals of the iron-based ferromagnetic superconductor Eu(Fe0.91Rh0.09)2As2 which undergoes a superconducting transition at Tsc = 19.6 K followed by a magnetic transition at Tm = 16.8 K. We observe a characteristic first-order transition from a Meissner state within Tm < T < Tsc to an SVP below Tm, under a magnetic field approaching zero. Additional isothermal magnetization and ac magnetic susceptibility measurements at $$T \ll {T_{{\rm{sc}}}}$$
T
≪

T

sc

confirm that the system is intrinsically in a spontaneous-vortex ground state. The unambiguous demonstration of SVP in the title material lays a solid foundation for future imaging and spectroscopic studies on this intriguing quantum matter.