bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Development of Regional Curves for Hydrologic Landscape Regions (HLR) in the Contiguous United States
Authors: Blackburn‐Lynch Whitney , Agouridis Carmen T. , Barton Christopher D. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractRegional curves relate drainage area to the bankfull channel characteristics discharge, cross‐sectional area, width, and mean depth. These curves are used for a variety of purposes, including aiding in the field identification of bankfull elevation and in the natural channel design process. When developing regional curves, the degree to which landform, geology, climate, and vegetation influence stream systems within a single physiographic province may not be fully considered. This study examined the use of the U.S. Geological Survey's Hydrologic Landscape Regions (HLR), as well as data from 2,856 independent sites throughout the contiguous United States (U.S.), to develop a set of regional curves (bankfull discharge, cross‐sectional area, width, and mean depth) for (1) the contiguous U.S., (2) each of the 20 HLRs, (3) each of the eight physiographic divisions, (4) 22 of the 25 physiographic provinces, and (5) individual HLRs within the physiographic provinces. These regional curves were then compared to each other, as well as those from the literature. Regional curves developed for individual HLRs, physiographic divisions, and physiographic provinces tended to outperform the contiguous U.S. indicating increased stratification was beneficial. Further stratifying physiographic provinces by HLR markedly improved regional curve reliability. Use of HLR as a basis of regional curve development, rather than physiographic region alone, may allow for the development of more robust regional curves.
Can Shareholders Be at Rest after Adopting Clawback Provisions? Evidence from Stock Price Crash Risk
Authors: Bao Dichu , Fung Simon Yu Kit , Su Lixin (Nancy) 
Published: June 2017

AbstractUsing a propensity score matched sample and a difference‐in‐differences research design, we find that stock price crash risk increases after a firm voluntarily incorporates clawback provisions in executive officers' compensation contracts. This heightened crash risk is concentrated in adopters that increase upward real activities‐based earnings management and those that reduce the readability of 10‐K reports. Based on cross‐sectional analyses, we also find that the increased crash risk is more pronounced for adopters with high ex ante fraud risk, low‐ability managers, high CEO equity incentives, and low dedicated institutional ownership. Collectively, our results suggest that the clawback adoption per se does not curb managerial opportunism but rather induces managers to use alternative channels for concealing bad news, which may contribute to a greater stock price crash risk; and the increase in crash risk is more likely in cases where incentives are strong or monitoring is weak. Our results should be of interest to regulators and policymakers considering the effects of clawback adoption on the investing public.
Fibroblast‐derived exosomes promote epithelial cell proliferation through TGF‐β2 signalling pathway in severe asthma
Authors: Haj‐Salem I. , Plante S. , Gounni A. S. , Rouabhia M. , Chakir J. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractBackgroundBronchial fibroblasts play a key role in airway remodelling in asthma. They regulate epithelial cell functions such as proliferation through growth factors, cytokines, chemokines and exosomes. The role of exosomes in the communication between epithelial cells and fibroblasts by vehiculing these mediators in asthma remains to be determined.ObjectiveTo evaluate the role of exosomes released by bronchial fibroblasts on epithelial cell proliferation in severe asthma.MethodsExosomes were obtained from culture media of primary bronchial fibroblasts and characterized using Western blot, electron microscopy and flow cytometry. Uptake profile of fluorescent‐labelled exosomes in epithelial cells was assessed by flow cytometry. Exosome cytokine content was analysed by Cytokine Arrays. Bronchial epithelial cell proliferation was evaluated by BrdU incorporation test. Exosome biogenesis/release was blocked using sphingomyelinase inhibitor. Plasmid transfection was used to modulate transforming growth factor beta 2 (TGF‐β2) gene expression.ResultsWe showed that bronchial fibroblasts secreted exosomes, which were internalized by bronchial epithelial cells. Exosomes of severe asthmatic subjects' fibroblasts showed a lower level of TGF‐β2 and significantly increased the epithelial cell proliferation of both healthy and severe asthmatic subjects compared to healthy controls' exosomes. Overexpression of TGF‐β2 in severe asthmatics' fibroblasts induced enhanced TGF‐β2 in exosomes leading to a reduced proliferation of epithelial cells, whereas knockdown of TGF‐β2 enhanced epithelial cell proliferation.ConclusionOur study shows that exosomes are involved in fine‐tuning intercellular communication in asthma. Exosomes of severe eosinophilic asthmatics' fibroblasts can contribute to airway remodelling, at least in part, by modulating epithelial cell proliferation observed in severe asthma.
Measuring canopy loss and climatic thresholds from an extreme drought along a fivefold precipitation gradient across Texas
Authors: Schwantes Amanda M. , Swenson Jennifer J. , González‐Roglich Mariano , Johnson Daniel M. , Domec Jean‐Christophe , Jackson Robert B. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractGlobally, trees are increasingly dying from extreme drought, a trend that is expected to increase with climate change. Loss of trees has significant ecological, biophysical, and biogeochemical consequences. In 2011, a record drought caused widespread tree mortality in Texas. Using remotely sensed imagery, we quantified canopy loss during and after the drought across the state at 30‐m spatial resolution, from the eastern pine/hardwood forests to the western shrublands, a region that includes the boundaries of many species ranges. Canopy loss observations in ~200 multitemporal fine‐scale orthophotos (1‐m) were used to train coarser Landsat imagery (30‐m) to create 30‐m binary statewide canopy loss maps. We found that canopy loss occurred across all major ecoregions of Texas, with an average loss of 9.5%. The drought had the highest impact in post oak woodlands, pinyon‐juniper shrublands and Ashe juniper woodlands. Focusing on a 100‐km by ~1,000‐km transect spanning the State's fivefold east–west precipitation gradient (~1,500 to ~300 mm), we compared spatially explicit 2011 climatic anomalies to our canopy loss maps. Much of the canopy loss occurred in areas that passed specific climatic thresholds: warm season anomalies in mean temperature (+1.6°C) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD, +0.66 kPa), annual percent deviation in precipitation (−38%), and 2011 difference between precipitation and potential evapotranspiration (−1,206 mm). Although similarly low precipitation occurred during the landmark 1950s drought, theVPDand temperature anomalies observed in 2011 were even greater. Furthermore, future climate data under the representative concentration pathway 8.5 trajectory project that average values will surpass the 2011VPDanomaly during the 2070–2099 period and the temperature anomaly during the 2040–2099 period. Identifying vulnerable ecological systems to drought stress and climate thresholds associated with canopy loss will aid in predicting how forests will respond to a changing climate and how ecological landscapes will change in the near term.
Full‐text publication rates of research abstracts presented at the European Society of Endodontology congresses in the last 20 years
Authors: Tzanetakis G. N. , Tzimpoulas N. , Floratos S. , Agrafioti A. , Kontakiotis E. G. , Shemesh H. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractAimTo evaluate the full‐text publication rates of scientific research abstracts presented at the European Society of Endodontology (ESE) congresses held between 1993 and 2013 (a total of 11 occasions) and to determine factors associated with the manuscripts.MethodologyAn electronic database search was conducted from January 2015 to December 2016 to identify full‐text English‐written publications of the research abstracts presented at the last 11 ESE Biennial congresses from 1993 to 2013. For each occasion, research abstract information was retrieved from the International Endodontic Journal (IEJ) through the official website of the ESE, and the following parameters for each abstract presentation were recorded: year of presentation, first author's affiliation, geographic origin and type of study. Following full‐text article identification, additional information was recorded such as: year and journal of publication, elapsed time until full publication and number of authors per presentation and publication.ResultsA total of 1165 research abstracts were presented, of which 401 (34.4%) were finally published as full‐length articles. Overall 235 articles (58.6%) were published either in the International Endodontic Journal (IEJ, 35.7%) or Journal of Endodontics (JOE, 22.9%). The mean time between abstract presentation and full‐text publication was 18.95 months. Munich (2001) had the highest publication rate (44%), whereas Lisbon (2013) had the highest number of published articles (77). Turkey was the country with the highest number of published abstracts (56). However, the Netherlands was the country with the highest number of publications related to the number of presentations (21/26) (80.7%). Differences in authorship between presentation and full publication were found in 179 (44.6%) articles.ConclusionA substantial number of research abstracts presented at ESE congresses were not published in peer‐reviewed journals. Authors prefer to publish their research papers in international journals with high impact factor.
Safety of a benazepril and pimobendan combination tablet in adult healthy dogs
Authors: Kuntz E. A. , Strehlau G. , Giraudel J. M. , King J. N. 
Published: June 2017

The objective of the study was to investigate the safety of a combination tablet of benazepril and pimobendan, Fortekor PLUS®, in a randomized, blinded, parallel‐group design study in healthy adult beagle dogs. The test article, Fortekor PLUS® tablets, was administered orally twice daily for 6 months at one, two, and four times the highest recommended dosage of 0.5 mg/kg benazepril hydrochloride/0.25 mg/kg pimobendan (four males and four females per group). An additional control group was sham‐dosed. Fortekor PLUS® did not induce any treatment‐related effects on body weight, food consumption, neurological, ophthalmologic or physical assessments over the 6‐month treatment period. The test article was possibly associated with an increased frequency of occasional vomiting. Fortekor PLUS® was associated with small, but significant, increases in heart rate and reductions in PR and QT intervals, which were assessed by electrocardiography. These effects were most probably related to reflex tachycardia secondary to reduced systemic blood pressure. Statistically significant changes in some clinical pathology variables were noted after test article administration, but were considered to be of no clinical relevance as values remained within reference ranges and/or were not dose‐dependent. No treatment‐related macroscopic or microscopic findings were observed. In conclusion, Fortekor PLUS® tablets were well tolerated in healthy adult dogs when administered at one, two, and four times the highest recommended dosage for 6 months.
Artificial magnetic disturbance from the mass rapid transit system in Taiwan
Authors: Chen Chieh‐Hung , Lin Cheng‐Horng , Yen Horng‐Yuan , Chen Chun‐Rong , Jan Jyh Cherng , Wang Chung‐Ho , Liu Jann‐Yenq 
Published: June 2017

AbstractAn obvious magnetic disturbance has been repeatedly observed by magnetometers located outside of urban areas in Yangmingshan National Park and has affected the monitoring of volcanic activity in the northern region of Taiwan. The disturbance has amplitudes of approximately 3–5 nanoteslas, and regularly appears for approximately 21 hours per day, except during the New Year period, when it is observed continuously for 45 hours. This change coincides with the annual extended operation of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. A 750‐volt direct current drives the MRT trains and leaks to the ground, with a maximum value of approximately 1000 amperes measured along the routes. The disturbance is dominated by the unbalanced supply and return currents resulting from the leakage. The daily changes in the magnetic noise levels are correlated with the electricity consumption of the MRT system because the leakage is proportional to the use of electric power.
Formation of a giant Zn–Pb deposit from hot brines injecting into a shallow oil–gas reservoir in sandstones, Jinding, southwestern China
Authors: Chi Guoxiang , Xue Chunji , Sun Xianda , Lai Jianqing , Luo Peng , Song Hao , Li Sheng , Zeng Rong 
Published: June 2017

AbstractThe association between mineralisation and hydrocarbons in sedimentary basins is widely recognised, but the nature and significance of their relationships are not fully understood. This paper provides an example of metalliferous brines injecting into a palaeo‐oil–gas reservoir to form a world‐class Zn–Pb deposit (Jinding, China). Petrographic and microthermometric studies of oil inclusions and PVT simulations suggest that oil and gas were charged in a shallow (<1300 m) environment before mineralisation. This environment favoured bacterial sulphate reduction (BSR), which produced large amounts of H2S that accumulated in the gas cap. Forceful injection of hot brines penetrated the oil zone to reach the H2S‐rich gas cap and precipitated sulphide ores. Individual fluid injection events were short‐lived, and the reservoir was only partly and briefly heated to beyond the bacterial survival temperature. Episodic injection of metalliferous brines and sustained supply of H2S through BSR resulted in the formation of a large Zn–Pb deposit.
Comparative building performance evaluation of a ‘sustainable’ community centre and a public library building
Authors: Gupta R , Kapsali M , Gregg M 
Published: June 2017

This paper uses a forensic building performance evaluation approach to undertake a comparative evaluation of the in-use energy and environmental performance data (collected over two years) of two civic buildings located in Southeast England – a small community centre (<1000 m2) and a medium-sized public library building (∼4500 m2), which are designed to high sustainability standards (EPC A rating) and low heating demand met by on-site low/zero carbon technologies. Although both buildings achieved measured air-permeability rates of ∼5 m3/h.m2, they encountered similar issues related to poor documentation of ‘as-built’ drawings, poor handover and guidance, problems with integrating and maintaining new technologies (heat pumps, biomass boilers and solar thermal), lack of calibration of sub-meters, and issues with automatic window controls. However, the actual annual energy use of the community centre is similar to the design prediction, while it is almost double the prediction in the case of the library building. This is because the community centre management team overcame some of the issues through their continuous engagement and interest in the building’s performance, whereas the management team of the Library building failed to engage with energy management, resulting in disuse of the biomass boiler and solar thermal system. Practical application: Comparative building performance evaluation (BPE) systematically reveals the similarities and differences in the actual energy and environmental performance of two ‘sustainable’ civic buildings. Careful management of heating and electricity loads, good occupant control over the indoor environment and high performance of low-carbon technologies in the Community Centre results in the building performing better than good practice benchmark. Regular changes in facility management (FM) staff result in inadequate energy management and control over heating, ventilation and lighting, that undermines occupant comfort and leads to excessive energy use in the library building. For civic buildings to perform as designed, it is vital that metering, sub-metering and controls are set up, commissioned and used properly by the FM team. Design teams should ensure that easy-to-understand user guides are made available before handover for FM and occupants.
Emboli and cognitive state in surgical vs. transcatheter aortic valve replacement
Authors: Friedman Tom , Cohen Oved , Ziser Avishai , Kerner Arthur , Bitton-Worms Keren , Bolotin Gil 
Published: June 2017

Background Neurologic complications and neurocognitive impairment due to cerebral emboli are common following heart surgery. This study aimed to compare the number of emboli detected in the middle cerebral artery in open aortic valve replacement, apical and femoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and also to test for an association between the number of emboli captured in each procedure and changes in the patient’s cognitive state. Methods Forty-four patients were enrolled in the study, 36 of whom were included in the final analyses: 14 underwent open aortic valve replacement, 2 had femoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and 10 had apical transcatheter aortic valve replacement. The number of emboli was detected by middle cerebral artery intraoperative transcranial Doppler ultrasound. The day before the elective surgery and 6–12 weeks later, all patients underwent neurocognitive evaluations by the Mini-Mental State Examination; the difference was tested for an association with the number of emboli. Results Open aortic valve replacement resulted in a significantly greater number of emboli (8555, range 2999–12489) than apical (1962, range 521–3850) or femoral (1220, range 948–1946) transcatheter approaches ( p = 0.003). Both transcatheter approaches yielded a comparable amount of emboli ( p = 0.798). No significant association was observed between the change in Mini-Mental State Examination score and the mean number of emboli ( r = 0.026; p = 0.907). Conclusions Compared to transcatheter aortic valve replacement, more cerebral emboli are detected during surgical aortic valve replacement; however, this does not appear to adversely affect a patient’s cognitive state.
Funnel libraries for real-time robust feedback motion planning
Authors: Majumdar Anirudha , Tedrake Russ 
Published: June 2017

We consider the problem of generating motion plans for a robot that are guaranteed to succeed despite uncertainty in the environment, parametric model uncertainty, and disturbances. Furthermore, we consider scenarios where these plans must be generated in real time, because constraints such as obstacles in the environment may not be known until they are perceived (with a noisy sensor) at runtime. Our approach is to pre-compute a library of “funnels” along different maneuvers of the system that the state is guaranteed to remain within (despite bounded disturbances) when the feedback controller corresponding to the maneuver is executed. We leverage powerful computational machinery from convex optimization (sums-of-squares programming in particular) to compute these funnels. The resulting funnel library is then used to sequentially compose motion plans at runtime while ensuring the safety of the robot. A major advantage of the work presented here is that by explicitly taking into account the effect of uncertainty, the robot can evaluate motion plans based on how vulnerable they are to disturbances. We demonstrate and validate our method using extensive hardware experiments on a small fixed-wing airplane avoiding obstacles at high speed (~12 mph), along with thorough simulation experiments of ground vehicle and quadrotor models navigating through cluttered environments. To our knowledge, these demonstrations constitute one of the first examples of provably safe and robust control for robotic systems with complex nonlinear dynamics that need to plan in real time in environments with complex geometric constraints.
Attenuated post-exercise heart rate recovery in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: the role of disease severity and beta-blocker treatment
Authors: Bienias P , Ciurzyński M , Chrzanowska A , Dudzik-Niewiadomska I , Irzyk K , Oleszek K , Kalińska-Bienias A , Kisiel B , Tłustochowicz W , Pruszczyk P 
Published: June 2017

Objective Sinus tachycardia is frequently reported in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), while there are limited data on post-exercise ability to slow heart rate (i.e. heart rate recovery, HRR) in this group of patients. Methods We studied consecutive 70 patients with SLE and 30 healthy controls. All examined individuals underwent detailed clinical examination, echocardiography, Holter monitoring with heart rate variability and treadmill stress test using Bruce’s protocol. HRR values were calculated as the difference between maximum HR during exercise and HR at the first (HRR1) and third (HRR3) minute of rest. Individuals with coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus and suspected pulmonary hypertension were excluded from further analysis ( n = 15). Results Fifty-five SLE patients were eligible for this study: aged 41.5 ± 12.4 years, 87.3% women, SLICC/ACR-DI score 3.58 ± 1.85. In the SLE group 36.4% patients received beta-blockers, usually for previously detected sinus tachycardia and/or arterial hypertension. Mean HRR1 (36.9 ± 12.6 vs 49.5 ± 18.6, p = 0.0004) and HRR3 (55.5 ± 14.3 vs 69.2 ± 16.4, p = 0.0001) were significantly lower in SLE than in healthy individuals. Significantly negative correlations between SLICC/ACR-DI score and HRR1 ( r = –0.299, p = 0.01), HRR3 ( r = –0.361, p = 0.001) and exercise capacity ( r = –0.422, p < 0.0001) were revealed. Additionally, beta-blocker treatment was also revealed to alter significantly HRR1, HRR3 and exercise capacity in SLE. Conclusion Patients with SLE are characterized by attenuated HRR after exercise. In our study impaired HRR was associated with disease severity and beta-blocker treatment and probably with disease duration. The use of HRR assessment in SLE can be used as an additional marker of cardiac autonomic nervous system dysfunction.
Comparative effectiveness of rituximab relative to IFN-β or glatiramer acetate in relapsing-remitting MS from the Swedish MS registry
Authors: Spelman Tim , Frisell Thomas , Piehl Fredrik , Hillert Jan 
Published: June 2017

Objective: To compare treatment effectiveness and persistence in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients who initiated rituximab versus glatiramer acetate (GA) or interferon-beta (IFN-β). Methods: A total of 461 patients from the Swedish MS registry in the rituximab arm were propensity score matched on a 1:2 basis with 922 patients from the IFN-β/GA comparator, between April 2005 and November 2015. Annualised relapse rate (ARR) was compared using the Poisson method. A marginal Cox model was used to analyse time to first relapse, 3-month confirmed disability progression and treatment discontinuation in the matched sample. A signed-rank test was used to compare Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) change from baseline. Results: Rituximab was associated with a reduction in ARR (0.003; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.001, 0.009) relative to IFN-β/GA (0.026; 95% CI = 0.020, 0.033) ( p < 0.001). Rituximab was associated with an 87% reduction in the relapse rate (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.13; 95% CI = 0.04, 0.41) and an 85% reduction in the discontinuation rate (HR = 0.15; 95% CI = 0.11, 0.20) relative to IFN-β/GA. EDSS regression from baseline was greater in the rituximab group at 12 and 24 months. Conclusion: Rituximab appears to be superior to first-generation disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) with respect to relapse control and tolerability, whereas superiority on disability outcomes is less clear.